Maintain fire safety equipment

Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to keep premises and the fire safety equipment in them under a suitable system of maintenance, in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Article 38 applies the same standard to facilities for firefighters.

What you must maintain

You must maintain every item of fire safety equipment you provide: fire detection and alarm systems, extinguishers and other firefighting equipment, emergency lighting, signs, fire exits and fire doors. If you share a building, you can make maintenance arrangements with the other occupiers, and they must co-operate.

The Order sets no testing intervals. Government guidance gives examples of daily to annual checks and says they are not prescriptive, so your fire risk assessment decides what your premises need. You can nominate staff to run the checks and contract specialists to service equipment, but the duty stays with you as the responsible person.

Follow a maintenance schedule

Remove any bolts, padlocks or security devices from fire exits before people arrive, and put defects right as quickly as possible.

Fire alarms

Name a person to supervise the system, with the authority and training to manage its routine testing. The control equipment should be checked at least every 24 hours for faults. If your system is monitored from a central station, arrange the test with the station first so it does not cause a false alarm.

For the weekly test, operate a manual call point with its test key and use a different one each week. Test at the same time each week, and add extra tests where people work outside normal hours so they hear the alarm. Six-monthly servicing is normally done under a contract with a specialist fire alarm company. Record every test, false alarm and maintenance visit.

Fire extinguishers

Extinguishers need periodic inspection, maintenance and testing. In normal conditions a monthly check is enough, but check more often where vandalism or the environment make it likely that they will be damaged or moved. A competent person should maintain them every year. Older extinguishers painted in a single colour remain acceptable until they are no longer serviceable, but avoid mixing old and new styles on one floor.

Emergency lighting

Fire doors and escape routes

Check monthly that fire doors close correctly and that their frames and seals are intact. Do not allow them to be wedged open, which defeats their purpose. Check escape routes every day.

Risers, hose reels and sprinklers

If you have firefighting facilities such as rising mains, hose reels or sprinklers, a competent person should maintain and test them. Hose reels need regular visual checks for leaks and damage and a more formal check at least once a year. Government guidance recommends no set interval for rising mains and suggests an annual service as a prudent minimum. Guidance on maintaining sprinklers is in BS EN 12845 and the Loss Prevention Council rules, and a competent person should do the work. On-site staff can carry out routine checks of pressure gauges, alarms and water supplies.

Keep records

Keep a log book in a set place on the premises, such as the management office. It should record:

• checks of escape routes, including final exit locking mechanisms
• fire alarm tests, false alarms and maintenance by a competent person
• tests and maintenance of emergency lighting
• tests and maintenance of extinguishers, hose reels, fire blankets and any suppression or smoke control systems
• fire drills and training

Records help you show a fire and rescue authority that you comply, and they show whether faults keep coming back.

What happens if maintenance fails