Change to Fire Alarm Standards: Are You Affected?

For those of us involved in fire risk assessments there are certain documents we lean on whenever support is needed.

And there’s certainly been an erosion of some old favourites over the years, with the alternatives put in their place often more difficult to interpret. For example, how often does it state in the Communities and Local Government Fire Risk Assessment Guides that “if in doubt, consult a competent person”?

Click here to view Figure 1.

One document that’s a reliable source of guidance (and which doesn’t tell you to go and consult your navel!) is BS 5839-1, now titled, Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises.

In addition, of course, to being handy for risk assessors, it’s also invaluable to fire alarm engineers in particular, as well as enforcing authorities, architects, etc.

BS 5839-1:2013 – what’s changed?

A new version was issued this year, though blink and you’d have missed it. Why? There wasn’t much of a fanfare because the changes are regarded as relatively minor.

The revision reflects the findings of fatal fire investigations including the one for the Rosepark Care Home Fatal Accident Inquiry. There are also a few changes prompted by new research and developments in technology.

BS 5839-1:2013 supersedes BS 5839-1:2002+A2:2008, which is withdrawn. So if it’s one of your ready reference sources you may need to invest in an updated copy.

The details

BS 5839-01 is the standard to be adopted for any new or upgraded fire detection and fire alarm systems to be installed in non-domestic premises.

In respect of the management and maintenance of existing systems, the standard represents best-practice and should be applied as soon as possible.

It covers the full range of systems from those comprising only one or two manual call points and sounders through to complex networked systems incorporating automatic detection, call points, sounders, control panels, etc.

For those of you contemplating whether the price of GB pound 264 (for non BSi members) to purchase a copy is worthwhile, here’s a quick rundown of the amendments:

• • The main change to the title is the inclusion of the words, “non-domestic premises”. (There’s a separate standard for domestic premises, BS5839-6, which is also expected to be updated very shortly.)

• • Following Rosepark there are a number of changes to improve fire safety in care homes. For example, there’s unambiguous advice that fire alarm systems for residential care homes should always be linked to an alarm receiving centre, as one of the measures to avoid delays in contacting the fire brigade. Other recommendations concern the need to provide accurate and unambiguous information to staff about the location of a fire (Clause 4).

• • Also arising out of Rosepark is the concern that zone plans need to match up with fire location information provided by the alarm panel. In response, there are new recommendations about the presentation and contents of the plan — relevant to all types of premises, not only care homes.

• • Where a designer or installer varies the design away from the standard, there’s a reminder to ensure that such variations are agreed and documented, including notes within the system log book.

• • Other additions are made on the topics of the automatic transmission of fire alarm signals and on visual alarm devices, the latter including a whole new annex F.

• • And there are corrections such as to the width covered by optical beam detectors and the removal of the term “responsible person”, which was being used in a context not consistent with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

• Finally, taking the pressure off of alarm servicing engineers, the standard now highlights that routine servicing of a fire detection and fire alarm system does not constitute a fresh review of system design, so that non-compliance with this standard might not be identified during such servicing (Subclause 45.1).

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