How often should a fire alarm be tested?

Testing a fire alarm is not one job but three. Each has a different frequency and a different person responsible. Here is how they fit together under BS 5839-1 for non-domestic systems and BS 5839-6 for homes.

Weekly: the user test

Once a week, someone on site should operate a manual call point and check that the panel receives the signal and the sounders operate. Use a different call point each week, working round the building in rotation, and record the test in the logbook.

• Pick the same day and time each week so occupants know it is a test.
• Keep the sounding time short, usually under a minute.
• Write down which call point you used and anything unusual.

If staff work shifts, test at different times now and then so night staff hear the alarm too.

Monthly: standby power and extras

If the building has a standby generator, it should be started and run on load each month. Some vented batteries need monthly checks. Emergency lighting, which is often serviced alongside the alarm, needs a monthly functional test as well.

Six-monthly: the engineer's service

A competent person should inspect and service the system at intervals of no more than six months. On each visit the engineer should:

• check the logbook for faults and false alarms since the last visit
• inspect and test the panel, its indicators and its power supplies
• test the batteries and charger
• test a proportion of the detectors, call points and sounders
• check that the building has not changed in a way that affects the system
• record what was done and any defects or variations.

Annually: every device tested

Over the course of each year, every detector, call point, sounder and visual alarm device should be functionally tested. On a six-monthly contract that usually means half the devices on each visit.

Homes and HMOs

Systems in homes and smaller HMOs follow BS 5839-6. Grade D alarms (mains-powered with a battery backup) should be tested by pressing the test button at least monthly. Grade A systems with a panel need a periodic service, normally every six months, similar to a commercial system.

A simple schedule

• Weekly: call point test by a member of staff, logged.
• Monthly: emergency lighting flick test, generator run if fitted.
• Six-monthly: engineer inspection and service.
• Annually: all devices tested across the year, emergency lighting full-duration test.

What if nobody knows when it was last serviced?

This is common when a building changes hands or a managing agent takes on a new block. Start with a one-off full test and condition survey. It tells you whether the system works today and what needs doing first, and it gives you a baseline for a maintenance contract.