Fire Alarm Testing

Is a Fire Alarm a Legal Requirement??

England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all have different legal requirements for fire alarms. Each country’s regulations detail differing levels of protection, but is a fire alarm a legal requirement? In short, the answer is yes:

  • In England and Wales, fire safety legislation falls under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005;

  • Scotland’s regulations fall under Part 3 of The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005;

  • Northern Ireland’s laws come under The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.

Anyone who controls a building, such as an employer, managing agent or building owner, or even a tenant, is a “responsible person” and must ensure adherence to the required fire safety regulations relevant to their premises.

A responsible person must ensure a suitable fire detection and warning system is in place, and that the system gets tested correctly and regularly.

How to Test a Fire Alarm

Fire alarm tests are necessary for two reasons. Firstly, it ensures the system is fully operational. And secondly, people in your building, such as employees, are familiar with how the fire alarm sounds.

Fire alarm systems can differ depending on the make and model, and the type of building they protect. But, the general procedure is as follows:

  • Inform all people in the building of an imminent fire alarm test;

  • Check the alarm control panel has a valid connection to the ARC (alarm receiving centre) and put it into ‘test’ mode;

  • Have a manual call point key on you, as you’ll need it to reset the system;

  • Activate a manual call point, wait for the alarm sounders, and use the key to reset it;

  • Go back to the alarm control panel, verify the manual call point location is correct, and then silence the alarm sounders;

  • Write down the results of your fire alarm test in your fire logbook;

  • Contact the ARC and confirm they’ve received your fire signal;

  • Reset the alarm control panel and take it out of test mode.

Why Weekly Tests are required?

The British Standard BS 5839 states that all fire alarm systems in commercial premises need to be tested weekly to ensure that there has not been any major failure and that the fire alarm system is in working order. This is important because it ensures that your fire alarm system is fully operational. Testing will allow you to identify any system faults and keep you compliant with Fire Alarm Regulations.

Your responsible person or person appointed by the responsible person can carry out your weekly fire alarm test, although if you look after a number of properties, you may prefer to ask your fire alarm company to do this for you.

In each weekly test, you should activate at least one fire alarm call-point and check that the alarm sounds and the panel receives the signal.

Weekly tests

  • Test a manual call point during working hours to check that the control panel and alarm sounders operate satisfactorily

  • Each week, a different manual call point should be tested

  • Voice alarm systems should be tested weekly in accordance with BS5839 Part 8.

If the system is connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) for calling the fire brigade, it is very important that the ARC is notified before testing commences and when it is complete.

Contact Us

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info@attentivefire.co.uk

02089310468

Unit 4,

297-303 Edgware Road,

NW9 6NB