Fire alarm testing, servicing and maintenance: what’s required and who does it

Under BS 5839-1, the standard covering fire detection and alarm systems in non-domestic premises, someone on site is expected to test one manual call point a week, using a different call point each time so that every one on the premises gets checked in rotation over the year. This does not require an engineer or any formal qualification, just someone who knows how to operate the panel and reset it afterwards, and who records the date, the call point tested and the result in the system log book. It is a check that the panel and sounders are still responding, not a substitute for a proper inspection, and it is one of the first things an engineer looks at when they arrive for a service.

Buildings often assume their arrangements are fine simply because nobody has raised a problem. A few signs suggest otherwise. There is no log book, or the weekly entries stop and start with gaps. Service visits happen at longer than six-month intervals, or nobody can say with confidence when the last one was. No written report follows a service visit, so there is nothing to show what was actually tested. The person doing the weekly test has never been shown how to reset the panel after a fault. An engineer’s visit consists of silencing the panel and leaving, rather than testing devices and batteries individually. Any one of these on its own is worth a closer look, and more than one usually means the system has not been getting what BS 5839-1 expects.

A service visit needs access to every area the system covers, including locked stores, plant rooms and roof spaces where detectors or sounders are sited, so it helps to arrange that access in advance rather than on the day. How long it takes depends on the size of the building and the number of devices, from under an hour for a small office to most of a working day for a larger or more complex site. Sounders will be tested, which means audible alarms during the visit, so it is worth telling occupants beforehand if that would cause concern. At the end, you should be left with a written report setting out what was tested, what was found, and anything that needs following up, which becomes part of the building’s fire safety record.

Whether you want to check your current testing and servicing arrangements are adequate, or need a system with an unclear history brought onto a proper schedule, get in touch through our contact form and tell us about your building. For the wider picture of how detection and alarm systems are designed and specified, see our fire alarm systems page.