Security Systems
Fire alarm installation and servicing in Kent
Fire alarm systems installed and serviced across Kent, specified to the category the building actually needs rather than the one that is easiest to sell.
- Free estimates
- Insurance work undertaken
- Domestic & commercial
Two different standards, and which one applies to you
Fire detection in the UK splits along a line that catches people out. BS 5839-1 covers non-domestic premises, meaning offices, shops, factories, warehouses and hotels. BS 5839-6 covers domestic premises, including houses in multiple occupation. They are different documents with different language, and a system specified under one is not automatically right under the other.
For a commercial building the duty sits under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and it falls on the responsible person for the premises. That duty is to carry out a fire risk assessment and act on it. The alarm system is one of the outcomes of that assessment, which is why any quote that specifies a system without asking what your risk assessment says is starting in the wrong place.
What the categories actually mean
Under BS 5839-1 a system is described by a letter and a number, and the letter tells you what it is protecting. L is life, P is property, M is manual only.
- M, manual call points only, with no automatic detection at all
- L1, automatic detection throughout, in every room and space
- L2, escape routes plus defined high risk areas
- L3, escape routes plus the rooms that open onto them, which is the common specification
- L4, escape routes and circulation areas only, meaning corridors and stairways
- L5, a system designed around a specific risk objective that the others do not cover
- P1, property protection throughout, and P2, property protection in defined high risk areas
Domestic systems and HMOs
BS 5839-6 grades domestic systems by letter rather than category, and the grades describe the type and reliability of the system rather than its coverage. The standard was revised, and the current version has removed the old Grades B and E, and split D and F into D1, D2, F1 and F2. That matters if you are working from older guidance, because a grade somebody quoted you a few years ago may no longer exist.
The practical distinction in most domestic and HMO work is whether the detectors are mains powered with a backup, and whether the backup is a sealed long-life battery or a replaceable one. Landlords are the group most often caught out here, because the grade required is usually written into the licence or the local authority's HMO conditions rather than left to preference.
Servicing, and how often it is actually required
For a commercial system under BS 5839-1, servicing is approximately six monthly by a competent person. There is a permitted window rather than a hard date, so a visit falling between five and seven months apart is still compliant, which is worth knowing if you are trying to align visits with other maintenance.
For domestic systems under BS 5839-6, a Grade A system is serviced annually. Grade D and F systems get a six monthly inspection, which for a rented property falls to the landlord or a competent person. Every system, of any grade, is meant to be user-tested weekly, which is the requirement almost everybody ignores and the one that costs nothing.
Alongside that sits the log book. On commercial premises it is expected to be there and to be filled in, and it is one of the first things asked for when anything goes wrong.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What category of fire alarm does my building need?
It comes out of your fire risk assessment rather than from a catalogue. For a lot of commercial premises the answer is L3, meaning escape routes plus the rooms opening onto them, but that is a common answer rather than a default. If your risk assessment names a category, that is the specification. If you do not have one, that is the thing to sort out first, because it is a legal duty in its own right under the Fire Safety Order.
How often does a fire alarm need servicing?
A commercial system under BS 5839-1 is approximately six monthly, with a permitted window of five to seven months between visits. Domestic Grade A systems are annual. Grade D and F domestic systems get a six monthly inspection, which in a rented property is the landlord's responsibility. On top of any of those, every system is meant to be user-tested weekly, which takes a minute and is the check most often skipped.
Can a fire alarm be linked to the intruder alarm or CCTV?
They can share infrastructure and in some buildings that makes sense, but they should stay distinct systems doing distinct jobs. A fire system has to behave predictably under conditions where other systems may have failed, so we would not tie its detection into a general security panel. What is genuinely useful is coordinating the install, because the cabling routes and the access work overlap and doing both at once costs less.
Do you cover HMOs and rented property?
Yes. HMOs are the ones worth getting right first time, because the grade required is normally written into the licence or the council's conditions rather than left to the landlord's judgement. Bring the licence conditions or the risk assessment and we will specify to them. If nobody has told you which grade applies, we will tell you what the property would ordinarily need and where to confirm it.
Will you service a fire alarm another company installed?
Yes, on most common panel types. Bring the log book and any commissioning paperwork, because on fire systems the documentation genuinely matters and its absence is the usual complication rather than the hardware. Where a system was never commissioned properly or was specified to the wrong category, we will tell you that plainly, because servicing a system that was wrong from the start does not make it right.
Free estimates
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No up-selling, just simple honest advice. Domestic and commercial work across Aylesford, Maidstone, Medway, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Bromley.