Fire Alarms and Legislation
If you are an employer of 5 or more employees, you are legally obliged to have a written Risk Assessment and plan in place for your business. If your building has a fire alarm system it needs to be checked by either the Employer (and/or the building management/occupants) on a regular basis.
According to BS5389 pt. 1 (2013), weekly and monthly testing should be carried out by the user including:
- All indicators show (using resetting instructions provided by the panel)
- Check internal sounder operate
- Operate a manual call point to check the system
- Check all sounders are operational
- Rest the fire alarm panel
- Use a rotation system that ensures all call points are tested over a long time period
- Test at the same time each week
- Additional tests to be made at least once a month so that employees that may not always be on the premises are familiar with the sound of the alarm
- Test should not normally exceed one minute so that a distinction is made between testing and when the fire alarm may actually go off
- Log results of tests in to log book
A periodic inspection of the system should also take place, so that multiple tests can be carried out to ensure the system is still compliant and in good working order. T&M Electrical Services engineers are trained in these aspects and can carry out the tests to the standard required.
Annual testing is also a requirement to make sure all detectors and call points are fully operational.
Other inspections include:
- Cleaning smoke detectors (this requires special equipment)
- Battery replacement (this should be carried out as and when required, but no longer than 4 years)
- It’s always advisable to contact your local Fire Prevention Officer as some national and local legislation varies
Periodic and yearly inspections should be carried out by a competent, certified person or company, who have obtained 3rd party certification and training in this discipline.
For more information on how we can help you with your testing rotation and requirements, please call 01689 452002 and a member of the team will be happy to help.
Useful links: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) – BS5839 pt. 1 (2013)