Fire Alarm Maintenance Report

Table of Contents

A fire alarm system is an integral part of fire safety and has a crucial role to play in a property’s active fire protection. A good fire alarm system is designed to detect the earliest signs of a fire and alert the occupants of the threat to allow them to evacuate safely and prevent the fire from spreading.

There are different types of fire alarms available and you need to make sure you choose the one that meets your requirements.

In addition to the proper design and installation of the fire alarm systems, it is also very important that the fire alarm systems are regularly inspected and maintained so that they can be relied upon in the event of an emergency.

Fire alarm maintenance is a thorough process that includes user checks as well as testing and inspection carried out by a competent person, at the end of which a report is made.

A fire alarm maintenance report carefully documents all the tests and inspections that have been conducted by the competent person to serve as evidence for legal compliance.

Read on to find out more about fire alarm maintenance, what is included in it, what a fire alarm maintenance report is, and much more:

FIRE ALARM MAINTENANCE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

As a business owner, you have certain obligations when it comes to fire safety. You have a responsibility to protect all those on your property from safety threats such as fires.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) is the main legislation that covers all aspects including proper installation, maintenance, and testing of fire safety equipment including fire alarms.

Expanding on the RRO, the British Standard: BS 5839 recommends that you must have your premises, facilities, and equipment, including your fire alarms, regularly maintained by a competent person at least twice a year.

A competent person is someone who has sufficient technical knowledge, understands the different types of fire alarms and how they work, is familiar with the makes and models, and has a good understanding of the legal requirements including the RRO and the BS 5839.

According to the RRO, you must:

Have some form of fire alarm system installed on your property if you have more than 5 people working on site.
Have your fire alarm systems installed by a competent individual, who is ideally British Standard BS 5839 compliant.
Have your fire alarms professionally inspected every 6 months, and have the relevant maintenance and repairs done according to the maintenance engineer’s recommendations.
Keep a record of all fire alarm maintenance and servicing in a logbook.
Appoint a fire safety officer/fire warden to carry out regular fire risk assessments, make sure everyone is familiar with the fire safety procedures, and conduct regular fire drills.

IMPORTANCE OF FIRE ALARM MAINTENANCE

Apart from the legal requirements, fire alarm maintenance is important as it protects your employees, customers, and valuable business assets.

More than anything else, fire alarm systems are there to save lives. Therefore, for them to remain efficient and reliable, they must be properly maintained and serviced. There’s no point in having a fire alarm that doesn’t work when it needs to.

In addition to that, commercial properties contain a huge number of assets, all of which make up the setup and operation of the business.

From real estate to furniture, machinery, electronics, supplies, and inventory, all are at risk of damage in the event of a fire.

This causes huge financial losses and downtime for the business, both of which can be very bad for the business’s growth.

Preventative measures, which include proper installation and maintenance of fire alarms, can help safeguard these business assets from damage and loss and save you the cost of repairs and replacements.

Well-maintained fire alarm systems help with your business’s image and reputation as well, as they show that you are responsible and care for your employees and customers.

It is also worth mentioning that maintaining and servicing your fire alarms can help prevent false alarms. They not only cause disruptions during work and loss of productivity but also result in unnecessary call-out costs and waste of time and resources of the authorities.

There is also the risk of desensitising the employees to the sound of the fire alarms, which could prove extremely dangerous down the line.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD A FIRE ALARM BE MAINTAINED?

The efficiency and reliability of a fire alarm system isn’t just a legal matter but could also be the difference between life and death, and the best way to make sure it works in peak condition is to have it regularly maintained.

Fire alarm maintenance is divided into two types of inspections: one made by the users themselves (the responsible person for fire safety) and the other made by a competent individual (fire alarm service engineer).

Weekly checks by the user

Weekly checks by the user are done to make sure that all the devices and components of the fire alarm system are working properly.

They are carried out to check for any issues with the signals being received by the control panel and that everyone on the premises is within audible reach of the alarm.

If there are any manual call points installed on the premises, they will be tested weekly on a rotating basis until all of them have been tested, and then the cycle will start again.

These tests are usually conducted on the same day every week so that everyone gets familiar with the procedure and is able to differentiate between a test alarm and an actual alarm.

If a fault is found during these weekly inspections, it is logged in and immediately rectified before it becomes a serious issue.

Bi-annual checks by the service engineer

According to BS 5839, all detectors, call points, control panels, circuits, and other components must be tested every six months by a competent individual, aka. a service engineer with specialist knowledge.

The duration between these tests isn’t set in stone and can vary depending on the size and complexity of the fire alarm system, along with the level of fire risk.

A fire risk assessment will give a better idea of the frequency of these tests, with bigger and higher-risk properties going for these tests every three months instead of six.

Every smoke detector and call point must be checked once a year; therefore, if the inspections are conducted twice a year, half of the devices must be checked on each visit.

During these checks, the competent person will follow a fire alarm maintenance checklist and go through your logbook to see all the reported incidents, conduct a visual assessment of the system for any obvious signs of damage, and inspect the system and its components in detail.

