According to Government figures, the UK’s fire and rescue services attended nearly a quarter of a million false alarm incidents in the last two years; most caused by faulty fire system apparatus. Yet, keeping thorough records of testing and maintenance of a property’s fire-safety system has been a legal obligation for domestic premises and houses with multiple occupants in England and Wales since the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 (RRFSO) was introduced.
In response, Hochiki Europe, a manufacturer of life-safety products, has launched a fire system logbook. The new logbooks will provide guidance in line with the UK’s most recent legislation to help those responsible for the upkeep of fire safety systems to record false alarms, as well as required maintenance and testing processes, ensuring compliance. The RRFSO is supported by BS 5839, a code of practice published by the British Standards Institute which recommends any owner of a fire detection system records all system events in a suitable logbook.
The logbooks let you monitor system activity, abide by UK legislation, and have their records to hand in the case of a health and safety audit. The A4 logbooks contain 36 pages of fire-system related forms and checklists in which users can record false alarms; tests and maintenance work; panel access codes and battery capacity.
The logbooks also provide written guidance for users around their responsibilities when facing false alarms, changes to the building, routine system attention, pre-alarms, and recommendations on how to properly investigate fire safety systems.
Paul Adams, Deputy Marketing Manager at Hochiki Europe said: “Understanding the history of a fire-safety system and recognising patterns in its activity can be a crucial element in preventing fire-incidents. As shown by the BS 5839 code of practice, logbooks play an important role in fire safety and are required by law. By giving our customers the option to buy logbooks directly from us at the same time as their system components, they can save time and ensure that they are following the most up-to-date compliance practices.” Visit www.hochikieurope.com.
