The Importance Of Fire Alarm Maintenance
Fire Alarm System Maintenance – What Business Owners Need to Know
Carrying out regular fire alarm system maintenance is a must for UK business owners. Not only will having perfectly functioning fire alarms help you to protect your premises and staff, it’s also a legal requirement. Read on to find out more about your obligations and how we can help you to meet them with our fire alarm system maintenance services.
Regular Fire Alarm Maintenance – Why Is It So Important for UK Businesses?
If a fire spreads through your building, not only could this result in costly damage and downtime, leading your profits to plummet, but there is also the risk of injury to any person’s within the building. Regularly testing your fire alarm system will help you to identify and fix any issues, so you can be sure that your alarms will work properly when required. Maintaining your alarm system will also mean that your company is less likely to be responsible for false alarms. Attending false alarms puts financial pressure on the fire service and means they could be unavailable when they’re really needed. For all of these reasons, fire alarm system maintenance is a vital element of any business.
According to UK law, business owners must ensure their companies comply with the relevant fire safety requirements and you could be prosecuted if you don’t. What’s more, failing to maintain your alarm system properly is likely to invalidate your insurance policy, so you won’t be covered in the event of a fire.
Maintaining Fire Alarms in Business Premises – What Do You Legally Need to Do?
The key piece of legislation that sets out the fire safety requirements for businesses in the UK is the Regulatory Reform Act (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Business owners, employers, facilities managers and anyone else considered to be a “responsible person” within a company are obliged to ensure that their firms act in accordance with the regulations.
Every UK business must have a fire detection system in place, although the most appropriate system type will depend on the size and nature of your company. If you have fire alarms, the law also states that you need to keep them in working order and carry out regular maintenance. As all fire alarm systems installed in businesses must be designed to BS 5839 specifications, the government recommends following the requirements of this British Standard when it comes to how frequently to test your system. BS 5839 states that fire alarms should be tested every week and fully serviced at least once every six months. However, large or high-risk businesses may find that carrying out a full service every three months is a more suitable option. Our fire alarm system maintenance service can tailor how we carry out our service to best fit your business, whilst simultaneously optimising safety.
Fire alarm system maintenance must be undertaken by a “competent person”. This means someone who is appropriately trained and who understands all aspects of fire safety and the relevant laws. Therefore, while business owners, employers or facilities managers will often carry out weekly tests themselves, they usually bring in experts to carry out full fire alarm system maintenance services.
Regular Fire Alarm Maintenance – How Can We Help?
We provide fire alarm and smoke detector maintenance services to businesses in Southern England and the Midlands, so you can ensure that your systems are well-maintained and that your company is complying with the law. Our qualified and experienced team members can also carry out fire risk assessments, maintain your fire extinguishers or even install a new alarm system for you. Whatever you require, our expert team will be able to help!
To learn more about our fire safety services and get a quote, just visit our contact page or call us on 01903 357000.