CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskBS 5839-1 requires that fire detection and alarm systems in care homes are tested weekly, with results recorded. The test must include at least one call point per test, rotating through the building over time so all call points are tested at intervals.
BS 5839-1, the British Standard for fire detection and alarm systems in non-domestic premises, requires that the system is tested weekly by activating one manual call point, with the results recorded. Over successive weeks, a different call point should be used so that, over time, every call point on the premises is tested at reasonable intervals rather than the same one being triggered repeatedly.
The weekly test is a basic functional check that the panel receives a signal from a call point and the alarm sounds throughout the building as expected, giving early warning of a fault such as a disconnected zone or a panel fault before it becomes a serious problem. It is not a substitute for the more thorough periodic inspection and servicing carried out by a competent fire alarm engineer, which covers detector sensitivity, battery condition and panel diagnostics in depth.
Each weekly test entry should record the date and time, which call point was used, whether the alarm operated correctly throughout the building including any remote signalling to a monitoring station, and the name of the person carrying out the test. Any fault identified should be logged with the action taken and the date it was resolved, not simply noted and left open.
A fire alarm log with missing weeks, even where the system itself is known to be working, is treated by inspectors as evidence that the testing regime is not being managed properly. The log exists to demonstrate an ongoing, disciplined process of verification, and a gap breaks that chain of evidence regardless of the underlying technical condition of the system.
Fire alarm test logs should be retained for a minimum of several years and kept in a location accessible to both staff carrying out the test and any visiting fire alarm engineer or inspecting officer, typically alongside the fire alarm log book supplied at system commissioning. Digital logging systems are increasingly used and are acceptable provided entries are dated, attributable to a named individual, and cannot be retrospectively altered without a clear audit trail.
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