Landlord compliance

Commercial Fire Safety Check

Fire detection testing and certification for offices, shops and commercial premises.

From £65 (inc VAT) Certificate issued same day 12-month workmanship guarantee

Book this service 07426 409342

Starting from

£65inc VAT

up to 3 alarms · commercial premises

Audibility measured with a sound level meter, not assumed

Panel checked for the disabled zones that hide missing detection

False alarm root causes diagnosed, not just reset

Weekly test rotation set up so your staff routine is defensible

Book online

Overview

What is a Commercial Fire Check certificate?

Commercial fire detection testing covers the alarm and detection system in a workplace — call points, detectors, sounders and, where fitted, the control panel. We test devices, verify audibility across the premises, interrogate the panel for faults and disablements, and complete the log book entries that BS 5839-1 requires. Testing is available outside trading hours so a full alarm test never disrupts customers.

Why it matters

Why it's worth getting right

A commercial alarm system has to warn people who do not know the building, may be distracted, and in a retail or hospitality setting may initially assume the sound is something else. That places real weight on audibility and on staff knowing what to do — the two things most often untested. Panels are also routinely left with zones disabled after a false alarm and never re-enabled, which means part of the premises has no detection at all while the panel appears normal.

Testing duties in commercial premises

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that fire safety equipment is subject to a suitable system of maintenance and kept in efficient working order and good repair. BS 5839-1 sets out what that means for a fire detection and alarm system: a weekly test of at least one manual call point, rotating around the building so every call point is tested over time, with the results recorded in a log book; and a periodic inspection and test by a competent person at intervals not exceeding six months, covering a proportion of devices so that every device is tested at least annually. The log book must be available for inspection by the fire authority.

Regulations & standards

The rules this work is carried out to

Every inspection we do is measured against a published standard — here are the ones that apply to this service.

BS 5839-1

Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings

Weekly user test, six-monthly competent-person servicing, annual full device test.

RRO 2005

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Duty to maintain fire safety equipment in efficient working order.

BS 5839-1 §18

Audibility requirements

65 dB(A) generally, or 5 dB above ambient; 75 dB(A) at the bedhead where people sleep.

In detail

Understanding your Commercial Fire Check

The technical detail behind the certificate — what gets checked, what the results mean, and the decisions that actually affect your property.

Audibility — the requirement most premises fail

An alarm that cannot be heard is not an alarm. BS 5839-1 requires a minimum of 65 dB(A) in all accessible areas, or 5 dB above any background noise that persists for more than 30 seconds, whichever is greater. Where people sleep, the requirement rises to 75 dB(A) at the bedhead. In practice, premises fail this for predictable reasons: a noisy plant room or commercial kitchen where background noise exceeds the sounder output, a partitioned office where new walls have blocked sound paths, a toilet block or store room with the door closed, or simply a building extended without additional sounders. We take sound level readings in occupied areas rather than assuming a sounder that beeps is a sounder that works.

False alarms, disablements and the habit of ignoring the panel

Unwanted fire signals are the biggest practical problem in commercial fire detection. Frequent false alarms cause staff to assume every activation is spurious, which destroys the value of the system entirely, and they lead directly to the dangerous habit of disabling zones. We regularly attend premises where a zone was disabled after a false alarm months earlier and never re-enabled — leaving a whole area with no detection while the panel shows a quiet, apparently normal display. Our inspection always includes interrogating the panel for disablements and faults, and identifying the root cause of recurring false alarms, which is usually a detector of the wrong type sited too close to cooking, steam or dust.

Weekly testing — what your staff must actually do

The weekly test is a user responsibility, not something a contractor does for you, and it is straightforward: at roughly the same time each week, operate one manual call point using the test key, confirm the alarm sounds throughout the premises, reset the system, and record in the log book which call point was tested and the result. The important detail is rotation — a different call point each week, so that over time every device is proved. Testing the same convenient one by the front door every week for a year proves only that one call point works. We set up the rotation schedule and log book at the first visit so the routine is defensible.

Detector selection in commercial environments

Most false alarms are a design problem rather than a fault. Optical smoke detectors are highly susceptible to steam, aerosols and dust, so siting them near a kitchen door, a shower room, a loading bay or a workshop guarantees repeated unwanted signals. The right answer is usually a different technology: heat detectors in kitchens and plant rooms, multi-sensor detectors in areas with transient steam or fumes, and aspirating or beam detection in high or dusty spaces such as warehouses and atria. Where we find a system generating recurring false alarms, we identify the specific detectors responsible and recommend the appropriate type rather than simply resetting the panel and leaving.

