A manual call point for a fire alarm system, the manual call point comprising: an operating element , wherein a physical movement of the operating element will trigger an alarm condition of the manual call point; and at least two switch devices , with each switch device being for completing or breaking a circuit in response to the physical movement of the operating element; wherein at least one of the switch devices is a contactless switch device and the corresponding circuit includes an electromagnetic circuit that is completed or broken without mechanical contact from the operating element; wherein the at least two switch devices include the one contactless switch device and a further contactless switch device , wherein the one contactless switch device is a contactless optical switch that is arranged to be normally open and the further contactless switch device is a contactless optical switch that is arranged to be normally closed; characterised in that an emitter component of the one contactless optical switch is placed on a first side of the operating element alongside a receiver component of the other contactless optical switch , with the receiver component of the one contactless optical switch being placed on a second side of the operating element alongside an emitter component of the other contactless optical switch ; and in that the call point is arranged to assess the interaction between components of the two contactless optical switches as a part of a self-verification procedure, and wherein the self-verification includes steps for cross-checking the operation of the two contactless optical switches, by using a receiver component of one contactless optical switch to check the operation of an emitter component of the other contactless optical switch. an operating element , wherein a physical movement of the operating element will trigger an alarm condition of the manual call point; and at least two switch devices , with each switch device being for completing or breaking a circuit in response to the physical movement of the operating element; wherein at least one of the switch devices is a contactless switch device and the corresponding circuit includes an electromagnetic circuit that is completed or broken without mechanical contact from the operating element; wherein the at least two switch devices include the one contactless switch device and a further contactless switch device , wherein the one contactless switch device is a contactless optical switch that is arranged to be normally open and the further contactless switch device is a contactless optical switch that is arranged to be normally closed; characterised in that an emitter component of the one contactless optical switch is placed on a first side of the operating element alongside a receiver component of the other contactless optical switch , with the receiver component of the one contactless optical switch being placed on a second side of the operating element alongside an emitter component of the other contactless optical switch ; and in that the call point is arranged to assess the interaction between components of the two contactless optical switches as a part of a self-verification procedure, and wherein the self-verification includes steps for cross-checking the operation of the two contactless optical switches, by using a receiver component of one contactless optical switch to check the operation of an emitter component of the other contactless optical switch. <EOS>