Maintenance and Records

What maintenance do I need to do, and what records should I keep? 

If you have a fire alarm system, you will need to test it each week. Where you have red break glass call points, it is a good idea to use a different one to test your alarm system each week.

If you have emergency lighting you should test it once each month.

In fact, all fire safety provisions - including firefighting equipment, fire doors and your escape routes - should be regularly inspected and the checks recorded.

It is always good practice to record any maintenance, training and drills so that you have evidence to demonstrate your commitment to fire safety. An inspector will want to view your up to date records during a visit.

You can find more detail on maintenance and records that are relevant to your type of premises in Part 2, Section 7 of the free guide on risk assessment (gov.uk, opens in a new window).