Maintenance and Testing of Fire Fighting Equipment
There is no mandatory schedule for maintenance and testing of fire fighting equipment, fire detection and alarms systems and other fire safety equipment. However, Regulation 6 states that it shall be carried out, by a suitably competent person in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and relevant British Standards. This may be achieved by the use of third party assurances from an accredited organisation.

It is advisable to keep records of all checking, testing and maintenance of all equipment and to ensure that this record is available for inspection if required. (See Also: record keeping)

Annex B provides a simple plan of good practice for maintaining and testing fire-fighting equipment and systems. There are other areas, where it is considered good working practice to carry out checks on a daily basis as follows:

  • All electrical systems are functioning normally.
  • All emergency lighting works
  • There are no hazards or obstructions on escape routes
  • All fire doors and fire exits can be opened quickly and easily
  • Fire doors open and close properly ensuring a proper seal
  • All fire extinguishers are in the correct location
  • All exit signs and equipment signs are in the correct position and can clearly be seen

Section Index