Fire Sprinkler Maintenance is a vital component in ensuring that your property remains fire safe and compliant.
Having a Fire Sprinkler System installed is only the first step towards protecting your property and staff, customers or visitors. Once the system is installed, you must ensure it undergoes regular maintenance to ensure it remains in perfect working order.
Nobody wants a fire emergency to take place on site, but if something were to happen on your premises, then knowing your Fire Sprinkler System is properly maintained shall provide you with the peace of mind that you are properly protected.
Sprinkler Systems are proven to be incredibly effective, with the latest industry data finding that they are 99% effective at controlling or extinguishing fires, with a 94% operational reliability across all building types.
With Fire Sprinkler Maintenance having such an important role to play in the protection of a property, we have put together a list of important questions within this useful guide, to help business owners and site managers stay fire safe.
Table of Contents
Is Fire Sprinkler Maintenance a Legal Requirement?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety ) Order 2005 is the main piece of fire safety governance in England and Wales, dictating the legal requirements for fire safety. This legislation covers everything from Fire Risk Assessments to what physical fire safety measures are required.
As part of the legislation, there is a dedicated section on Maintenance which says the following;
the responsible person must ensure that…any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under this Order…are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
This means that yes, Fire Sprinkler Maintenance is a legal requirement. Failure to comply with the Fire Safety Order can result in legal and/or financial punishment. However, the cost of failing to ensure that your Fire Sprinkler System is maintained could be catastrophic. If the system does not work correctly in the event of a fire, it can lead to loss of life, devastating damage to your property and major disruption to business.
How Often Should Maintenance Take Place?
The schedule for Fire Sprinkler Maintenance is broken down into specific intervals with differing services required at different times.
The LPC Rules/BS EN 12845 is the industry standard for sprinklers and sets out the programme of maintenance which should take place.
Fire Sprinkler Maintenance should occur once a year to remain in line with industry standards and those of insurers. However, things like alarms should be tested weekly whilst the battery level should be checked monthly.
A full run down of the Fire Sprinkler Servicing and testing requirements is per the below:
| Weekly Testing | Alarms, Pump/Engine, Air Compressors if Installed, Check Isolating Valve Positions, Heating Systems/Frost Protection |
| Monthly Testing | Battery Level Checks, Water Storage Tank Security |
| Quarterly Servicing | Review of Hazard, Inspection of Pipework/Supports, Water Supply Flow Tests, Exercise Stop Valves, Test Flow Switches |
| Six Monthly Servicing | Alternate Pipe System – Change Over from Air to Water/Water to Air, Check Electrical Signal to Fire Brigade |
| Annual Servicing | Pump Service, Check Tank Ball Float Valves, Engine Service, Valve Service/Inspection |
| 3 Yearly Servicing | Inspect Tanks, All Valves & Non Return Valves, Inspection, Service and Overhaul as Necessary |
| Other Intervals | Tank Drain Down & Clean – 10 Years, Sprinkler Head Performance Testing to Suit Rules |
Above taken from BAFSA – Sprinkler System Maintenance to BS EN 12845
What Are Some Other Benefits Of Fire Sprinkler Maintenance?
As discussed previously, ensuring that your Fire Sprinkler System is regularly maintained means that the system will activate as designed when a fire occurs. This will reduce the spread of the fire, reducing the risk to life and damage to your property.
But there are some additional benefits which make Fire Sprinkler Maintenance even more important.
Firstly, a Sprinkler System which is regularly maintained to industry standards can have a very long life span, removing the cost of having a new system installed. If the system is not maintained however, the system can suffer a variety of issues and lead to unforeseen costs and issues.
Secondly, your insurer will more than likely require that your system has been serviced to validate your insurance. If your system is not regularly maintained, insurers may not cover you or if they do, and there is an incident on site, you may face expensive disputes and claims.
Who Should Undertake Fire Sprinkler Maintenance?
The duty of ensuring that Fire Sprinkler Maintenance takes place accordingly falls to the “Responsible Person” in charge of overseeing the premises.
In non-domestic properties, this is normally a Landlord, Building Owner, Facility Management Company or Business Owner.
However, this does not mean that this person must undertake the Fire Sprinkler Servicing themselves. They must instead ensure that work is done by an accredited Fire Sprinkler partner.
Your trusted Fire Sprinkler Maintenance partner must be third-party accredited, have proven relevant experience and offer emergency call-outs to guarantee that they can be there for you no matter when an incident occurs.
Do I Need To Keep A Record Of All Maintenance?
It should be clear by now that having your Sprinkler System maintained is incredibly important for a number of key reasons. But once the maintenance has taken place, you must ensure that you have a detailed written record and evidence trail to show what servicing has happened, when it happened, and by who.
This is important as insurers and regulatory bodies will demand proof that the system is being looked after, and a written record also means that should the Responsible Person change for some reason, the person taking over is clear about the history of the system.
An Overview of Our Fire Sprinkler Maintenance Advice
How Cannon Fire Can Help You
Cannon Fire provide comprehensive Fire Sprinkler Maintenance services across the entire UK.
We have a highly knowledgeable team who can lean upon decades of combined experience within in the sprinkler suppression industry. Across our business we also proudly possess all relevant industry accreditations, to give customers peace of mind that they are being protected by safe, compliant professionals.
We can provide you with a bespoke maintenance contract to ensure that we work to meet your needs. Our 24/7 emergency call out service means that if an issue occurs on your site, we can work quickly to get a trained engineer to you.
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