If you have commercial premises, you’re legally required to have an appropriate fire safety system and to test your fire alarm regularly. But, how often is regularly?
Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO), states that fire alarm tests should be weekly.
What happens during a weekly fire alarm test?
Once a week, your ‘responsible individual’ must carry out a test by activating at least one fire alarm call-point to check that the alarm sounds and the panel receives the signal.
Each week you should test a different call-point and take appropriate action immediately if any part of the alarm system doesn’t work.
You should record the date and time of every fire alarm test in a logbook as well as details of:
- The dates, time, cause and duration whenever the fire alarm has been triggered.
- Any faults found and what action was taken to repair them.
- The date and time of any instances where the fire alarm was disconnected, irrespective of the reason.
- The date and time of any alterations to the alarm system.
Your fire alarm test logbook demonstrates your compliance with the RRO, so it’s essential to keep it accurate and up to date. It could be called upon by an enforcing authority at any time.
How often should you service your fire alarm?
As well as weekly testing of your fire alarm system, regular servicing is also necessary. The British Standard BS 5839, under which fire alarm systems must be compliant, recommends six-monthly inspections or quarterly if you have larger premises, with several alarms and a complex system.
During an inspection, a competent professional will check that the fire system is in full working order and carry out any necessary maintenance. Regular servicing will help ensure that your fire alarm will work and also avoid false alarms.
If you have concerns regarding your fire alarm system, we can help. Our specialist engineers are fully qualified to British Standard BS 5839 so can inspect and maintain your alarm set-up as well as advise on any upgrade or new installation.
To find out more, please call us on 01392 368830 or email us at info@tamarsecuity.co.uk.