More than half of the Queenstown fire brigade's callouts are for false alarms - twice the national average.
In the year to January, it responded to 196 false alarms - the most of any volunteer brigade in the country by far.
The Frankton brigade's false alarm rate during the same period is also high, at 35%, well above the national average of 25%.
Fire Service Central North Otago area manager Keith McIntosh said it had been an issue in the resort for at least 15 years, but an additional fire risk management officer, Paul Glanville, was appointed last year to tackle the problem.
Much of the burden fell on the volunteer firefighters' employers.
''Every time a false alarm goes, the onus comes down on the employer to let their staff go.
''For small companies, that's a fairly big ask.''
Mr Glanville said most of the calls were generated by monitored fire alarm systems in buildings occupied by accommodation providers and multi-unit residential complexes.
He was taking a collaborative approach to the problem, meeting business managers, maintenance engineers and body corporate managers from the worst offenders to identify the causes.
He then prepared management plans for the buildings that ensured clear communication between the business manager, the alarm servicing agent and the fire service.
''The goal is to get action rather than lip service.''
In the past fortnight he had spoken to hotel association members and run a workshop with alarm servicing agents and their regional managers.
Next month he would hold a workshop for property, accommodation and body corporate managers.
The fire service received $32,000 in false alarm charges from Queenstown property owners last year, with a further $6000 owing as of December 31.
Queenstown's worst offenders were the Tanoa Aspen Hotel and Aspen Apartments, which together were charged $6000.
Frankton property owners paid $12,000 in charges, with $2000 owing at the end of the year. Top of the list were the Hilton hotel complex and Kawarau Village, with $4000 in charges each.
Tanoa Aspen Hotel general manager Richard Crouch said an ageing fire alarm system had ''given us a little bit of grief in the last six months or so''. It would soon be replaced, which he expected would put a lid on the spate of callouts.
However, about half of the false alarm charges related to the Aspen Apartments, which shared the same site and alarm system but were individually owned.
The hotel had worked with Mr Glanville and its alarm servicing agent in recent months to put a management plan in place, he said. - Mountain Scene
