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Fire alarm RAMS Builder
Fire alarm risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for installing, testing, maintaining and repairing fire alarm systems.
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Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
Fire alarm RAMS template
A blank fire alarm RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Fire alarm RAMS
- Company
- left blank to fill in
- Site and work area
- left blank to fill in
- Planned dates
- left blank to fill in
- In charge on site
- left blank to fill in
- Team
- left blank to fill in
Method statement
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Risk assessment
| Hazard | Who might be harmed and how | Controls in place | Further action |
|---|---|---|---|
Fire alarm RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Fire alarm, Flat 4, 22 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Fire & Security Ltd
- Site and work area
- Flat 4, 22 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Planned dates
- 12 October 2026 (one day)
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Two fitters: Dan Hollins leads and agrees each room with the tenant; Priya Shah works with him.
Method statement
- 1Set up the work areaConfirm the work area and scope before starting. Keep other people outside the active work area. Keep entrances and escape routes clear.
- 2Keep people clear of the workAgree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
- 3Get a safe platform up to the devicesDevices are at ceiling height: work off steps, a podium or a tower. Never stand on a chair, a desk or a radiator to reach one. Check the platform is in date and steady before you climb it.
- 4Check for asbestos before you disturb anythingAsk for the asbestos survey or register before you start. Read what it says about ceilings, voids and existing alarm bases. No survey, or a material you do not recognise: stop and get it checked.
- 5Check the design before you startConfirm the layout, device schedule, model instructions and handover information. Stop if the system or model on site does not match the information.
- 6Use the ladder or stepsCheck the ladder or steps before use. Place them on firm, level ground. Keep three points of contact while climbing. Reposition them instead of overreaching. Do not carry loose tools or tins up; hand them up or use a belt.
- 7Use the specified alarm partsFit the bases, cable, devices and fixings listed for the model and system. Keep device addresses, zones and links as shown on the design.
- 8Fit and mark the devicesFix each device where the schedule says and keep the route tidy and protected. Mark up cables and devices as you go so the record matches what is actually installed.
- 9Test the additions before handoverTest each installed device and the affected alarm response with the agreed competent person. Record anything that failed or was not tested as outstanding.
- 10Record what was installedMark up devices, cables and penetrations. Give the responsible person the test result and any outstanding work.
- 11Leave the alarm in a known stateTell the responsible person what is live, what is still disabled and what needs another visit. Make sure any agreed temporary protection remains in place until the alarm is restored.
- 12Check behind before drillingCheck the building information for cables, pipes and materials before each hole. Use dust extraction where you drill and keep people clear of the dust.
- 13Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the person in charge when the work is complete.
Risk assessment
People entering the work area or tripping over materials
Workers, occupants and visitors
Mark or barrier the active work area. Store tools and materials away from access routes.
People using the building or passing by walking into the work or over what it leaves
Occupants, visitors, members of the public and workers
Keep the barriers and signs up while the work is active. Give people a clear way round where their normal route is blocked.
A fall off something that was never meant to be stood on
The person on the platform and anyone underneath
Keep both feet on the platform and move it rather than stretching. Keep people out from under you while the ceiling is open.
Breathing asbestos fibres from old boards, sheets, sealants or insulation
The team and anyone in the building
Do not cut, drill or break any material until it is confirmed asbestos free. Licensed work is not for this method; hand it to a licensed contractor.
A wrongly sited or incompatible device leaves gaps in the warning system
Everyone relying on the alarm
Ask for the missing design or instructions before choosing a location or part.
Falling from the ladder or steps; tools or tins dropped on people below
The person working from it, if the feet slip or they overreach to one side. Anyone passing or working under the ladder while it is in use.
Secure the equipment where it could move. Keep the base and area below clear.
A wrong part or connection stops the system warning people
Everyone relying on the alarm
Do not substitute a device or move it to an easier location without agreement.
A loose, hidden or wrongly placed device leaves an area without the intended warning
The installer and everyone relying on the alarm
Leave anything unfinished clearly identified and not treated as working.
An incomplete installation is treated as working fire protection
Everyone relying on the alarm
Do not call the installation complete until the agreed response has been checked.
