What to Do About A Long-Term Fault on a Fire Alarm System
A fire alarm system with a fault that has been present for weeks, or longer, is one of the more common compliance problems we encounter across the buildings we assess. It tends to develop gradually — an engineer attends, notes the fault, orders a part, and the repair stalls somewhere in the supply chain while the panel continues to display a fault condition that everyone on site has learned to ignore. The legal and safety implications of that situation are worth understanding clearly.
There is an important distinction between a fault that arises and is promptly dealt with — which is a normal part of maintaining any life safety system — and a fault that persists without active management, temporary measures, or a credible repair timeline. The first is an operational matter. The second is a compliance problem, and potentially a serious one, because Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a specific duty on the responsible person to ensure that fire precautions are maintained in efficient working order and good repair. A fire alarm system with a known, unresolved fault is unlikely to satisfy that duty unless appropriate alternative measures are actively in place.
What counts as a long-term fault
In the context of a fire alarm system, a fault is any condition that means the system is not operating as designed. The most common examples we encounter are isolated or disabled zones that have been left in that state well beyond the period of a planned maintenance activity; detector or call point faults where the device has failed and not been replaced; communication failures between the panel and remote devices; power supply or battery faults that have not been rectified; and persistent false alarm problems that have led to part of the system being inhibited as an interim measure that has since become permanent.
The critical issue with all of these is not their technical nature but the point at which they stop being a live repair job and start being an accepted condition. When a fault becomes background noise — when staff no longer notice it, when it does not appear in service records because no one has attended, when the fire alarm log book has not been updated — the situation has moved from a maintenance problem into a compliance and safety failure. The responsible person may not be aware of how long the fault has been present, which is itself a governance concern.
An important structural point: there is a known tendency in buildings where the same contractor both maintains the alarm system and carries out the fire risk assessment for the fault to be managed as a purely technical matter without its fire safety implications being properly considered. Keeping the fire risk assessor and the alarm maintenance company separate provides an important check on this — an independent assessor reviewing the building will consider the fault's impact on the building's overall fire safety arrangements, not simply whether a repair is scheduled.
The legal position
Article 17 of the FSO is unambiguous: fire precautions must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, and in good repair. A fire alarm system is a fire precaution, and a system with a known fault is not in efficient working order. The responsible person's defence, in the event of enforcement action or an incident, will depend on what they knew, when they knew it, and what they did in response — which is why documentation and active management of the fault are as important as the repair itself.
The enforcing authority — which for most non-domestic premises is the local fire and rescue service — has powers under the FSO to inspect premises, require information about fire safety arrangements, and issue enforcement or prohibition notices where serious deficiencies are found. A fire alarm system with a long-standing documented fault, particularly in a building with sleeping occupants such as a hotel, care home, or HMO, is exactly the kind of situation that attracts enforcement attention, and "we were waiting for a part" is not a complete answer if no interim measures were implemented and the fire risk assessment was not reviewed in light of the reduced protection.
What to do when a fault cannot be fixed quickly
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1Establish exactly what the fault affects
The starting point is a clear technical understanding of which devices, zones, or functions are impaired, whether the fault affects detection, warning, or both, and whether it is intermittent or permanent. Brief engineer notes on a service sheet are often insufficient for this purpose — the responsible person needs to be able to answer, with confidence, what protection the building currently has and where the gaps are. If the maintenance contractor has not provided this information clearly, it should be requested in writing.
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2Record everything
The fault and all actions taken in response should be recorded in the fire alarm log book, with dates, the nature of the fault, the areas affected, the actions taken to investigate and repair, and any temporary measures implemented. This documentation is the responsible person's primary defence in the event of enforcement action or an incident, and its absence is itself a compliance concern. A log that shows a fault was identified, its implications were understood, interim measures were put in place, and a repair timeline was actively pursued is a very different position from one that shows only an initial callout note with nothing since.
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3Escalate with the maintenance contractor and seek a second opinion if needed
If a fault has been present for more than a few days without a clear repair timeline, the responsible person should escalate formally with the maintenance contractor, in writing, requesting a specific date for resolution and confirmation of what interim measures are recommended in the meantime. If the contractor is unable to provide this or the repair is repeatedly delayed, seeking a second opinion from an alternative BAFE-accredited engineer is entirely reasonable and may result in a faster resolution. Long delays in obtaining parts for an obsolete panel are sometimes a signal that the system is approaching the end of its serviceable life and that a more fundamental conversation about system upgrade is warranted.