In between these tests, if you feel like your fire alarm system is showing signs of damage, you shouldn’t wait for the scheduled servicing and have a professional service engineer look it up ASAP so that any issues can be fixed before they affect the reliability and efficiency of the system.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN FIRE ALARM MAINTENANCE?

Fire alarm maintenance is done to check three main areas of the fire alarm system: the condition, the sound, and the connection.

In order to do so, the services engineer will inspect the overall condition of the system, make sure it makes an audible sound when triggered, and is linked and connected to the control panel (and Alarm Receiving Centre, if applicable).

The best way to ensure that all aspects of fire alarm maintenance are covered is to create a fire alarm maintenance checklist. It helps outline all the components of the fire safety system and how they must be inspected on a weekly or monthly basis.

A fire alarm maintenance checklist includes the following:

Control panels: to make sure that the visual display on the control panel is working and lit up.
Devices: to make sure that all the devices, such as the fire detectors, connected to the system are not damaged and haven’t been placed near obstructions that can inhibit their ability to detect fire.
Call points: to make sure all the manual call points are working properly and that all the occupants of the building are familiar with the sound of the alarm and are in audible distance. It is best to conduct them weekly and during work hours, and to rotate between different call points every week.
Break glass: to make sure all the break glass call points are easily accessible and not blocked behind something. Every second counts in a fire emergency and even a slight delay could be the difference between life and death.
Voice alarms: to make sure that the voice alarms, if any, are working as they should. They should be tested weekly and the Alarm Receiving Centre must be notified beforehand to avoid any unwanted alarm call-outs.
Batteries: to make sure that the fire alarm system always has power and can work without fail. Always check both the primary power supply as well as the backup batteries.
Building works: to make sure any structural changes to the building or adjacent ones do not affect the effectiveness of the fire alarm system.
Reporting: last but not the least, it is very important to have proof of the maintenance check being carried out by a competent individual. The best way to do so is through proper reporting. Make sure you have the right date and time, and that all the findings are accurately recorded in the logbook.

WHAT IS A FIRE ALARM MAINTENANCE REPORT?

As mentioned above, a fire alarm maintenance report is a detailed document that includes information about all the tests and inspections that have been conducted by the competent person to serve as evidence of legal compliance.

Reporting is an essential part of fire alarm maintenance and the logbook must be kept up-to-date. In addition to the tests and inspections, the following must be documented as well:

The date, time, duration, and cause of each fire alarm trigger,
Any faults found and action taken to rectify them,
The date and time of any disconnections,
The date and time any alterations were made, and
Any evacuation drills conducted using the fire alarm system.

Following the maintenance visit by the service engineer, you should receive a detailed report of the inspection being carried out. You will also be advised about whether the rectifications are simply a recommendation or due to non-compliance.

Any work that forms a non-compliance issue must then be completed straight away to ensure that the fire alarm protects you, your property, and everyone in case a fire breaks out.

A fire alarm maintenance report can be very useful for record-keeping and also for adhering to insurance claims and safety regulations.

When meeting insurance requirements, you need to provide proof that you took all the necessary precautions and did everything in your power to prevent the damage/loss from happening.

This includes installing and maintaining a fire alarm system that can be relied upon in times of need. If a fire occurs and the insurance company finds that your fire alarm was faulty and did not undergo regular inspections, they will refuse to pay for any fire damage.

Without the correct reporting and documentation, you will have no proof of the inspections and maintenance, which will leave your business open to negligence in case of an emergency.

Therefore, every time you have a fire alarm system installed or serviced by a professional, make sure you have the required documentation and reports for it.

WHO CAN MAKE A FIRE ALARM MAINTENANCE REPORT?

Fire alarm servicing done by a skilled professional is extremely important as it allows you to safely rectify any issues with the system and helps you stay in line with fire safety regulations.

For professional installation and maintenance, along with a fire alarm maintenance report in the end, you need to hire a competent individual who is familiar with the model of the fire alarm, is able to identify the grade and category of the system, and has a good understanding of the British Standards BS 5839.

Keeping this in mind, it is recommended that you work with someone who is a fire safety expert and has the skill and expertise to maintain your fire alarm system to the highest standards.

CONTACT CALDER SECURITY

At Calder Security, we offer you a comprehensive solution for all your fire safety needs that include professional installation, maintenance, monitoring, and repair.

We understand that every property is different and the specification of the system depends on several factors including the type and size of the building, the number of occupants, and how high risk it is.

We can help you cut through all that and advise you on the best fire detection system for your building that complies with British Standards, HSE, Building Regulations, and Fire Officer Guidelines, in addition to meeting the requirements of business insurance.

We also understand fire regulations and provide professional maintenance checks and reminders for when the checks are due to help you stay compliant with the law. We work fast to restore your fire alarm system to excellent condition and always strive to meet your expectations.

We offer various levels of monitoring via a 24-hour monitoring centre using Dualcom and BT Redcare signalling, which is the most secure alarm monitoring system and the largest supplier of intelligent alarm signalling services in the UK.

If your system starts to malfunction, you can rely on our highly skilled engineers to restore your system to full working order in one visit. We offer a 24-hour call-out service for customers and can also repair fire alarms not installed by us thanks to our extensive knowledge and experience.

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