Fire pump servicing and maintenance in Kettering
Fire pump servicing is usually on the list because a pump will not start, an annual service is due, or an insurer has asked for performance data.
- Four years of active trading, 100+ projects completed
- ISO 9001, the certification insurers look for
- Free survey, fixed price in writing, no travel charge
Our own jobs. Swipe, or tap to enlarge.
A fire pump needs a start test every week and a full performance test under flow once a year, under BS EN 12845. Diesel sets carry more: fuel condition, battery state, cooling and exhaust. Duty, standby and jockey pump changeover is proved at the same visit. Sentry Sprinkler Protection carries out fire pump servicing across England from its base in Kettering, ISO 9001 certified.
Fire pumps, on our jobs
9 photographs of this exact work, from the owner's own sites. Tap any of them.
- SurveyFree, and we walk the building
- Fixed priceIn writing, with the standard named
- First visitDone, recorded and certificated
From first call to certificate
Four steps, the same on every job.
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01Free survey
We look at the building and its records, and tell you what it is due.
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02Fixed price in writing
Every item priced line by line. No survey fee, nothing added afterwards.
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03The work, on your dates
Isolation agreed before anyone arrives, kept as short as the job takes.
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04Certificate and record
A certificate and a photographed defect list, ready for your insurer.
- Start
Book the free survey
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
Book a free survey
Covered on every visit
BS EN 12845
- Weekly and monthly start tests, annual performance test under flow
- Duty, standby and jockey pump operation and changeover
- Diesel set fuel, battery, cooling and exhaust checks
- Controller, pressure switch and alarm verification
When it is due
- Weekly start test
- Annual performance test under flow
The duty sits with whoever controls the premises under the Fire Safety Order 2005. It can be delegated as work, not as responsibility, which is why the certificate matters as much as the visit. How compliance works
What actually goes wrong with a fire pump
The pump is the part everything else depends on, and it is the part that decays most quietly. A weekly start test is not a substitute for finding these.
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It runs, and it does not perform
The single most important thing on this page. A pump that starts every week for years can still be well below its duty, and nothing about the weekly test would show it. The annual performance test under flow is the only check that answers the question the design actually asks.
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The diesel set will not start when it is cold and wet
Batteries at the end of their life, fuel that has sat long enough to degrade, a heater that has failed, a charger that has not been charging. A diesel set that starts on a mild afternoon in the plant room is not proof of a set that starts at four in the morning in February.
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The jockey pump is cycling
A jockey pump that starts more often than it should is telling you there is a leak somewhere in the system. It is one of the few genuinely useful early warnings in this trade, and it is usually written off as normal behaviour.
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The controller is in the wrong position
Left in manual or test after a visit, or with its alarms not routed anywhere, the set will not start on demand no matter how healthy it is. Checking the position and the alarm path costs a minute and is skipped constantly.
Free survey · fixed price in writing
Tell us what you need. We will tell you what it takes.
Four quick taps and your details. A free survey and a fixed price in writing, with no survey fee and no obligation.
Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm. Emergencies any hour.
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We’ve got it from here.
Step 1 of 5 is done. Here is how the rest goes.
- Request sent Done
- 2 We call you Next
- 3 Free survey
- 4 Fixed price
- 5 Work done
Questions we get asked
How often does fire pump maintenance and testing need doing?
A start test weekly, and a full performance test under flow once a year. Diesel sets need more: fuel condition, battery state, cooling and exhaust all get checked.
What is a jockey pump for?
It holds system pressure so the main pump is not starting every time there is a small drop. If your main pump is cycling on and off, the jockey pump is usually the reason.
Our pump will not start. Is that an emergency?
Treat it as one and ring us. A sprinkler system with a dead pump is a system that will not do its job, and your insurer needs to know it is out of service.
What is the difference between a weekly start test and the annual test?
The weekly test proves the pump starts and runs. The annual test proves it performs, by measuring flow and pressure against the design curve. A pump can pass every weekly test for years and still fail the annual one, which is exactly why both exist.
What do you check on a diesel set that an electric one does not need?
Fuel condition and level, the batteries and charger, the cooling system, the exhaust, and the automatic start sequence including the changeover from the failed duty pump. Diesel sets carry more to go wrong and more that degrades quietly while sitting still.
Our jockey pump keeps running. Does that matter?
Yes. A jockey pump holds system pressure, so one that runs constantly is usually chasing a leak somewhere in the installation. It is a small pump telling you about a real problem, and it is worth investigating rather than accepting as background noise.
Read more about this
We also cover
Fire pumps for your kind of building
The standard is the same. What changes is the hazard, the design and what an insurer asks to see.
