Houses in Multiple Occupation fire safety guidance

Having identified the general fire precautions that are necessary and having implemented them, their effectiveness is only as good as the management and maintenance of them.

The responsible person (the licensee, landlord or managing agent) has a duty to ensure that the day to day management of fire safety in the property is undertaken and that essential routine maintenance and emergency repairs are properly carried out.

The level of management attention required will be determined as part of the fire risk assessment.

BS 5839: part 1, section 6 contains recommendations for regular, routine testing of AFD systems as follows:

Grade A systems

Routine testing - at least one detector or call point in each zone should be tested weekly to ensure correct operation of the system. Any defect should be recorded in the log book and action taken to correct it.

Routine maintenance - a six-monthly service is recommended, however the frequency of the testing will be recommended by the competent person, usually a specialist alarm engineer, under a maintenance contract. It entails a full test to ensure compliance as specified in with the latest edition of BS 5839: part 1, section 6. It should be recorded in a log book and a periodic inspection and test certificate issued.

Grade D systems

Routine testing - these systems should be tested every month by use of the test button on the smoke alarm.

Routine maintenance - all alarms should be cleaned periodically in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

All systems

It is recommended that all detectors should be tested at least once a year to ensure that they respond to smoke. Tests should not involve the use of open flame or any form of smoke or non-specific aerosol that could contaminate the detection chamber or the electronics of the detector. Suitable specific test aerosols are available. The test is usually carried out by a specialist alarm engineer under a maintenance contract and should be recorded in a log book, with a periodic inspection and test certificate issued.

Grade A systems are more specialist and resident testing will be inappropriate unless there is a trained individual in the property. Clear fault and false alarm reporting arrangements should be put in place, and the responsible person or his/her agent should respond to reports at the earliest opportunity.