In an evolving fire-safety landscape, building owners, safety managers and Duty Holders must be discerning when it comes to specifying fire detection and alarm system providers. Verifying their competence is essential for legal compliance, insurance requirements and ensuring the overall safety of occupants and resilience of buildings in the face of fire risks.
Today’s environment reflects an increased focus on fire safety following catastrophic incidents like the Lakanal House fire in 2009 and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. These tragic events have exposed significant deficiencies in fire-safety measures, prompting sweeping changes in legislation and standards.
Under the applicable UK national fire-safety legislation, Duty Holders who manage fire safety in relevant buildings must conduct thorough fire-risk assessments. They are required to implement a range of passive and active fire-safety measures that may include the installation and routine inspection of fire-resistant doors, fire detection and alarm systems, extinguishing systems and emergency evacuation procedures, tailored to the building type.
Additionally, evacuation alert systems, which are not intended to replace fire-detection and alarm equipment, are now required in all high-rise residential buildings in England (UK Fire, August 2024).
While Fire and Rescue Services can offer general advice on these issues, sometimes in conjunction with the local authority, they cannot provide specific recommendations tailored to individual premises. Duty Holders must ensure that the specification of site-specific equipment is guided by a mandatory ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire-risk assessment. This assessment helps identify potential fire hazards, evaluate the level of risk, and outline appropriate fire-safety measures (UK Fire, February 2024).
Ensuring competency through third-party certification
Engaging third-party certificated providers is strongly recommended for effective fire detection and alarm system installation and maintenance. Third-party certification ensures that all necessary selection criteria are thoroughly addressed through a comprehensive audit of the certified company, verifying compliance with both international and British standards and industry codes of practice. It fulfils due diligence requirements and minimises the risk of oversight or non-compliance. In essence, third-party certification provides reassurance to those responsible, ensuring that the fire-safety providers they appoint meet the highest standards of competence and professionalism.
NSI, the UK’s leading UKAS-accredited certification body in the security and fire-safety sectors, and BAFE, the independent register of fire-safety service providers, set essential quality standards and codes of practice. NSI audits the BAFE SP203-1 scheme for fire detection and alarm systems, ensuring providers holding both NSI certification and BAFE registration meet the highest standards of safety and reliability.
Adhering to BS 5839 Standards
The design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in non-domestic premises are governed by BS 5839-1:2017, as referenced in the BAFE Scheme SP203-1. This Standard, which is set to be updated in early 2025, establishes critical criteria that must be met, including zoning, detectors, manual call points, sounders and cabling.
BS 5839 is the national guidance recognised by the National Fire Chiefs Council and industry, and choosing contractors who follow this standard can help improve fire safety and reduce the likelihood of false alarms. NSI-certificated companies are well versed in this standard, ensuring installations meet regulatory requirements. It is essential that fire-safety professionals and those responsible for building safety take steps to engage competent fire-risk assessors and fire-safety installers, to ensure they comply with relevant standards and implement best practices to create a safer environment for all.
For more information, go to www.nsi.org.uk
About the Author
NSI - National Security Inspectorate
The National Security Inspectorate is the UK's most highly trusted and respected, independent, UKAS-accredited certification body in the security and fire safety sectors.
As a not-for-profit organisation helping to protect homeowners, businesses, the public sector and the general public, we count premium local providers, as well as the UK's premier national security and fire safety providers amongst our clients.
Our mission is to secure the highest standards of safety and security for buyers of commercial and domestic fire and security systems, guarding and security services, through independent, third party audit and certification in the UK and Eire.
