The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO) 2005 provides a safety standard for all commercial buildings. Current UK fire alarm regulations state that all commercial buildings must have an appropriate fire detection system in place. 

There are 3 main types of fire alarm system: conventional, addressable, and wireless.

Conventional Fire Alarm
–    divides your premises into zone areas
–    in the event of an alert, the fire alarm panel identifies the zone, but not the precise location
–    most suitable for smaller or lower risk buildings

Addressable Fire Alarm
–    each individual device has its own unique electronic address
–    if one activates, the fire alarm panel tells you precisely where the activation is
–    most suitable for medium to larger or higher risk buildings

Wireless Fire Alarm
–    uses a secure wireless link between the sensors and the fire alarm panel
–    typically works like an addressable system, just without the wires
–    most suitable for premises that don’t want lots of cables

UK fire alarm legislation doesn’t specify exactly what type of fire alarm system should be used in what types of premises. It comes down to what is ‘appropriate’ for your particular business.

To make sure you get the right fire alarm system to meet UK fire alarm regulations, it is recommended that you use a reputable fire safety company to design it.

You should also make sure they design to BS 5839 specifications (the relevant British Standard) otherwise you may not be covered for regulatory or insurance purposes.

Fire alarm categories are the level of cover required for your building which is decided by a risk assessor. These categories largely affect the price of an installation but its critical the right one is installed for the use of your building. Below are the current categories a risk assessor may specify. 

• Catogory L- Life Protection
• L1 provides Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) and is to be installed into all areas of a building.
• L2 provides Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) as defined in L3 as well as high risk or hazardous areas. Examples of this could be Kitchens, boiler rooms, sleeping risk and storerooms if not fire resistant or if smoke could affect escape routes.
• L3 Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) with smoke detection should be installed on escape routes with detection in rooms opening onto escape routes.
• L4 provides Automatic Fire Detection (AFD) within escape routes only.
• L5 is installed in buildings with a specific risk that has been identified. An example of this would be if there was an area of high risk that requires detection the category would be L5/M

• Category P- Property Protection
• P1 protects the whole building, 
•  P2 is installed in defined parts of the building only.

• Category M – Manual 
• M Fire Alarm System is a manual operation only system which has call points on all exits as well as corridors where persons are not expected to walk any more than 45m to operate one.

BS5839 recommends that a fire alarm system should be inspected by a competent person at least every 6 months and the government recommends following this standard

Firstly a fire risk assessment will state what category of fire alarm is required for your premises. This can then be given to a fire alarm designer who will design and specify an appropriate system.

With so many standards and different legislations to be aware of in addition to running a business, it can be very time consuming and confusing to get your fire safety compliant. This is what we are here for, to take this stress away. If you have any questions or specific needs just reach out to us either by phone, email or on our social media platforms. We will happily answer any questions or put you on the right path to getting the answer. There is no such thing as a silly question when it comes to fire safety.