A guide to fire safety equipment maintenance

Fire safety is paramount for any commercial building. There are a number of ways in which building managers must ensure their premises comply to current fire safety regulations, including maintaining their fire safety equipment. Fires can break out unexpectedly at any time, so it is important that your building has everything it needs to keep inhabitants as safe as possible. We’ll discuss all the necessary checks that must be carried out to keep your equipment in full working order and how investing in a top-quality fire safety service can help you stay on top of your fire safety equipment maintenance.

What Is Fire Safety Equipment?

Every commercial or office building must have the necessary amount of fire safety equipment to ensure the safety of the building users in the event of a fire. Not only must your building be constructed with materials that adhere to current UK building regulations, but it must also be equipped with the appropriate fire safety equipment based on its size and usage.

Fire safety equipment refers to the essential items your building needs that aren’t a part of the building’s structure, like internal fire doors and fire exits. Instead, they include:

●       Fire alarms including smoke detectors

●       Fire extinguishers

●       Fire blankets

●       Fire compartments

●       Fire exit signs

●       Emergency lighting

●       Sprinkler systems

Because most of this equipment is lifesaving, it must remain well maintained to ensure it works properly, as any faults could harm people’s safety and potentially cost lives.

Why Is Fire Safety Equipment So Important?

Fire safety equipment is essential for detecting and preventing the spread of fire. If a fire breaks out in your building, people need to be alerted by an alarm, know where the emergency exits are located clearly, and how to get there with a clearly defined direction and sufficient lighting. There also needs to be sufficient equipment on hand to attempt to extinguish the fire before it becomes unmanageable, and it is essential that this equipment is working properly. Safety and time are of paramount importance in the event of a fire, so your fire safety equipment must be easily seen, accessible and operating effectively at any given time.

Fire Safety Equipment & Its Uses

All the fire safety equipment listed has specific uses that are essential for giving you and the people in your building the best opportunity to manage a fire before it can spread and cause serious harm to health or damage to your building structure. Here are the essential roles each piece of fire safety equipment plays in your building:

Smoke detectors

Detecting a fire at the earliest stages is essential for tackling the blaze, giving you the best chance of extinguishing it before it causes significant damage to your building’s structure. Smoke detectors are a vital component of fire safety equipment. You can install fire detection systems that will automatically call the fire services so they can be on hand as soon as possible.

Fire extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are essential for tackling small fires before they get out of hand. Every building must have fire extinguishers permanently positioned in various locations within the building so they can be easily accessed should they need to be used. There are various fire extinguishers, each suited to different fires, including electrical fires, cooking fires, open fires and fires caused by flammable liquids.

Fire blankets

A fire blanket can be used to smother small fires either on a person or over flammable liquids, for example, alcohol and cooking oils. They must be stored in their protective casing with a working pull tab to open the cover and access the blanket.

Fire alarms

Fire alarm systems are one of the most important aspects of fire safety equipment. They alert people to the outbreak of fire in the building, giving them plenty of time to walk calmly to the fire assembly point. Fire alarm systems must be tested weekly to ensure they are working properly.

Fire exit signs

In the case of a fire, people can become stressed and panicked as they fear for their safety. Having clear directions to the fire exits and fire assembly points on your premises.

Emergency lighting

If an electrical fault is the cause of a fire, it can affect your building’s lighting. It is essential that people can clearly and safely navigate their way to the nearest fire exit, which is where emergency lighting comes in. Emergency lighting can operate from a backup power source or battery, enabling them to still be visible.

Sprinkler systems

A great type of fire safety equipment useful for large commercial buildings, sprinkler systems extinguish fires quickly and effectively. They require minimum human intervention, unlike fire extinguishers or blankets. They act as one of the most effective ways of extinguishing fires quickly before there is a chance for them to spread.

Fire Safety Equipment Maintenance

It is no mystery that fire safety equipment is imperative to your building’s health and safety. According to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, equipment maintenance is “necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons” and all fire safety equipment must be “subject to a system of maintenance and maintained [...] in efficient working order and in good repair”. A responsible person, typically a building manager, is assigned to monitor and ensure that regular maintenance is carried out on all fire safety equipment in the building.

How Often Should Fire Safety Equipment Be Tested?

Each component of your fire safety equipment must undergo testing, but the frequency of the testing varies depending on the type of equipment:

●       Fire alarms - weekly

●       Emergency lighting - monthly

●       Fire extinguishers - annually

What more, we can also provide staff participation training of your fire safety equipment so all staff members fully understand its importance. This can be a bespoke training session or inclusive within our Fire Marshall training.

You don’t have to worry about carrying out these fire safety equipment checks yourself, as they can be time consuming and eat into your day-to-day tasks. This is where investing in a high-quality facilities management service can benefit you. Here at SWL Services, we provide a range of property maintenance services to help you keep your building safe and compliant with current building and fire safety regulations. If you are interested in how we can help you monitor and test the fire safety equipment in your building, you can get in touch with a member of our team. Similarly, if want to see how your premises can benefit from a facilities manager, you can book a site survey today.