- Warehouses and distribution Racking, storage height and what you keep in it decide the design. Get those wrong and the system is under-designed from day one. Warehouse sprinkler systems for distribution and storage
- Care homes A building full of people who cannot self-evacuate, on a maintenance regime that has to be provable without disrupting them. Care home sprinkler systems
- Schools and colleges The DfE stopped pointing at BB 100 in January 2026. What replaced it sets a height threshold, three building types that always qualify, and a maintenance regime for everything already installed. School sprinkler systems after BB 100
- Cinemas and theatres Ordinary Hazard Group 4, the highest of the ordinary groups. Most people assume an auditorium is a low risk. The standard does not. Cinema and theatre sprinkler systems
- Hospitals and healthcare Ordinary Hazard Group 1, and the only building type on this list where nobody can be asked to leave. Isolation planning is the whole job. Hospital sprinkler systems for healthcare estates
- Cancer treatment centres A hospital classification wrapped around rooms no general contractor should touch: MRI, radiotherapy bunkers and aseptic pharmacy. Sprinkler systems for cancer treatment centres
- Food processing Three different hazard groups live under this one heading. Which one you are in depends on what you make, not on the size of the shed. Food processing sprinkler systems
- Shopping centres Ordinary Hazard Group 3, and a building whose design changes every time a unit is re-let. The system rarely keeps up on its own. Shopping centre sprinkler systems
All our services The standards we work to Questions and answers
Fire pump testing, town by town
The towns where this is the work we are asked for most. Each page covers the buildings there and what the journey means for a visit.
- Fire pump testing in Daventry NN11 · 21 miles
- Fire pump testing in Northampton NN1 · 13 miles
- Fire pump testing in Rugby CV21 · 23 miles
- Fire pump testing in Milton Keynes MK1 · 24 miles
- Fire pump testing in Coventry CV1 · 33 miles
- Fire pump testing in Corby NN17 · 7 miles
- Fire pump testing in Peterborough PE1 · 24 miles
- Fire pump testing in London EC1 · 66 miles
The published documents behind this page
Every interval and threshold on this page comes from one of these. Links go to the publisher, not to a copy of the document.
- BS EN 12845Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance
The standard commercial and industrial sprinkler systems are designed, installed and maintained to. It sets the weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual routines.
BSI
- LPC RulesLPC Rules for Automatic Sprinkler Installations, incorporating BS EN 12845
The insurer-facing ruleset that sits alongside BS EN 12845. Part 1 is the standard itself; the technical bulletins in Part 2 are what an insurer means by property protection.
Fire Protection Association
British Standards are copyright documents and most are bought rather than read free. We hold the ones we work to. If you need to know what one of them says about your building, ask us rather than buying it.
See the pump set at work, in 3D
Start a fire and watch the pressure drop start the pump. Switch the pump off to see the system without it.
Illustration only. Not a design.
- The bulb over the fire bursts at 68°C. Only that head opens.
- Water moves through the valve set: the gong rings and the flow switch raises the alarm.
- The pressure drops and the fire pump starts.
- Water reaches the open head and the spray holds the fire back.
- The fire is held in check until the brigade arrives.
- The brigade connects to the riser and takes water to the fire floor.
- With no sprinklers, nothing acts on the fire until the brigade arrives.
Drag to turn it. Ctrl + scroll to zoom. Click any part to see what it is.
Your system
What it needs
- Weekly tank level check, pump start test, alarm motor test, system checks
- Quarterly flow switch and alarm test
- Annual tank inspection and clean, pump performance test under flow, valve set strip, clean and rebuild, full service
Illustration only. This model shows how a fire sprinkler system works. It is not a design for any real building, and the layout, pipe sizes, head spacing, water supply and riser positions in it are not the ones your building would need. Every real system is designed for its building after a survey, to BS EN 12845, BS 9251 or BS 9990.
Certified, and audited on a schedule.
ISO 9001, certified by BRE Global and accredited by UKAS. Somebody independent audits how every job is planned, recorded and signed off, on a schedule.
ISO 9001:2015
Certified by BRE Global, accredited by UKAS
An audited quality management system. It means the way a job is planned, recorded and signed off is itself inspected by somebody independent, on a schedule.
Working to BS EN 12845, BS 9251 and BS 9990. If your insurer or fire risk assessor wants the certificates themselves, ring us and we will send them over.
5.0 on Google
3 reviews, and every one of them five stars.
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Mike C. Weekly maintenance, testing and repair Sentry Sprinkler Protection have recently taken over the weekly maintenance, testing and repair of the […] sprinkler equipment. They are providing a excellent service, good value and they are also very helpful when on site.
5 stars on Google
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Lewis W. Sprinkler installation, warehouse Had them install a full sprinkler system across one of our warehouses, and couldn't be happier. They were professional from start to finish and the on-site team were genuinely friendly to work with. […] Highly recommend if you would need your building or warehouse properly fire-protected.
5 stars on Google
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Sam E. Sprinkler pipework installation Couldn't recommend [Sentry] enough. Their work ethic, consistent efficient install of the pipework and overall approach to a project should be something every sub-contractor strives to mirror. Marius is incredibly approachable and methodical in his work with laydown areas kept very neat and tidy and all work carried out in a safe manner.
5 stars on Google
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
No survey fee to find out where you stand. Describe the site and we will tell you which intervals apply and what the visit involves.
Request received
We’ve got it from here.
Step 1 of 5 is done. Here is how the rest goes.
- Request sent Done
- 2 We call you Next
- 3 Free survey
- 4 Fixed price
- 5 Work done