Fire alarms are there to safe lives, and therefore, shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to regularly servicing them. The UK government and safety campaigns state that you are 9 to 11 times more likely to survive a house fire if you have a working fire alarm installed.
Why Regular Fire Alarm Servicing Is Important
Servicing fire alarms helps ensure that the system is working properly, it reduces the risk of faults, and most importantly, it alerts any occupants in the event of a fire. Not only that, but it is a legal requirement to have your fire alarm regularly serviced by a professional if you own a commercial property.
How Often Should Fire Alarms Be Serviced?
The British Fire Industry Association state that commercial properties must have their fire alarms regularly tested by a licensed professional at least every 6 months. They should also be tested in-house every week. It is important to understand that testing and servicing are different. Testing is your own team ensuring that the fire alarm is working. Servicing is done by a professional and checks the whole system such as batteries, detectors, call points, etc.
Higher risk properties such as hotels, hospitals, and care homes are recommended to be serviced every 3 months.
For houses, it is recommended that you test your fire alarm every month, replace the batteries annually, and completely replace the fire alarm every 10 years.
If you need your fire alarm servicing by a professional technician, then get in touch with us at Eden Fire & Security through this phone number: 0330 4000 409 or email: info@edenfireandsecurity.co.uk
Or check out some of our local fire alarm maintenance pages to find out more information:
What Happens If You Don’t Service Your Fire Alarm?
Not serving your fire alarm comes with a lot of risks such as:
- An increased chance of the system failing, putting lives at risk.
- More false alarms causing occupants to evacuate when there is no fire. Things such as dust and ageing sensors can trigger an unnecessary alarm.
- Insurance Issues- If it’s a commercial property, then your insurance price could shoot up or be terminated if the insurance company finds that you are not servicing your fire alarms according to UK fire alarm legislations.
- Risk of Non-Compliance with Fire Safety Regulations – If a business is found to not be complying with UK fire alarm regulations (i.e. maintaining a professional servicing every 6 months), then they could be hit with legal penalties and potentially operational closure.
