THE number of call-outs for false fire alarms at student halls in Glasgow has dropped by 80% in the last five years.

Firefighters have praised staff and students at the University of Glasgow for helping them to achieve the huge reduction.

Area Commander George McGrandles, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) senior officer for Glasgow, said false alarms from halls of residence were a "considerable drain" on resources.

New figures show crews were called to the accommodation, in the West End, 89 times in 2014/15, compared to 456 incidents in 2009/10.

The sharp reduction helps ensure vital resources are available to tackle real emergencies and follows work by firefighters, the university and its accommodation provider Sanctuary Students.

Mr McGrandles said: "False alarms from halls of residence have historically been a considerable drain on the city's fire and rescue resources but this close partnership is clearly producing real results.

"False alarms are most often caused by residents' behaviour so helping them to understand what causes the incidents has made a huge difference."

Station Managers Scott McFarlane and Kenny Barbour as well as Watch Manager John McErlane have taken a pro-active approach to the problem.

Mr McGrandles added: "The students have been making sure fires doors aren't left open and we've been providing Cook Safe courses to those who have experienced repeated incidents."

The university introduced a new fire safety policy requiring students to complete an induction before moving into halls.

Residents now have to attend kitchen and landing talks designed to highlight the causes of fires and false alarms to help prevent them occurring.

Over the past three years Scotland's firefighters have been called to more than 100,000 automated false alarms, which is equal to more than 40% of all the incidents crews attend.

Neil Campbell, director of Campus Services at the university, said: "Residential Services staff continue to work closely with SFRS colleagues, Sanctuary Students and Glasgow City Council to ensure that best practice in relation to fire safety is an integral part of student accommodation.

"Finally and most importantly, the student residents themselves have been exemplary in the co-operations and diligence in adopting best practice in fire safety."

Lynn Wingate, Glasgow operations manager for accommodation provider Sanctuary Students, said: "Educating students about the consequences of their behaviour has led to a huge drop in the number of occasions firefighters are called out.

"We will continue to work with SFRS and our other partner organisations on initiatives to further reduce unwanted alarms across our properties."