A Complete Guide to Fire Alarm Maintenance
Commercial buildings, in particular, are deemed a higher risk and may require more fire alarm inspections per the Fire Risk Assessment.
What’s the Law Around Fire Alarm Maintenance?
Commercial fire alarm systems must be inspected by a qualified technician at least every six months. Quarterly inspections are recommended if you have a larger building or a complex fire safety system.The BS5839-1 is the recommended code of practice for fire safety in the UK, and by having a qualified technician undertake your fire alarm maintenance, you can ensure that yourbuilding complies with this.
Logbooks are also a valuable tool in your fire alarm maintenance arsenal. By recording your regular testing, inspections and maintenance, you can protect yourself from any repercussions should a fire break out in your building.
Testing Your Fire Alarm
Testing your alarm is the first step of fire alarm maintenance. Scheduling a weekly fire alarm system test should be carried out to ensure that the system is functioning correctly and will alert building occupants in the event of a fire.Testing of the system can be carried out by triggering a different manual callpoint on the fire system network each week.
Inspecting Your Fire Alarm System
Physically inspecting your fire alarm equipment as part of a fire alarm maintenance routine should be carried out just as regularly as testing the alarm system.
It is vital to check for:
- Any physical signs of wear and tear on call points, panels and detectors
- Loose connections or damaged wiring
- Damage to batteries
- Sensor blockages or any sensors that have shifted out of place
- Accessibility around the call points
Troubleshooting and Repairing Your Fire Alarm
If problems are found during the fire alarm maintenance routine, it is essential to troubleshoot and repair the issues as soon as possible.
Repair routines can consist of:
- Replacing batteries
- Rewiring
- Swapping out faulty components
- Adjusting and recalibrating system settings
As with your fire alarm maintenance, all repairs should be undertaken by a qualified fire safety professional.
Fire alarms are installed to save lives and/or protect property - if you don’t stay on top of your fire alarm maintenance and repair, then you can’t rely on them to protect you in the event of a fire.
At Johnson Controls, we understand that your commercial building may have complex needs when it comes to fire detection. That’s why we offer a range of fire detection solutions that will keep your building and occupants safe - take a look and get in touch with us using the form below.
Johnson Controls offer a wide range of Fire Detection Solutions
Fire Alarm Panels
Explore our range of capacities and features to find the right fit for your application.
Notification Solutions
Take fire safety in a new direction with game-changing addressable notification technology, compatible with our range of alarms and smoke detectors.
Fire Detectors
Smoke and heat detectors; deploy stable technology with quick responses and less frequent nuisance disruptions.
Reach out to us to talk to one of our Fire Detection specialists
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