First of all, with respect, I am detecting an almost panic in your questions. There is absolutely no need as there will be a solution.
At home, when your smoke detector operates, who checks if theirs a fire? Did they have special training? Is the task so high risk you would call 999?
Most automatic fire detection systems have one aim. To raise the alarm in the event of a fire and allow the occupants to follow their predetermined procedures to proceed to a place of safety.
For many years, 100s of thousands of hours of fire service time has been wasted dashing about to false alarms - some of hem will be known to be false alarms when the 999 call is made, but company procedures dictate the fire service is called. It is ridiculous
I was in the fire service for 32 years and know numerous occasions when local crews were out of an ‘AFA’ incident when a second fire call by someone in distress was received.
All businesses should have an emergency plan of what to do in the even of a fire. In your case, it needs to amended to facilitate fire alarm activations.
It really is NOT rocket science to check a fire alarm’s activation. But it does need planning, preparation and training.
You will have managers and perhaps Fire Wardens. There is no reason either of these groups couldn’t be utilised for this role, perhaps backed up by any maintenance staff on site .
Payment for this role is a matter for your management. Do you already pay fire wardens? There is nothing in law to say they must be paid extra, but training must be carried out in the firms time.
Your fire alarm company will almost certainly provide training, instruction and notes for staff to understand how to interpret the fire alarm panel and how to silence and reset it. Its no more complicated than other bits of office IT such as photocopiers and PCs, so a receptionist or admin staff could do this after training
Staff that are used to check the actuation should report to the panel and determined where the actual head is located that has operated the alarm. Upon arrival at that location, there is usually an indicator light on the detector which will help identify it (although different models operate in different ways - your alarm engineer will be able to tell you)
A search of that area should be made. Anything suspicious such as something not working - for example lights, something running hotter or noisier than it should, or ANY unexpected smell should result in a 999 call stating you suspect a fire.
The key is if there’s any doubt (at any time), make it a fire or suspected incident via 999 as the fire service will attend this type of call
Its will usually be a false activation - maybe from an unknown source. The team (of at least 2 persons) should return to the panel and attempt to reset the system. It’s a good idea to wait a minute and then let staff come back in.
Although any staff should and could be used to check the area, they must be fit enough to do so. A manager should oversee the incident and be responsible for letting staff back in to carry on working
A log book should be kept recording the event with details of time, head and staff attending
THIS IS A BRIEF SUMMARY of a typical response to a fire alarm activation. However, it is not complete as every place of work will be different
You may wish to ask whoever does your Fire Risk Assessment to review the FRA and give advice re appropriate procedures
Google can help. I just did a search and got scores of replies giving advice such as from Notts Fire & Rescue
https://www.notts-fire.gov.uk/business-safety/supporting-business/unwanted-fire-signals/how-to-investigate-and-reset-your-fire-alarm/
Good luck!