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FIRE INDUSTRY UPDATE 24th MARCH 2020
We are receiving calls from members concerned about attending client’s premises to service fire equipment and systems as to whether this work should be considered ‘essential’?
The Fire Industry Association has had confirmation from James Brokenshire, Minister of State for Security at the Home Office that “fire alarm technicians are considered key workers, when they are responding to alarms or system failures” but there is no mention about the other services e.g. fire extinguishers.
If you do have to attend a premise where a person is suspected to have or is showing symptoms of Coronavirus the general health and safety advice that we last received states;
The majority of our Members that I have spoken too (especially those with a duty of care to their technicians) are looking for customers to postpone routine servicing. With many businesses having already implemented a lockdown of their premises with their staff working from home the usual urgency for compliance is way down the employers current priority list and many will in any case be preventing service technicians from entering their buildings. With the latest Government guidance stating that we should avoid “Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home” we feel that this means routine non-essential fire equipment and systems maintenance will have to be delayed indefinitely anyway.
The problem now is that with fire alarms there is no prescribed leeway on the 6 monthly service visits recommended in BS5839-1:2017 where at least with fire extinguishers BS5306-3:2017 allows ±1 month on the 12 monthly service visit. During this period of lock down we recommend that for low risk facilities you might offer a temporary extension of +1 month on both fire alarms, systems and extinguisher servicing, strictly on the basis of reviewing the situation monthly with the client with a view to provide servicing at the earliest opportunity, i.e. during an easing of restrictions. It is essential that you record this variation in your service documents and wherever possible discuss this with the Responsible Person. If possible get their confirmation in writing that they understand the possible risks of delaying servicing e.g. insurance cover potentially affected, higher likelihood of false alarms, increased threat from fire, etc.
Disclaimer:
The UK-FA has made every effort to ensure accuracy of the information provided above based upon BAFE, Government and NHS advice as at 24 March 2020, however it is not guaranteed and the UK-FA does not accept any responsibility for direct or indirect damages caused through its interpretation or use.
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
All three Director posts came up for re-election at the AGM in Durham on 13 March 2020.
Andrew Berry was re-elected as Chairman and Alan Palmer was re-elected as Secretary.
Tom Law after 11 years decided to stand down as Treasurer and was presented a gift and lifetime Honorary membership of the Association.
Dan Davis who is based in Kent kindly stood for nomination and was duly elected as our new Treasurer and is busy settling into the role.
Directors of the UK-FA