Later users cannot tell what was installed or what still needs commissioning
Building users and the alarm maintainer
Keep the record with the system information.
People rely on a system that is still incomplete or impaired
Everyone in the building
Do not leave an untested or disabled part looking like a finished system.
A hidden service is hit, or dust triggers or blinds an existing detector
The installer and everyone in the building
Stop and report anything that was not described instead of drilling it.
Debris, tools or unfinished work left in the area
Workers, occupants and visitors
Remove waste by the agreed route. Record and protect any unfinished work.
What a Fire alarm RAMS covers
Installing fire alarm devices and panels to the design, routine tests, maintenance visits and fault repairs. Not covered: sprinklers and fixed suppression systems.
- Install
- Test
- Maintain
- Repair
Suggested steps and hazards for Fire alarm
Suggested for install before any questions are answered.
Get a safe platform up to the devices
- Devices are at ceiling height: work off steps, a podium or a tower.
- Never stand on a chair, a desk or a radiator to reach one.
- Check the platform is in date and steady before you climb it.
Hazard
A fall off something that was never meant to be stood on
Who might be harmed and how
The person on the platform and anyone underneath
Controls in place
- Keep both feet on the platform and move it rather than stretching.
- Keep people out from under you while the ceiling is open.
Most alarm engineers who get hurt fall from a metre or two, not from a roof.
HSE: Work at height Check the design before you start
- Confirm the layout, device schedule, model instructions and handover information.
- Stop if the system or model on site does not match the information.
Hazard
A wrongly sited or incompatible device leaves gaps in the warning system
Who might be harmed and how
Everyone relying on the alarm
Controls in place
- Ask for the missing design or instructions before choosing a location or part.
The design sets where devices belong and how the finished system is checked.
HSG168 Fire safety in construction Use the specified alarm parts
- Fit the bases, cable, devices and fixings listed for the model and system.
- Keep device addresses, zones and links as shown on the design.
Hazard
A wrong part or connection stops the system warning people
Who might be harmed and how
Everyone relying on the alarm
Controls in place
- Do not substitute a device or move it to an easier location without agreement.
Alarm devices and their connections work as a designed system, not as interchangeable parts.
HSG168 Fire safety in construction
What the builder asks about Fire alarm
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What are you installing?
- Which check are you doing?
- What maintenance is planned?
- What is the alarm doing?
Where
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run behind the fixing points and through the walls or ceilings?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What should go off when you test it?
- What will you open or make?
- Will any of the alarm be out of action?
- Will any part of the alarm be out of action?
- What are you allowed to do today?
What you’ve been told
- What information have you got for the installation?
- What identifies the system and fault?
What your Fire alarm RAMS includes
Method statement
The work in order, step by step.
Risk assessment
Each hazard, who could be harmed, the controls in place and any further action.
The method statement and risk assessment in one A4 PDF.
What the law asks for
What a RAMS is
A risk assessment and method statement. The risk assessment records what could cause harm on the job, who could be harmed and how, and the controls that keep the risk down. The method statement sets out how the work will be done, step by step, in the order it happens.
A client or main contractor will usually ask for one before you start. RAMS is a site term, not a legal one: the law asks for the risk assessment and for the work to be planned, and a method statement is the usual way to show that plan for one job.
What the law asks for
- Employers, and self-employed people doing construction work, must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their own people and to anyone else affected by the work (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3).
- An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings. The assessment must be reviewed if there is reason to think it is no longer valid, or the work has changed significantly.
- Every contractor must plan, manage and monitor its work so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is done without risks to health and safety, and must give its workers the information and instructions they need, including the hazards the risk assessment found (Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 15).
HSE guidance: the steps to manage risk and what contractors must do under CDM. This is the law in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own equivalent regulations.
What the builder does
You choose the work and answer questions about how the job will be done, such as what you will stand on and what else is going on nearby. Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
Many suggestions link to the HSE guidance they draw on. Your work is kept in this browser, and the PDF is made on your device.
Separate documents
A COSHH assessment, lifting plan, permit to work, asbestos survey and the principal contractor’s construction phase plan are separate from the RAMS.