Fire alarm servicing in Uzbekistan: an annual plan, not «once a quarter»

This is the most common misconception, and it reaches even commercial proposals. The requirement to service a fire alarm at least once a quarter belongs to a Russian guidance document. Uzbekistan applies the Fire Safety Rules approved by Cabinet of Ministers Decree No. 649 of 20 October 2020, and they are built differently.

Clause 148 of the Rules sets another principle: routine work on the maintenance and scheduled preventive repair of fire alarm and fire suppression installations, smoke protection systems, fire warning and evacuation management systems is carried out on the basis of an annual work plan drawn up with regard to the technical documentation of the manufacturing enterprise and the timing of repair work. In other words, the interval comes from the passport of the specific equipment, not from a universal figure.

The same clause 148 allows two routes, and that matters for the budget. First: the work is done by the enterprise's own employees who have undergone special and periodic training in accordance with the legislation. Second: the work is done under contract by an organisation holding a special licence.

The law does not forbid in-house servicing — but only where trained employees exist, and that training is periodic rather than one-off. In practice keeping a trained specialist on staff makes sense for a large enterprise with a large system; for an office, a shop or a warehouse a contract with a specialised organisation works out cheaper and safer.

Clause 149 states a condition that is often quoted inaccurately. It does not demand a contract from everyone. The norm reads: if the site's specialists do not have the ability to carry out maintenance of fire automation installations, smoke protection systems and fire warning systems, then within 30 days after the devices are put into operation a contract for it must be concluded with specialised organisations holding a licence for this type of activity.

The key words are «after the devices are put into operation» — not after the building is commissioned — and «do not have the ability». The thirty-day period runs from the moment the system is started and applies to sites that cannot service it themselves.

The second paragraph of the same clause covers exiting a contract. When a maintenance contract for fire automation installations and smoke protection systems is terminated, the head of the enterprise must within 24 hours notify the district or city emergencies department, or the emergency units serving the site.

The purpose is clear: the state wants to know that a site has been left without servicing. For an owner this means that changing contractors is a reportable event, and the gap between the old and the new contract is best kept short.

The rules set the frame; the specific scope of work follows the manufacturer's documentation and the design. In our practice an annual plan usually includes checking detectors and manual call points, cleaning smoke chambers, testing loops and communication lines, checking the control panel and its indication, testing sounders and exit signs, checking backup power and battery condition, inspecting cable routes and updating the documentation.

Backup power deserves a separate mention. The batteries of a control panel last three to five years and die quietly: you find out during a power cut, when the system was supposed to hold and did not. That is why their condition is checked on plan rather than after a failure.

SAT Solutions services, under contract, the systems installed by our own specialists: we draw up the annual plan from the documentation of the installed equipment, keep the work log and prepare the documents presented during an inspection. We work in Tashkent and the regions.

If you are accepting a site and are unsure which servicing regime applies, send us the system composition and the equipment passports and we will work out the routine for your case. This article describes the norms in general terms: the exact intervals for your equipment come from its documentation.