Fire alarm servicing is the periodic inspection and testing of a fire detection and alarm system by a competent engineer, to confirm it would detect a fire and warn everyone in time to get out. BS 5839-1 recommends servicing at intervals not exceeding six months, alongside a weekly user test carried out in-house. Maintaining fire detection and warning equipment is a legal duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, with equivalent duties under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.
Fire alarm systems are serviced twice a year under BS 5839-1, with a weekly user test in between using a different manual call point each week. RiskSorted engineers test detection devices in rotation across the service cycle, check the panel, batteries, sounders and cause-and-effect programming, verify any interfaces to door releases or plant shutdown, and leave your logbook up to date and audit-ready. Engineers work to BS 5839-1 and hold BAFE SP203-1 registration where the scheme applies. Faulty devices are quoted separately — we never replace anything without asking first.
A service visit under BS 5839-1 is a working test of the whole system, not a look at the panel. Over a service cycle the engineer tests every detection device in rotation, so across two visits a year the whole system has been proved rather than sampled.
| Control panel | Fault and disablement check, event log review, indication and display test |
| Detection devices | Functional test in rotation — smoke, heat, multi-sensor and beam detectors |
| Manual call points | Operation tested, rotated across visits so each is proved over the cycle |
| Sounders and beacons | Audibility and visibility check throughout the premises |
| Batteries and supply | Standby battery condition, charger operation, mains supply verification |
| Cause and effect | Programming verified against the design intent |
| Interfaces | Door releases, plant shutdown, lift homing and any links to other systems |
| Logbook | Updated on the day, with the next service date recorded |
A servicing certificate identifying the system, its BS 5839-1 category, the devices tested, the results, and any defects found with recommended action. Your logbook is brought up to date on site. Where the system falls short of what your fire risk assessment calls for, that is stated plainly rather than buried — and the report is written so a director or an insurer can read it without a fire engineering qualification.
Fire alarm servicing is priced by building size, not by device count. One floor is £395, two to three floors £495, four or more £795. That covers a service visit to BS 5839-1.
| 1 floor | £395 |
| 2 to 3 floors | £495 |
| 4 or more floors | £795 |
We price by floors because that is the thing you actually know. Counting detectors is our job. Pricing per device also creates a perverse incentive — the better your detection coverage, the more you pay — and we would rather not build that into the invoice.
The questions we ask. How many floors the building has, including the ground floor. That is it. We do not ask you to tell us your BS 5839-1 category, your device count or your system type — if you knew those, you would not need us.
Jobs starting outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 2pm carry a 50% uplift. It is the start time that counts, not the finish — a job starting at 1pm and running to 6pm is charged at the standard rate. All prices exclude VAT. RiskSorted is not currently VAT registered, so the price shown is the price you pay. Remember that fire alarms are serviced twice a year, so budget for two visits annually.
That is the whole point of RiskSorted, and it is measurable in three things.
You can see the price. Every price we charge is published on this website. You do not have to ring anyone, fill in a form, or wait for a callback to find out what something costs. If a compliance company will not tell you its prices until it has your phone number, ask yourself why.
We only ask questions you can answer. How many floors. How many appliances. When suits you. If an office manager or a business owner would not know the answer off the top of their head, we do not ask it — we work it out when we are on site. You should not need to understand BS 5839 categories to buy fire safety.
One company, one contract, one number. We are the contractor. We hold the contract with you, we set the price, and we stand behind the work. The engineer who attends is a vetted local specialist we have checked — qualifications, insurance, calibration — but they answer to us, not to you. If something goes wrong you ring us, not them.
You can price and book this online in about two minutes — start here. If you would rather talk it through, our assistant answers pricing and compliance questions on any page of this site, and it quotes the same prices you see above because it reads them from the same place.
The alarm will sound during testing, so tell your staff beforehand. If your system is monitored, the receiving centre needs notifying first or you get a fire service callout you did not want — we will handle that if you tell us who monitors it. Beyond the noise, no disruption.
We tell you this before you pay, not when the engineer is already on site. If the timing does not work for you, say so when you book — we ask what will not work rather than what you would prefer, so we can schedule around your business rather than the other way round.
| Engineer competence | BS 5839-1 competent; BAFE SP203-1 registered where the scheme applies |
| Service interval | Six-monthly baseline; quarterly for higher-risk or complex systems |
| Standard | BS 5839-1 (commercial); BS 5839-6 for domestic premises |
| Insurance | Public Liability minimum £5m, Professional Indemnity minimum £1m |
| Certificate | Issued on completion, logbook updated on site |
| Remedials | Quoted separately, never carried out without your agreement |
| Coverage | England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland |
There is no statute that says every building must have a particular alarm serviced every six months. The duty is functional. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person for non-domestic premises in England and Wales must provide such fire detection and warning as is reasonable for the risk, and must keep it maintained in efficient working order. The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 impose equivalent duties.
What is reasonable is determined by your fire risk assessment. That is why the two services are so closely connected: the assessment defines what the alarm needs to do, and the alarm is the thing that carries out that intent. Servicing an alarm without a current fire risk assessment means maintaining whatever happens to be installed, which may or may not be what the building actually needs.
The single most useful thing a duty holder can know about their alarm is its design category, because it tells you what the system was built to do. It appears on the original commissioning certificate. If you have never seen that document, the engineer will identify the system on site and tell you what you have — and, more importantly, whether it matches what your fire risk assessment calls for.
A mismatch here is common and consequential. Buildings change use, get subdivided, gain sleeping accommodation or a commercial kitchen, and the alarm stays as originally designed. A system that was correct for an open-plan office in 2011 may be well short of what is needed for the same building with flats above it in 2026.
BS 5839-1 expects a weekly user test carried out in-house: operate a manual call point, confirm the alarm sounds throughout, reset the panel, and record it. Use a different call point each week so that over time every one is proved. It takes a few minutes and it is the single most commonly missed item in a fire safety regime — and because it is logged, its absence is obvious to anyone who looks.
We will show whoever is responsible how to do it on the first service visit, and set the logbook up so it is easy to keep.
Every engineer is verified before their first booking — qualifications, registration, insurance, and test equipment calibration. We are the principal contractor: you hold one contract with us, you pay one price, and if there is a problem you deal with us rather than chasing a subcontractor.
You will get a reminder before the next service falls due, because a six-monthly cycle is exactly the kind of thing that slips. The renewal date sits in your account from the day the first visit is completed.
A fire alarm is the only compliance item in a building whose failure is invisible until the moment it matters. An extinguisher that has not been serviced still looks like an extinguisher. An alarm that will not sound looks identical to one that will, right up until the fire.
The two failure modes are equally serious and pull in opposite directions. A system that does not activate leaves people in a burning building. A system that activates constantly for no reason teaches everyone in it to ignore the sound — and false alarm fatigue has been a factor in enough incidents that many fire services have changed their attendance policies because of it. Proper servicing addresses both: it proves the system works, and it finds the contamination, positioning errors and programming faults that cause unwanted activations.
Book fire alarm servicing alongside your emergency lighting and fire extinguishers. One contract, one invoice, and we do the coordinating so you are not chasing separate contractors.
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