Fire Damper Drop Test Scheduler & Compliance Log

It calculates the next-due drop test date for a building's fire dampers (or smoke or combined dampers) based on the date of the last successful test and the building's risk classification, then projects a 3-year forward schedule that can be diaried into a CAFM or PPM system. It also provides a structured "what to record" template engineers can take to site so every test produces an audit-ready entry for the fire safety log book.

BS 9999:2017 Annex N sets the indicative baseline of annual drop testing for fire dampers in standard commercial buildings, supported by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 duty to keep fire protective equipment in efficient working order. Higher-risk environments, healthcare buildings (HTM 03-01), and Higher-Risk Buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 commonly justify 6-monthly testing of smoke and combined dampers — the tool walks through each case.

The right frequency depends on the fire risk assessment, the manufacturer's instructions, and the building's risk class under BS 9999. The tool's risk-class picker reflects the four most common scenarios: standard commercial, higher-risk commercial, healthcare and sleeping-risk residential, and complex high-rise. Where the manufacturer specifies a shorter interval than BS 9999, the manufacturer's instructions take precedence. A competent person should sign off the final regime.

No. The tool is for scheduling and record planning — it doesn't carry out tests or certify the result. UK drop testing must be performed by a competent person, and many duty-holders use BESA / IFE / IFSM accredited contractors for evidential value. The tool is most useful for the in-house FM team who own the schedule and the logbook between contractor visits.

Under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person (and on Higher-Risk Buildings the Accountable Person) must produce a structured, auditable record of inspection and maintenance of fire-protective equipment. A missing or incomplete fire damper test record is one of the most common findings in fire safety enforcement notices issued by the Fire and Rescue Service. The tool's record template covers all the fields a competent enforcement officer is likely to ask for.

Yes. Three damper types are supported: fire dampers (typically annual drop test), smoke dampers (typically annual function test in standard commercial, 6-monthly in sleeping-risk and healthcare), and combined fire/smoke dampers (which must satisfy the more frequent of the two regimes). The frequency rules and references update as soon as you change the damper type.

Yes, completely free with no signup required. The scheduler runs entirely in your browser — building details, damper counts, and test dates are never sent to a server. The reference data (BS 9999 frequencies, RRO duties, BS EN 15650 / BS EN 1366-2 references) is static curated content. Nothing to track, nothing stored.

BS 9999 Annex N notes that higher-risk environments — data centres with combustible storage, complex industrial buildings, certain healthcare sectors — justify increased frequency above the annual baseline. The tool's higher-risk classes apply a 6-monthly cadence as a sensible default. The decision should still be approved by the competent person responsible for the building's fire risk assessment.

Buildings in scope of the Building Safety Act 2022 — typically those above 18m or 7+ storeys with sleeping accommodation — have an Accountable Person who must keep auditable safety case evidence including fire damper inspection records. Selecting the "Complex / high-rise residential or mixed-use" risk class in the tool produces the more conservative 6-monthly smoke damper schedule and prompts for the additional evidence fields. The record template's photographic evidence and competence fields are particularly important for HRBs.

This tool is generic, manufacturer-agnostic guidance. PM Assist lets you upload your specific building's fire risk assessment, fire damper data plates, manufacturer service instructions, and historical test reports — then search them with AI to find any answer with a source citation back to the original PDF. The two are complementary: use the scheduler to plan, and PM Assist to retrieve the building-specific values when you're on site.

The tool flags overdue dampers in red with the number of days overdue, so they can be prioritised in the next contractor visit. The recommended action is: schedule the test as an immediate priority, document the reason for the delay in the fire safety log book, and undertake a competent-person review of whether any interim measures are needed (e.g. additional inspections, prudent restriction of high-risk activities in the affected fire compartment). The enforcement risk of a documented overdue damper is materially lower than the risk of one that is undiscovered.