Your customers are becoming increasingly aware of the implications of the fire regulations and the need to provide evidence that their fire protection is fit for purpose and is installed and maintained by “competent persons”. The owner and/or occupier designated responsible person, must ensure that the regulations are complied with and that they risk prosecution if they fail to do this.
The responsible person must be able to provide evidence that their fire system is fit for purpose, being designed, installed, commissioned and maintained in accordance with the relevant British Standards and that any portable fire extinguishers are properly maintained.
The CFOA Policy
The Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) re-launched its Policy “The Reduction of False Fire Alarms & Unwanted Fire Signals” at the Fire & Rescue 2008 Conference in Liverpool on 28 August 2008. This tougher version replaces the previous policy document that was concerned only with remotely monitored alarms.
The Policy takes into account the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and the inconsistent approach from fire and rescue services to the previous version. The Policy now focuses on all fire detection and alarm systems instead of alarms only received through Alarm Receiving Centres.
CFOA state that the Policy is intended to provide “a framework for a partnership between the responsible person of the protected premises, the fire alarm service provider and the fire and rescue authority, to ensure that the obligations, responsibilities and actions of all the parties will be clear and well understood.
CFOA also endorses the use of UKAS accredited third party certificated companies for fire protection products and related services stating that “third party quality assurance can provide confidence, both as a means of satisfying you that the goods and services you have purchased are fit for purpose, and as a means of demonstrating that you have complied with the law”.
