Fire compliance in South Africa

The short version

If you own or manage a building where people work, you carry a legal duty to keep its fire equipment serviceable and certified. That duty sits with you under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and it does not transfer to your tenant, your managing agent or your contractor.

Annual servicing — SANS 1475

Every portable fire extinguisher must be serviced at least once every twelve months, by a technician registered with SAQCC Fire. Hose reels and hydrants are inspected and pressure tested on the same cycle. The twelve months runs from the date on the service label.

Pressure testing runs on a longer clock

Servicing is annual; hydraulic pressure testing is not. Most extinguisher types need it every five years, and CO2 cylinders every ten. It is the interval most often missed, precisely because it falls outside the annual rhythm everybody remembers.

Who may issue a Certificate of Compliance

Only a company registered to service fire equipment, using SAQCC-registered technicians. Ask for the technician's registration number and check it on the SAQCC Fire register. A certificate from an unregistered contractor may be rejected by your insurer or the local authority — which means that after a fire, you are treated as having had no certificate.

What non-compliance actually costs

• The fire department can serve a notice and, in serious cases, close the premises.
• Your insurer can reduce or repudiate a fire claim where a condition of cover was not met.
• You personally carry duties under the OHS Act for the safety of people in the building.

The standards that apply

• SANS 1475 — servicing of portable and mobile fire extinguishers
• SANS 1910 — manufacture of portable fire extinguishers (SABS approval)
• SANS 10400-T & W — fire protection and fire installation in buildings
• SANS 10139 — fire detection and alarm systems
• SANS 1186 — safety signs and escape route marking
• OHS Act & General Safety Regulations — the employer's overarching duty