You have fire alarms in your business premises, but are they adequate?
Businesses have a number of obligations when it comes to fire safety, and making sure your system is adequate for your requirements is imperative. This includes installing the right equipment, as well as ongoing testing and maintenance of this equipment.
Your Obligations for Fire Safety
Fire safety is one of the most important areas of health and safety for your business. You have a number of obligations, with the purpose of protecting life and property. This includes ensuring compliance with legal requirements.
If you operate a commercial premises - whether this be a shop, office or factory - the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 lists your legal obligations. The Fire Safety Order includes a number of requirements, one of which being the provision of ‘adequate’ fire safety measures. These measures include commercial fire detection and alarm systems, fire fighting equipment, emergency lighting and signage.
You may have a fire detection system in place, but it is important to make sure that it is adequate for your premises in order to be compliant with the Fire Safety Order.
Which Fire Alarm System Do You Need?
There are a number of commercial fire alarm and detection systems on the market, but which do you need to make sure your business is compliant with legislation?
The first step is to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment. This will identify potential fire hazards, evaluate the risks, and help you to decide which system you require.
When assessing your business premises, you will need to consider a number of factors:
1. Size of your business
If you have multiple levels to your premises, you will require at least one fire detector per floor.
2. Layout of your business
Is your premises open plan, or do you have multiple rooms? If you have a number of closed rooms, you will require a fire alarm in each space.
Also consider the size of your space. If you have a large business, you may want to install a public address system in order to give specific instructions in case of fire. If you have numerous buildings on your site, you may need to connect fire alarms to notify people in other buildings if there is a fire on site.
3. High-risk areas
If you have products on site which are highly flammable or produce a lot of smoke when they burn, you will need to ensure there is appropriate detection in those areas.
4. Noise
It is important to ensure that anyone on your business premises can hear the fire alarm in case of fire. If you operate a manufacturing site with noisy equipment or machinery, this is something to consider.
5. Monitoring
Do you operate a 24hr business, or will you need to monitor your fire alarm and detection system out-of-hours? Some fire detection systems will notify a list of identified contacts in case of fire outside of operational hours.
Types of Commercial Fire Alarm
There are two main types of fire alarm systems on the market; conventional and addressable. The difference between the two is how the system reports the fire location.
Conventional fire alarm systems divide your premises into zones. In the case of fire, the system will tell you which zone the fire has been detected in, without the exact location. The benefits of these systems are that they are cheaper, easier to install, and therefore ideal for small business locations such as restaurants or shops. However, this is a basic, entry-level system. Your risk assessment will be able to determine whether this kind of system is ‘adequate’ for your business to be compliant with regulations.
The alternative is an addressable fire alarm system. This system will advise the exact location of the fire, whether there is smoke, heat, or even a fault via a fire reporting panel. There are additional safety features of these systems, such as deactivating onsite lifts, or shutting down equipment. While these systems are the gold standard for fire safety, they are more expensive, and may well be more than you need to have an ‘adequate’ system in place.
The final consideration to make when looking at models of fire alarm and detection systems, is whether you purchase wired or wireless. Wired systems are cheaper and easier to maintain, but wireless are quicker to install.
Keeping Up With System Maintenance
Once you have the right equipment in place for your business, the work doesn't stop there. In order to keep meeting your fire safety obligations and remain legally compliant, you will need a regular system maintenance programme.
While UK fire alarm regulations state that your fire alarm system must be ‘adequately maintained’, it does not specify the frequency for this maintenance. However, the BS 5839 Fire Standard is more specific, recommending that businesses test fire alarm systems at least every 6 months. This is in addition to weekly, inhouse testing and drills, which you should keep records of for inspection if required.
Regular maintenance makes sure that your systems are working properly, but also prevents false alarms.
Wrapping Up
Having the right fire alarm and detection system in place is important for your business to ensure it is compliant with legal regulations, and ultimately to protect life in case of fire. Getting the right fire alarm and detection system in place is the first step, and having a regular testing and maintenance programme in place ensures you remain compliant, and a safe place for your team and the wider community.
Whatever the size of your business premises, we can design, install and maintain your fire alarm and detection systems to make sure they are the best for the job. Book a free risk assessment to discover what fire alarm detection system would suit your business. Contact us today.