Method for operating a fire alarm system with a plurality of fire detectors and a panel, - wherein the plurality of fire detectors is linked via a common transmission line to the panel at least for communication, - wherein each fire detector, in the event of a fire or test triggering and as a result of the fire or test triggering, sends a message to the panel, - wherein as part of an automatic test triggering of a fire detector the panel sends a stimulus to the fire detector for triggering it and wherein on receipt of the stimulus the triggered fire detector sends a message to the panel, - wherein the message is processed by the panel and triggers a reaction of the panel to the message, - wherein for a test of the fire alarm system a predetermined or predeterminable set of fire detectors is triggered, - wherein the test of the fire alarm system is carried out in two method sections, namely initially in a recording mode and at a later point in time in a test mode, wherein the test mode is carried out after a firmware update of the panel, - wherein in recording mode, for each triggered fire detector a resulting reaction of the panel is stored in the panel in each case, - wherein, in test mode, for each fire detector triggered during the recording mode, the panel has a respective message applied to it, which is processed by the panel and leads to a reaction of the panel to the message, - wherein the reaction stored in the panel as part of the recording mode and the resulting reaction as part of the test mode are compared and - wherein an error message is generated by the panel when no match or no sufficient match is determined during the comparison. - wherein the plurality of fire detectors is linked via a common transmission line to the panel at least for communication, - wherein each fire detector, in the event of a fire or test triggering and as a result of the fire or test triggering, sends a message to the panel, - wherein as part of an automatic test triggering of a fire detector the panel sends a stimulus to the fire detector for triggering it and wherein on receipt of the stimulus the triggered fire detector sends a message to the panel, - wherein the message is processed by the panel and triggers a reaction of the panel to the message, - wherein for a test of the fire alarm system a predetermined or predeterminable set of fire detectors is triggered, - wherein the test of the fire alarm system is carried out in two method sections, namely initially in a recording mode and at a later point in time in a test mode, wherein the test mode is carried out after a firmware update of the panel, - wherein in recording mode, for each triggered fire detector a resulting reaction of the panel is stored in the panel in each case, - wherein, in test mode, for each fire detector triggered during the recording mode, the panel has a respective message applied to it, which is processed by the panel and leads to a reaction of the panel to the message, - wherein the reaction stored in the panel as part of the recording mode and the resulting reaction as part of the test mode are compared and - wherein an error message is generated by the panel when no match or no sufficient match is determined during the comparison.