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Fire Alarms
BAFE SP203-1 certified fire alarm design, installation and maintenance for housing providers, hotels and commercial buildings across London and the South East.
Design, installation, wireless systems and maintenance: Fire Systems Ltd looks after fire alarms for their whole life under BAFE SP203-1 certification, with our own directly employed engineers and a 24/7 emergency team.
A fire alarm has one job: to give people enough warning to get out before smoke and heat block their escape. Smoke is what kills most people in fires, and it spreads fastest when nobody is awake to notice it. That is why the right fire alarm depends on who is in the building, whether they are asleep, and how they are expected to leave. In England, 77% of fire-related deaths in the year to March 2025 happened in homes, and in almost a third of those there was no smoke alarm.
Fire Systems Ltd has worked in fire protection since 1992. From our base in Kingston upon Thames we look after fire alarms in thousands of homes for housing associations and local authorities, as well as hotels, offices, heritage buildings and mixed-use blocks. The same engineers who install our systems also service them, so they know the buildings and the people who live and work in them.
We have specialised in wireless fire alarm installations since 2007. In occupied homes, listed buildings and hotels that cannot close, a wireless system means detection where it is needed without chasing cables through walls, ceilings or historic fabric.
BAFE SP203-1 Certified for Fire Detection and Alarm Systems
Fire Systems Ltd holds BAFE SP203-1 third-party certification for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and alarm systems. SSAIB, a UKAS-accredited body, audits our procedures and inspects our work on site, so the standard you get does not depend on which engineer attends. We are also members of the Fire Industry Association.
Our Technical Manager, Dax Patel, holds FIA qualifications in fire alarm design, maintenance and advanced commissioning, and manufacturer training in radio-linked fire detection. He signs off designs and engineer competence. Every engineer completes refresher training on BS 5839 every six months and an annual FIA refresher, and their qualifications are held in our Mango QMS, which stops anyone being allocated to work they are not certified for.
SP203-1 sits alongside our other certifications: BAFE SP203-4 (emergency lighting), SP207 (evacuation alert systems), SP101 (extinguishers), DS301 (domestic detection), NICEIC, IFC SDI 19 (smoke control), and ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001.
The Regulations and Standards Behind Every Fire Alarm
Fire alarms in England are governed by law and by British Standards. The law sets the duty. The standards set out how to meet it. These are the ones that shape our work:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The main fire safety law for non-domestic premises and the common parts of blocks of flats. Article 13 requires the responsible person to provide fire detectors and alarms where necessary. Article 17 requires them to be maintained in efficient working order and good repair.
Fire Safety Act 2021. Confirms that the Fire Safety Order covers the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings, so fire risk assessments for blocks of flats now look beyond the common parts.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. In force since 23 January 2023. Residents of every block with two or more flats must be given fire safety instructions that match the building's evacuation strategy, so the alarm design and the instructions have to agree.
Building Safety Act 2022. For higher-risk buildings of 18m or seven storeys and above, accurate records of fire safety systems form part of the golden thread of building information.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022. Since 1 October 2022, social landlords must have a smoke alarm on every storey of a home and a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance, and repair faulty alarms promptly.
Approved Document B. The Building Regulations guidance for fire detection in new buildings and material alterations.
BS 5839-1:2025. The code of practice for fire alarms in non-domestic buildings and the common parts of flats. It replaced the 2017 edition on 30 April 2025 and now recommends smoke, multi-sensor or carbon monoxide detection in sleeping areas rather than heat detectors, unless a risk assessment justifies otherwise.
BS 5839-6:2019. The code of practice for fire detection inside homes. For social rented housing it recommends at least a mains-powered Grade D1, Category LD2 system.
BS EN 54. The product standards for fire alarm equipment. Part 25 covers wireless (radio-linked) components, so a properly specified wireless system is held to the same standard of performance as a wired one.
BS 5839-1 also sets the level of cover, from Category M (manual call points only) through L5 to L1 (automatic detection throughout) for life safety, and P1 and P2 for property protection. We agree the category with you and your fire risk assessor before we design anything.
Our fire alarm services
Design & installation. New systems and upgrades in occupied buildings, designed, commissioned and certified
Wireless fire alarms. Radio-linked systems for listed buildings, hotels and occupied homes
Servicing & maintenance. Planned servicing, 24/7 call-outs and repairs to BS 5839-1
Why Some Buildings Need More From Their Fire Alarm
Every building needs a way to raise the alarm, but the level of detection depends on the risk to the people inside.
