Hotel Managers must have four services in place to comply with Fire Safety regulations.

As a Hotel General Manager or Fire Safety Manager of the premises, you will know that you are responsible for maintaining your fire alarm system within your premises in line with the standards. Fire Detection Alarm System should be scheduled to be serviced every 12 weeks by a competent person and tested daily and weekly by the users.

Should I have a contract in place?

An annual contract with a suitable company for the four services per year four and an agreed “engineer call out” arrangement for ad hoc repairs and checks should be in place. This contract can also have the detail of Alarm Monitoring Services, Fire Alarm Engineer response times out times, supply of parts KPIs, etc.

A competent person should carry out this service, someone sufficient with training, knowledge and experience, e.g. fire alarm engineer, to ensure that the fire detection alarm system service is by the standards. This ensures that occupants are alerted swiftly to any fire within the building and prevent the loss of lives. This check also reduces the risk of a false alarm alerting the local fire service.

All of these tests must be recorded in your fire alarm logbook to comply with the fire safety requirements and certificates the Fire Alarm engineer issued.

What to expect at an inspection by a competent person?

During your inspection with a fire alarm engineer, they will first contact your alarm monitoring centre to make them aware of the services that are carried out and to avoid making a false alarm being alerted to them. The engineer will conduct several tests to ensure that all aspects of the system are in good working order, including but not limited to the following:

• Service 25% of your system on each visit, working up to 100% over the four visits,
• Issues Certificates for each service,
• Check the logbook for records like false alarms,
• Smoke and heat detectors,
• Beam detectors,
• Fire Alarm Sounders,
• Manual Call Points
• Back up Batteries,
• Comms to the alarm monitoring centre,
• Door hold open devices,
• Voice sounders.

IMPORTANT TIP:

When the service is finished, the monitoring centre must be notified that the service is over and the system is live.

Related: Daily Fire Alarm Testing Template

What is the legislation for Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the UK?

Hotels within Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK need to follow the codes and regulations; some are listed below for ease of reference. This guidance ensures that companies follow laws to protect their staff and anyone within their premises.

• BSI 5839-1:2017 Standard | Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems for Buildings (niceic.com)
• Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety Section  – 1.4.14 Fire Detection and Alarm
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO),
• Fire Service Act 1981 & 2003
• Irish Standard 3218: Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings – System design, installation, commissioning, servicing and maintenance
• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

Should I understand how to operate my Fire Detection Alarm System?

The Hotel Manager shall ensure that users of the system are instructed in its proper use. Any occupants or staff concerned with first aid fire‑fighting shall be taught the correct interpretation of the indications and their relationship with the building layout. It shall be instructed and practised in the proper actions to be taken in the event of a fire. This is a service that the fire alarm company can provide.

Tips:

• Have your Fire Detection Alarm System every 12 weeks.
• Have a contract in place with a suitable Fire Detection Alarm System company.
• Have the company train you and your staff on the interpretation and operation of that system.
• Understand, carry out and record all tests that are the user’s responsibility.
• Record all weekly tests in the Logbook and any problems that arise so the engineer can review and possibly put a fix in place.
• Record all False Alarms so that the engineer can review them. It could be an issue with a device on the system.
• Record all faults on the system and note that you have escalated to your engineer.
• Ensure you have a manual call point test key – your engineer can supply it.
• Always have spare break glass, so you can replace it if one gets broken – your engineer can supply it.

Disclaimer: This document is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal / fire safety advice. Each premise should review its procedures individually or seek out the advice of a Fire Safety Professional.