Proof of Competence

Obviously, you wouldn't let someone work on your fire alarm unless they knew what they were doing. The new Fire Regulations (see New Fire Regs) require you to ensure that only a "Competent Person" works on your fire alarm. What exactly is a "Competent Person" and how do you ensure that someone who says they meet this requirement actually does?.

Remember, the new law expects you to prove that you checked (due diligence) that your contractor is good enough (i.e. saying that they told you they've been doing it for years, isn't enough). This means you want to see a copy of their certificates so if you are challenged, you have documentary evidence that you chose a Competent Person.

A Competent Person to service a fire alarm is said to be an individual or organisation that has sufficient training and experience (specifically in BS5839 and servicing fire alarms), and (importantly) has been certified by a third party (of sufficient standing) that this is the case.

You should therefore only permit someone who can provide you with the appropriate third party certificates, specifically in fire alarm servicing.

So what should you be looking for?.

In practise, there are currently three ways to prove competence:

(a) The company has it's very own British Standard Kitemark for fire alarms, or....

(b) The company has achieved sp203 approval, or.....

(c) The company only employs engineers who have BFPSA (fia) Certification (units 1&5).

All CODRUS service engineers are be BFPSA (fia) certified, units 1&5 and any CODRUS design engineer must also be certified units 2&3.

If your chosen service company does not have any of the above, we strongly recommend you do not let them work on your fire alarm until they can show you their certificate. Remember, as "Responsible Person" you are personally liable in the event of a problem and you want to make sure your paperwork can't be criticised.

Important note:

We are aware that some service companies are claiming that they are competent to work on fire alarms simply because they are NSI, SSAIB or BAFE registered. NSI and SSAIB are primarily intruder alarm inspectorates and BAFE is primarily Fire Extinguishers. While NSI and SSAIB do provide sp203 assessment, they also assess mostly for burglar alarm companies, so you must ask to see the sp203 certificate, rather than the NSI or SSAIB badge. Similarly the sp203 approval is a BAFE scheme, but the majority of their schemes are relating to fire extinguishers (et al), so you must ask to see the sp203 certificate rather than just accept their "BAFE approved" badge.