Fire Alarm Maintenance will protect your property and staff

Your fire protection system needs to be fully effective 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Anything less can seriously put your business and, as a consequence, your livelihood at risk. Added to that it can put the lives of your staff at risk and as an employer there are key obligations that must be covered.

According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, there are still more than 1,200 false call outs per day, every day.

Apart from the economic costs involved, these unwanted for alarms can prejudice the safety of employees, who may not react correctly when the system responds to a real fire if they have experienced a number of false alarms.

All fire alarm and detection systems should be maintained by a competent person or company, as stated in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

A professional service and maintenance agreement will maintain your systems’ performance and ensure your fire alarm and detection systems work when most needed - in the event of a fire.

Without stating the obvious, the purpose of your fire alarm maintenance is to safeguard life and prevent injury to persons on or within the premises for which you are responsible. This is best achieved by alerting staff and visitors of an emergency situation and providing a means to escape.

An effective fire alarm system and regular maintenance will ensure that your insurance policies are not compromised. Your insurers will judge any claim made on the basis of a proper and working system being in place and that it was working correctly at the time. They will know the legislation and standards relating to fire systems and failure to comply may weaken your right to claim.

British Standards recommend that the number of service visits per annum should be based upon a risk assessment and should be a minimum of twice a year. This should be increased to more frequent visits if your site is classed as a high risk building, or where there is the possibility of vandalism to your fire system.

Your contractor will offer highly tailored solutions specifically designed for your company and your site. These will be based on a detailed site survey and are designed to meet current relevant British or European standards in line with insurance company requirements.

Their quotation enables you to fully appreciate the recommendations and the cost implications of any solution proposed. Importantly, it allows you to make an informed decision.

Service and maintenance agreement

A professional specialist service and maintenance agreement will:

• Reduce the risk of incidence and failure.
• Maintain the systems performance.
• Extend the overall life expectancy of the equipment.
• Reduce unwanted alarms and associated costs.

An essential part of your fire protection strategy is your Fire Alarm Maintenance Contract which needs to be in written form and updated regularly (at least annually).

Under your maintenance contract, your Automatic Fire Detection System, Emergency Lights and Fire Extinguishers will need to be checked periodically by a ‘competent’ person to ensure that their integrity is safeguarded.

Service and maintenance contract

Your alarm servicing maintenance contract should include:

• Check history of alarm system since last maintenance service.
• Visual inspection of all major alarm components including cabling and connections, where accessible, for signs of deterioration or damage.
• Check mains power supply including charging rates.
• Check battery power supply including charging rates.
• Check and walk test all detectors.
• Check satisfactory operation of manually operated devices e.g. panic buttons.
• Check and test all audible warning devices, sirens and speakers.
• Check and test remote signalling equipment (where appropriate).
• Make adjustments as necessary.
• Repair minor faults where necessary (additional costs may apply).
• Retrain the users on the use of the alarm system (if required).
• Log all test results.
• Return the alarm system to operational status

Your contractor should be experienced in offering servicing on an annual, six-monthly or quarterly basis from wherever your intruder or fire alarm solution was purchased.

The maintenance checks will ensure that your fire alarm is fully operational including full checks on the batteries and their replacement where necessary. Many false alarms are generated by battery failure.

Leading systems

We advise all customers to check whether their contactor is familiar with the leading alarm systems, for example, Ademco Galaxy and Accord XPC, DSC and Scantronic. Competency and experience with these branded systems will confirm the quality of the contactor.

An experienced contractor will be able to takeover 'out of contract' monitored alarms and maintenance of alarms.

Larger national alarm companies install systems initially on fixed-term contracts. When this period expires, your contractor may offer an alternative option other than returning to the original supplier. This may could you attractive options and contracts more cost-effective in the long term.

There will be occasions when a property is purchased and in those circumstances your contractor should be able to take-over the system, on an annual maintenance basis, and re-instate monitoring.

For more information on fire alarms and fire alarm maintenance, contact Mace on 01283 511 726 –  www.macefire.co.uk