Smoke is different to fire. That’s why you need specialist smoke control maintenance

Fire grabs more headlines, but it’s the smoke that’s the real killer; in fact it kills many people than fire each year. As crucial life safety systems, smoke ventilation products need to be carefully designed, installed and commissioned by fully competent experts. They also need to be regularly maintained by equally competent people who have third party accreditation.

A smoke test is not a service

All too often, smoke control maintenance is lumped in with fire alarms and security who will perform only a simple functionality test to determine if the system is fully functional. Unfortunately, this is not enough and if the worst was to happen, it could mean that your system is not compliant and operating as it should.

A smoke test is no substitute for a proper service. If your current servicer is not conducting full motor resistance and load tests, checking battery charge rates and identifying cause and effect of any failures, then your system is not being tested robustly enough to ensure that it will be fully functional in the event of a real fire.

Colt carries out thorough, specialist testing on all the systems we maintain and our engineers receive full technical training on all system types when they join our team. This is refreshed regularly and supplemented whenever there are important developments or updates to the legal requirements.

Do not risk finding out the hard way that your system has not been properly installed or maintained.


Are your smoke control systems properly installed and maintained?

A smoke test is no substitute for a proper service and competency is crucial when it comes to smoke control maintenance. If you are concerned that your service provider is not doing enough to ensure the safety of your building, learn more about what a thorough smoke control maintenance visit should include.


Your legal obligations

It is a requirement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, that life safety equipment such a smoke control be “maintained by a competent person who is familiar with the fire engineering performance specifications of that specific system." Colt engineers are just such people.

Want to know more about how we can help your building stay safe and legal?