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4Implement proportionate interim measures
Where fire alarm coverage is reduced, additional controls should be put in place to compensate, and they should be proportionate to the extent of the gap and the risk profile of the building. In a low-occupancy commercial premises where the fault affects a single zone covering a low-risk area, enhanced staff awareness and more frequent checks may be sufficient. In a care home or hotel where the fault affects detection in sleeping areas or escape routes, a waking watch arrangement or temporary detection devices may be necessary. Restricting access to or occupancy of the affected area may also be appropriate in some circumstances. Whatever measures are implemented, they should be documented, communicated to staff, and treated as temporary — they are a bridge to resolution, not a substitute for it.
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5Review and update the fire risk assessment
A long-term fault on a fire alarm system is a clear trigger for a fire risk assessment review. The assessment should consider the increased risk created by the fault, whether the interim measures in place are adequate for the building's occupancy and risk profile, how long the fault is likely to remain unresolved, and whether continued occupation of the affected areas is appropriate. A reviewed assessment that documents the fault, the risk it creates, and the measures being taken to manage it provides a clear and defensible record of the responsible person's active management of the situation. Failing to update the assessment when a material change in fire safety provision has occurred is itself a breach of the FSO.
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6Brief staff clearly
Staff should be told what the fault is, which areas are affected, what additional precautions are in place, and what they should do if they discover a fire. In buildings where fire marshals are in post, they should be specifically briefed on the changed arrangements and their implications for evacuation. Silence or vagueness about a reduced alarm capability increases risk because staff continue to operate on the assumption that the system is functioning normally, and that assumption may be wrong at exactly the moment it matters most.
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7Consider whether the premises can safely remain open
In some circumstances, particularly where large areas are without detection, where sleeping occupants are present, or where vulnerable people are affected, continued occupation without significant interim controls may not be appropriate. This is a judgement that should be made on the basis of the specific building, its risk profile, and the nature of the fault, and it should be documented. A responsible person who has made a reasoned, evidence-based decision to continue occupation with enhanced interim measures is in a defensible position. One who has simply not considered the question is not.
How long is too long?
There is no fixed statutory time limit after which a fire alarm fault automatically becomes a legal breach, but that is not the same as saying that duration is irrelevant. The test under the FSO is whether fire precautions are being maintained in efficient working order — and the longer a fault persists without resolution or adequate interim management, the harder it becomes to argue that this standard is being met.
In practice, a fault that has been present for a matter of days, with an active repair in progress, documented interim measures, and updated staff briefings, represents a very different position from one that has been present for weeks or months with no repair plan, no interim measures, and no entries in the log book since the initial callout. The former reflects active and responsible management of a known problem. The latter reflects a known deficiency that has been allowed to become an accepted condition, and that is the scenario that enforcement authorities find hardest to accept as reasonable.
As a general guide, if a fault has been present for more than two to four weeks and there is no clear, documented repair timeline and no interim measures in place, the responsible person should treat that as a signal that the situation requires more active management than it is currently receiving, and an independent review of the building's fire risk assessment in light of the fault is likely to be warranted.
How we can help
Fletcher Risk regularly supports responsible persons and managing agents dealing with ongoing fire alarm faults across commercial premises, HMOs, hotels, care environments, and industrial sites across Chester, the Wirral, Cheshire, North Wales, and the wider North West. We can review your fire risk assessment in light of the fault, advise on proportionate interim measures, and provide the objective, independent perspective that is difficult to obtain from the same contractor responsible for the repair. If you have a long-term fault on your fire alarm system and are uncertain whether your current arrangements are adequate, please get in touch.
Independent advice on fire alarm faults
We provide independent fire risk assessments and practical compliance support for premises across Chester, the Wirral, Cheshire, North Wales, and the wider North West.
This article is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Fire alarm faults and temporary control measures should be assessed through a site-specific fire risk assessment carried out by a competent person. Fletcher Risk Management Ltd accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this content.