Does Fire Alarm System Have To Comply With Current British Standards

[Guest Bree]

Hello,

We have recently had a quote on a non working fire alarm system in our office. They have said they can get it working and fix the system however it won't be compliment to current British standards, can someone explain what this would mean? does it need to comply?

[Tom Sutton]

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 13 says where necessary a fire alarm is required and this is decided by you fire risk assessment. If a fire alarm is required then it has to be installed in accordance with the latest British Standard which is BS 5839 part 1 2013.

This is because if the proverbial hits the fan, the fire alarm is considered at fault and if it ends up in court your defence would be, you followed best practice, as the British Standards are considered best practice. Also in your case if the system cannot be repaired then its a fair assumption that the equipment is past its sell by date and needs replacing or if it is because you are concerned about being ripped off get other companies to check it out. 

[AnthonyB]

Plenty of existing systems don't meet the current British Standard - the acceptability of this is risk based dependant on your premises, usage & occupancy against the non compliance - every existing system didn't become illegal in 2013 and need upgrading.

It's important to know in what way it doesn't meet the BS as this affects how critical it is, find that out and post back.

[Tom Sutton]

Sorry Bree I misread your posting I thought the the fire alarm could not be repaired and a new one needed to be installed. In your case it can be repaired and most probably the fire alarm was installed to the BS that was current at the time of installation so there is no problem.