Hello Philippe, and welcome to the forum. As Jonathan points out, things are done a little differently in the UK. But, of course, the fact remains that the equipment still has to be maintained. I would say that Fire Service medical equipment is likely to be “heavily used”, and would suggest a reduction of planned life by 50% (as compared to “normal” hospital use). Ten years tops, I would have thought. Personally, I would put greatest emphasis in asserting the
actual condition of the equipment during inspection/PM which, I would suggest, should be carried out at least every six-months (quarterly would be better) for life-saving equipment of this type.
I once came across a trio of ambulances in supposed “front-line service” (not in the UK, I hasten to add) in which all defibs failed to light up (dead batteries, of course), and oxygen cylinders were empty in all the gas-powered resuscitation outfits. Obviously, then, we should not rely too heavily on “user checks”!
