How often should a fire alarm be tested?

The whole schedule on one table

This page covers commercial systems designed to BS 5839-1. For the standard itself, see our guide to what BS 5839 is.

The weekly test, done properly

The point of the weekly test is not the bell. It is proving the chain works: call point to panel, panel to sounders and, if the system is monitored, the signal to the receiving centre. Use a different call point each week so every one gets exercised over time. The test key means no broken glass.

Warn occupants first, keep it to the same day and time each week so nobody treats a real alarm as the test, and if the system is monitored, either warn the receiving centre or use the agreed test procedure so nobody is dispatched. Then write it down: call point number, date and initials, in the fire log book. An unlogged test never happened, as far as an enforcement officer or an insurer is concerned. Our step-by-step guide to how to do a weekly fire alarm test walks through it.

What goes wrong on site

Most failures in testing are habits, not faults. These are the ones we see most.

• The same call point every week. It is easy to test the one by reception. Keep a list of every call point and work through it, so each gets used over the year.
• A test that is not logged. If it is not in the log book, it did not happen as far as an insurer or fire officer is concerned. Write the call point, date and initials.
• A silent panel. Staff mute the sounders to avoid disturbing people, and nobody puts them back. Check the panel is in normal state when you finish.
• A monitored system tested without warning the centre. If the alarm is monitored, tell the receiving centre first or use the agreed test procedure. Otherwise the fire service can be called.
• A fault left showing. A fault light is not a reason to stop testing. Record it, and ring your engineer.
• No one in charge. The test belongs to a named person with a named deputy, so it does not stop when someone is on leave.

What the six-monthly service covers

A proper BS 5839-1 service is not a quick spray of test smoke. It checks the panel and its event log, so unexplained events are investigated and not just cleared. It tests the standby batteries under load, and functionally tests a rotating proportion of detectors and call points so the whole system is proven across the year. It verifies sounder levels, checks any cause-and-effect such as door releases, plant shutdowns and smoke vents, and ends with a certificate for the log book.

Two visits a year is not a sales invention. BS 5839-1 recommends the service interval does not exceed six months, so one annual visit leaves you outside the code's recommendation for half of every year. We service commercial fire alarm systems, and the price depends on the number of panels and devices and the type of building. Our fire alarm servicing and maintenance page explains how a service visit runs.

Who counts as competent?

The Fire Safety Order does not name a qualification. In practice a competent person is someone with the training, tools and test equipment to service to BS 5839-1 and the paperwork to prove it: engineer training records, calibrated equipment and proper certificates. Third-party certification schemes exist for fire alarm firms, with BAFE SP203-1 the best known, and some insurers ask for them by name. Check your policy wording, and ask any provider what they hold before they touch the panel.

What competent does not mean is the caretaker with the panel code, or an electrician who fits consumer units and will have a look. Fire alarm servicing is its own discipline, with device rotation schedules, battery load checks and cause-and-effect testing.

The legal position in plain terms

The Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to keep fire safety equipment in efficient working order and good repair. GOV.UK tells businesses to carry out regular checks that all fire alarm systems are working and to record any faults. Neither fixes an interval. BS 5839-1 does, and it is the standard fire officers, insurers and courts use to judge whether you did enough. That is why weekly and six-monthly are the figures to follow.

What to do when a test fails

If a call point does not sound the alarm, or a sounder stays silent, record it and ring your engineer the same day. Treat any part of the building that is not covered as unprotected until it is fixed, and tell the people who work there. Put the repair, the date and the engineer's name in the log book.

Why servicing on schedule cuts false alarms

There is a self-interested reason to service on time that has nothing to do with compliance. Dust-loaded detectors and tired batteries are common causes of nuisance activations, and nuisance activations teach occupants to ignore the alarm, which is the most dangerous habit a building can have. If your system has started going off for nothing, our guide to a fire alarm that keeps going off walks through the causes, and a service visit often finds them. For the cost of a new system, see commercial fire alarm system costs.

If you have a service plan with us, we send you a reminder before your next visit is due, and it is still worth keeping the date in your own fire log.

Sources

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 17: maintenance
• GOV.UK: fire safety equipment, drills and training in workplaces