If you have booked a fire equipment service for the first time, it helps to know what the visit involves. It is mostly quiet, methodical work. Someone walks your premises, looks at each piece of equipment, tests what can be tested and writes down what they find.
The detail varies with the building. This is the general shape of a routine visit.
Before anyone arrives
A service person needs to know what is on site and where. If you have an earlier report or an equipment list, have it handy. If you don’t, the first visit usually includes building that list from scratch.
It also helps to sort out a few practical things:
- who will let the service person in and show them around
- whether any rooms are locked, alarmed or off limits at certain times
- which part of the day suits testing, so it causes the least disruption
The walk-through
A visit normally starts with a walk through the whole premises, including back rooms, storerooms, plant areas and the car park.
The service person is looking for each item on the list, and for anything that has changed since it was written, such as a new wall, racking that now hides a hose reel, or an exit that has quietly become a storeroom.
Checking each item
Each kind of equipment gets its own checks. In general terms:
- Extinguishers are checked to see that they are in place, easy to reach, undamaged, holding pressure and clearly signed.
- Fire blankets are checked for position, pouch and condition.
- Hose reels are looked over for leaks and damage, and to see that the hose runs out and winds back properly.
- Exit signs and emergency lights are tested to see that they stay lit when the mains power is cut.
- Smoke alarms are tested and looked over for age and condition.
Exactly what is tested, how, and how often is set by the standards and rules that apply to your building and its equipment. A service person should be able to tell you which checks they are doing and why.
Some tests are noticeable. Lights may run on battery for a while, an alarm test makes noise and a hose reel test puts water on the ground. Ask beforehand so nobody on site is surprised.
Tags and the written report
Each serviced item has its tag marked. The tag is only a marker. The written report is the real record, and a good one tells you:
- what equipment is on site and where it is
- what was in working order
- what needs repair or replacement, and why
- anything that could not be reached or tested
Read it, then file it where someone else could find it.
When something needs fixing
It is common for a visit to turn up something that needs attention, especially the first one. Some things can be fixed on the spot, such as a missing sign or an extinguisher that needs rehanging. Others need a part, a replacement unit or the building owner’s approval.
Ask for each defect to be explained in plain words, along with what the fix involves and what it will cost, before any work goes ahead. If a repair is the landlord’s responsibility and not yours, pass the report on promptly.
What stays with you
Between visits the equipment is in your hands. Keep it visible and reachable, and mention damage when you see it instead of waiting for the next service. An extinguisher that has been used, even briefly, needs attention before it goes back on the wall.
Fire Protection Association Australia is the industry body and a good source of general information on fire equipment servicing.
For routine servicing anywhere from the Central Coast to Newcastle, V&H Fire Group handles maintenance visits and the written report that follows. Byron is on 0483 371 134.
In an emergency, get out and call Triple Zero (000). This site is general information, not advice for your building. For what applies to your premises, talk to us on site.
