Does fire alarm cabling need testing?

[Guest PaulLead]

Please can you advise how often fire alarm cabling should be tested?

[Tom Sutton]

To the best of my knowledge, cabling should be tested on installation or modification, but at the twelve monthly inspection a visual inspection should be made to confirm that all readily accessible cable fixings are secure and undamaged.

[green-foam]

The way modern fire alarm panels operate, if the cable is damaged or severed there will be indication of this at the main panel. Also after installation it is not uncommon for fire alarm cables to be hidden / become inaccessible / need access equipment to inspect them, so it is rarely done, but all the devices connected should be tested once in every twelve month period.

[Tom Sutton]

Green-foam tests after installation, as indicated in the BS, is principally, insulation impedance and earth continuity and earth fault loop impedance does this need access to the full length of the cable or just at the connections? As for the cable fixings it does say "all readily accessible cable fixings".

[murfdrew]

Hi,

I have a small office premises that has an office on the ground floor and an office upstairs. (Total area is 1100sq ft) We have 5 employees. We have an automated wired fire alarm system that is maintained annually and we test the alarm on a regular basis without problem. Our alarm company we have the contract with has just been taken over and surprisingly on the first annual inspection the new company has said that the wiring is no longer compliant with BS regulations and we now need a new system - Cost £4,200!!

is this correct or are they just trying to get new business from a naiive customer?

[green-foam]

Without knowing what wiring you actually have and its condition I would say its not possible to give a precise answer. I can only suggest you contact another fire alarm company and ask them to visit and give their opinion.

[Tom Sutton]

You say it is maintained annually but BS 5839 states the recommended time between inspections and servicing should not exceed more that 6 months so it should have a visit by the alarm company at least every six months. If it has been installed for some time then it is likely to have been installed to a previous version which may have not required fire resistant wiring which is now required. It is not normally necessary to upgrade the wiring, if it is in good condition, but if your fire risk assessment decides it needs replacing then the lastest version of BS 5839 should be used.