Fire alarms, emergency lighting and fire safety

Fire safety services under one roof

Fire safety isn't one job. It's alarms, lighting, equipment, assessments and paperwork that all have to work together. We design, install, maintain and certify fire safety systems for landlords, HMOs, blocks of flats, care homes, schools and businesses. And because we're also electricians, the wiring behind your alarms and emergency lighting is done properly too.

Fire alarm systems

Fire alarms for non-domestic premises are designed and installed to BS 5839-1. The standard uses categories to describe how much of a building is protected:

• Category L1 to L5: systems designed to protect life, from full coverage of the whole building (L1) to coverage of specific areas (L5).
• Category M: manual systems using break-glass call points only.
• Category P1 and P2: systems designed to protect property.

In homes, HMOs and some flats, BS 5839-6 applies. It sets a Grade (how the system is powered and controlled, from a full panel system, Grade A, down to battery alarms, Grade F) and a Category (how much of the property is covered, from LD1, the most comprehensive, to LD3, escape routes only). We recommend the grade and category your premises and your fire risk assessment call for, rather than a one-size-fits-all system.

We install conventional and addressable panel systems, wireless systems where cabling isn't practical, and interlinked mains smoke and heat alarms. Every system is commissioned and handed over with the relevant certificates and a log book.

Fire alarm servicing and maintenance

BS 5839-1 recommends that fire alarm systems are inspected and serviced by a competent person at intervals of no more than six months, with a simple weekly test of a call point carried out by the responsible person. At each service we test detectors, call points, sounders and batteries, check the panel and its fault history, and record everything in your log book. Faults are reported with a clear, fixed-price quote to put them right.

Emergency lighting

Emergency lighting makes sure people can find their way out safely if the power fails. It's designed, installed and maintained to BS 5266-1, which recommends:

• A short functional test every month, to check each fitting switches to battery
• A full-duration test every year, usually three hours, to prove the batteries last
• Every test recorded in a log book

We install maintained and non-maintained fittings, exit signs and self-test systems, and carry out the monthly and annual tests for you if you'd rather not do them yourself.

Smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms

Landlords in England must fit a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker). Mains-powered, interlinked alarms give the best protection: when one alarm sounds, they all sound. We supply, fit and test alarms in houses, flats and HMOs, and can upgrade old battery alarms to a proper interlinked system.

Fire risk assessments

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person for any non-domestic premises, and for the common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs, must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. Since October 2023, every fire risk assessment must be recorded in full in writing, along with details of who carried it out.

A fire risk assessment identifies fire hazards and the people at risk, and checks the fire precautions already in place: detection and alarms, escape routes, fire doors, emergency lighting, signage, fire fighting equipment and management procedures. You get a written report with prioritised actions, and because we install and maintain the systems ourselves, we can help you put those actions right.

Review your assessment regularly, and whenever something significant changes, such as building work, a change of use or a change in who lives or works there.

Fire extinguishers and fire fighting equipment

Portable fire extinguishers should be serviced at least once a year, in line with BS 5306-3. We supply, install and service extinguishers and fire blankets suited to the risks in your premises, including kitchens, plant rooms and communal areas, and keep a record of every check.

HMOs

Houses in multiple occupation carry higher fire risks and stricter requirements. Most councils expect fire safety measures in line with national housing fire safety guidance, typically a mixed or panel fire alarm system, emergency lighting on escape routes in larger HMOs, fire doors to rooms, and suitable fire fighting equipment in kitchens. HMO managers must also keep fire alarms and equipment in good working order.

We help HMO landlords meet licensing conditions with the right alarm system, emergency lighting, EICRs and gas safety checks, all from one contractor. See our landlord services.

Blocks of flats

Responsible persons for residential buildings must give residents fire safety instructions and information about fire doors, and buildings over 11 metres need regular checks of communal and flat entrance fire doors. Many purpose-built blocks with a stay put strategy don't need a communal fire alarm, while converted buildings often do. Your fire risk assessment should set out the right approach for your building.

We install and maintain communal emergency lighting, alarm systems where they're required, and landlord electrical supplies in common areas.

Care homes

Residential care homes house people who may need help to escape, so they usually need a comprehensive, often Category L1, fire alarm system, robust emergency lighting and carefully managed evacuation arrangements. We plan all work with the home manager, keep systems operational wherever possible during works, and provide full records for inspections.