Warning signs

Signs your commercial system needs attention

Any of these should trigger an inspection now, not at the next interval:

Fault, disablement or zone-isolated indications on the control panel

Recurring false alarms, especially from the same detector or zone

Any area where the alarm cannot be clearly heard — plant rooms, toilets, stores

Partitioning, fit-out or extension since the system was designed

No weekly test entries in the log book, or entries always naming the same call point

Detectors obscured, painted over, covered with bags, or removed

Panel batteries more than four years old

Staff who could not say what to do if the alarm sounded right now

The risks

The business risk

A neglected alarm system is one of the fastest routes to enforcement action:

!Enforcement and prohibition notices closing the premises

!Unlimited fines and custodial sentences for the responsible person

!Fire and business interruption claims declined for want of maintenance records

!Fire authority charges where repeated false alarms cause unnecessary attendance

!Staff conditioned to ignore the alarm through repeated false activations

!Disabled zones leaving whole areas undetected while the panel looks normal

!Licence conditions breached, risking refusal or revocation

The BS 5839-1 maintenance regime

There are three layers. Weekly, staff test one manual call point on a rotating basis and log it. Six-monthly, a competent person inspects and services the system, testing a proportion of devices, checking batteries and reviewing the log. Annually, across those visits, every device in the system must have been tested. Panel standby batteries typically need replacing every four years. Beyond the schedule, treat the log book as a live document kept on site — a fire officer will ask to see it in person, and 'our contractor holds the records' is not an answer that satisfies anyone. Investigate false alarms properly rather than resetting and moving on, because each one erodes the credibility of the system with your staff.

Why us

The benefits of booking your Commercial Fire Check with us

Accredited, transparent and built around making compliance easy.

Audibility measured with a sound level meter, not assumed

Panel checked for the disabled zones that hide missing detection

False alarm root causes diagnosed, not just reset

Weekly test rotation set up so your staff routine is defensible

Out-of-hours testing at no premium

Same-day certificate and completed log book

What's included

Everything covered in your Commercial Fire Check

One all-inclusive price — here is exactly what the engineer does on site and what you receive afterwards.

Control panel interrogation for faults, disablements and isolated zones

Manual call point and detector testing across the premises

Sound level readings to verify audibility against BS 5839-1

Panel standby battery condition checked

Root cause identified for any recurring false alarms

Log book completed and weekly test rotation set up

Out-of-hours attendance so full alarm tests never disrupt trading

Same-day certificate, fire-officer- and insurer-ready

Pricing

Simple, all-inclusive pricing

The price you see is the price you pay — VAT included, with no hidden call-out fees. Your final price depends on the size of your property; we'll confirm an exact, all-inclusive quote before we attend.

Commercial Fire Check from

£65inc VAT

up to 3 alarms · commercial premises

Get my exact price

All prices include VAT · 12-month workmanship guarantee

Commercial fire safety check pricing

Number of alarms	Price (inc VAT)
Up to 3 alarms	£65.00
3–5 alarms	£89.00
5–8 alarms	£125.00
8–12 alarms	£170.00

All prices include VAT and log book completion. Larger panel-based systems, addressable installations and multi-site portfolios are quoted individually — send us a device count and we will confirm the same day.

Prices are all-inclusive of VAT with no hidden call-out fees. Where they genuinely apply, parking (£5) and the London Congestion Charge (£18) are passed on at cost and always shown up front.

The process

How your appointment works

Simple, transparent and designed around you and your tenants.

Step 1

Interrogate the panel

Faults, disablements and isolated zones are identified before any testing begins — this is where hidden gaps show up.

Step 2

Test devices and call points

Detectors and manual call points are tested across the premises, with results recorded device by device.

Step 3

Measure audibility

Sound level readings are taken in occupied areas to verify the alarm meets BS 5839-1 levels everywhere it needs to.

Step 4

Log, certify and set the routine

The log book is completed, your weekly test rotation is set up, and the certificate is issued the same day.

FAQs

Commercial Fire Check — frequently asked questions

Staff should test one manual call point weekly on a rotating basis and log it. A competent person should inspect and service the system at intervals not exceeding six months, and every device should be tested at least once a year across those visits.

You do — it is a user responsibility. Operate a different call point each week with the test key, confirm the alarm sounds throughout, reset, and record which point was tested. We set up the rotation schedule and log book so the routine is straightforward and defensible.

At least 65 dB(A) in all accessible areas, or 5 dB above persistent background noise, whichever is greater. Where people sleep it must reach 75 dB(A) at the bedhead. We take actual sound readings rather than assuming coverage.

Yes, and it is worth fixing properly. Recurring false alarms are usually caused by the wrong detector type in the wrong place — an optical smoke detector near a kitchen, shower room or loading bay. We identify the specific devices responsible and recommend the correct technology rather than just resetting the panel.

Yes, at no additional charge. A full alarm test is disruptive in a shop or restaurant, so most commercial customers prefer early mornings, evenings or weekends.

Book now

Book your Commercial Fire Check today

Fill in the form and we'll confirm your appointment and an all-inclusive price, usually within the hour. Prefer to talk? Call us and we'll book you in within two minutes.

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07426 409342

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