Hotels and guest accommodation: Guests are asleep, in an unfamiliar building, and may not know where the exits are. A fire alarm in these buildings needs detection in every bedroom and sounders loud enough to wake people, which BS 5839-1 sets at 75 dB(A) at the bedhead.
Sheltered and supported housing: Residents may be older, less mobile, or rely on staff to help them leave. These schemes usually combine a full communal system with detection inside each flat, links to the warden call or monitoring centre, and visual beacons or vibrating pads for residents who are deaf or hard of hearing.
General needs blocks of flats: Most purpose-built blocks are designed for residents to stay put unless a fire affects their own flat. A communal alarm can send everyone into the stairs at once, so the priority is reliable detection inside each home, with communal systems where the fire strategy calls for them.
Listed and heritage buildings: Detection has to protect the building without damaging it. This is where a wireless system often makes the difference.
Not sure what your building needs? We survey the building, review the fire risk assessment and evacuation strategy, and tell you plainly what is required and why.
Fire Alarms for the Whole Life of Your Building
Most clients come to us for one of three reasons. Each has its own page with the detail:
A new system or upgrade is needed. Fire alarm design and installation
Cabling would damage the building or disturb residents. Wireless fire alarms
An existing system needs looking after. Fire alarm servicing and maintenance
Because the same BAFE SP203-1 certified team handles all three, the design, the installation records and the maintenance logbook stay together for every building.
Experience across thousands of homes
Installation. New fire alarm systems in 16 occupied housing properties, and a major upgrade programme for another housing association, delivered with the clients' consultants from survey to handover.
Wireless. Radio-linked systems in a Grade II listed hotel, a museum in a Grade II* listed church and a listed period house of nine flats, plus 450 wireless monitoring units fitted in six weeks.
Maintenance. Around 17,600 planned maintenance calls a year on one housing contract across about 2,200 residential blocks, with 100% of response times met.
For one London housing association we care for around 3,500 homes, including 78 higher-risk buildings, and have kept no-access rates below 2% by booking appointments between 7am and 8pm, including weekends. All our engineers are DBS checked.
“One certified team for design, installation and maintenance, so every building's fire alarm records stay together.”
Fire Systems Ltd is a BAFE SP203-1 certified fire alarm contractor based in Kingston upon Thames, working in fire protection since 1992.
Choosing a Fire Alarm Contractor: What to Check
Third-party certification. Ask for BAFE SP203-1 certification, and check it covers every module you need: design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.
Directly employed engineers. Find out who will actually attend. Our engineers are employed by us, trained by us and know the buildings.
Experience in occupied buildings. Installing in an empty building is easy. Ask how they keep residents protected and informed while the work goes on.
Emergency response. Ask for evidence of attendance times, not promises. On our main housing contracts emergencies are attended within two hours.
Records you can use. Certificates within days, a logbook kept up to date and records you can hand to your fire risk assessor or the Building Safety Regulator.
Wired and wireless. A contractor who only installs one type will recommend that type. We install both and will tell you which suits your building.
Fire Alarm Questions We Are Often Asked
Which fire alarm service do I need?
If you need a new system, an upgrade or more detection, start with design and installation. If cabling would damage the building or disrupt residents, see wireless fire alarms. If the system is in place and needs servicing or repairs, see servicing and maintenance.
Who is responsible for the fire alarm in a block of flats?
The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order, usually the landlord, freeholder or managing agent, is responsible for any communal fire alarm and must keep it maintained. Smoke alarms inside individual flats are covered separately: in social housing the landlord must provide a smoke alarm on every storey and repair faulty alarms promptly.
What category of fire alarm does my building need?
BS 5839-1 sets categories from M (manual call points only) through L5 to L1 (automatic detection throughout) for life safety, and P1 and P2 for property protection. The right category comes from your fire risk assessment and fire strategy. Hotels and sheltered housing usually need far more detection than an office or a general needs block.
What changed in BS 5839-1:2025?
The 2025 edition replaced the 2017 version on 30 April 2025. Among other changes, it now recommends smoke, multi-sensor or carbon monoxide detection in sleeping areas rather than heat detectors, unless a risk assessment justifies otherwise. Existing systems are not automatically non-compliant, but new designs and upgrades should follow the new edition.
Do you cover my area?
We work across London and up to around 25 miles outside it, from our base in Kingston upon Thames.
