A huge amount of companies today are failing to deal with incidents like fire breakouts at their sites. They are also turning a deaf ear to the constant pleas to enhance fire safety and surrounding areas with studies conducted by JLA, stating that only 20% of UK businesses test their fire alarm detectors once a year.
This prompts one to ask how frequently fire alarm detectors and surrounding offices should be checked. This blog post provides a cue on how regularly to schedule alarm testing and who you should rely on for conducting such a vital job.
Maintenance of Fire Alarm Detectors: What’s the Recommended Timeline?
According to the British Standard BS 5839, fire alarms must be tested once a week. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 further encourages the complete service of fire safety systems every six months. As long as you fulfil these requirements, stay assured that you are doing everything in your capacity to maintain commercial fire safety systems.
In this regard, a lot of queries crop up, and we at IQ Fire Solutions have addressed the key questions to deepen your knowledge. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
How can Testing Frequency be Determined?
The best way to find out is by gauging your premise size. It’s crucial, as one must ensure every outstation of a business is tested regularly. This may entail adding your alarms to a rotational system.
How many Times should Fire Alarm Call Points be Tested?
According to BS 5839, fire detectors should be tested using a different weekly call point. The best part is these weekly checks can be conducted during regular working hours as they no longer take more than a minute to complete. Moreover, this practice conveys to building occupants that it’s just testing and not legitimate alerts. Every time it’s done, it’s crucial to log the results of the tests by taking the log from the installation team.
How Regularly should Smoke Detectors be Checked?
Every year, around 90 people lose their lives owing to the issues witnessed in smoke alarm batteries. The only way to overcome it is through the conduct of weekly checks and regular reviews.
Inspection of Fire Alarm Detectors: Whom to Hire?
Fire alarm inspections must always be conducted by a responsible person. At least, that is what BS 5839 recommends. Before you think of getting the job done by anyone, take a look at what the BAFE Fire Safety Register has to say: Only a competent person with specialist knowledge of fire alarm detectors and systems should supervise the periodic inspection and servicing. Why so? The individual is knowledgeable in determining the causes of false alarms, has ample access to spares, and is informed about alarm systems.
While it’s easy to seek help from in-house employees to conduct the fire alarm monitoring, it’s never recommended. Instead, it’s best to hire professional fire alarm services and the leading organisation in this field is IQ Fire Solutions.
The professional engineers working under us are competent and trained to lower the risks of fire breakouts within commercial premises. We have operated in this industry for two decades and are BAFE accredited. Our BS EN54 compliance ensures only the highest standards. Seeking our solutions can restore everyone’s peace of mind and improve the effectiveness of the fire department.
