Professional Commercial Fire Alarm installers

Unless you are a professionally trained fire safety officer, understanding and implementing UK fire alarm regulations can seem a little daunting. The regulations are not straightforward and can have many variations, depending on your commercial set up, building layout and the fire risks present. That’s why TF Installations are professional commercial fire alarm installers that can help.

Making heads or tails of a very dry set of fire regulations can give anyone a headache, so this is why we thought we would try to explain them in a more understandable way to help you out.

Don’t forget that if you need any advice about what sort of fire safety system you need in your commercial business premises, you can talk to us. We are commercial fire alarm installers with many years of experience working with companies across London and the South East of England.

What are fire alarm regulations?

Fire alarm regulations are a set of recommendations that commercial properties need to meet with to provide the best fire protection for the building occupants. The regulations form part of The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 (RRO).

The UK government also requires business owners to have their fire safety systems planned, installed and maintained according to British Standard, BS 5839. It is for this reason that to make sure that you have adequate fire protection on your premises that you work with a professional commercial fire alarm installers, such as TF Installations.

TF Installations are fully accredited alarm installers, and all of our work is carried out in accordance with the relevant manufacturer’s ′ requirements and applicable National Industry Standards.

Do you need a fire alarm?

One of the most common questions we are asked by business owners if whether or not they actually need a fire alarm installed on their work premises. Many people may think that there is a way around needing an alarm at all, but according to current UK fire alarm regulations, all business premises need to have a suitable fire detection and protection system installed.

The main reason for having a fire alarm system installed is to alert you as early as possible of a fire outbreak so that you can safely evacuate the building and potentially save the lives of your staff working on your premises and any visitors to your workplace.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that every single UK business needs to have a fire alarm. Confusing, isn’t it? This is why it will make sense to contact our fire safety experts at TF Installations to properly discuss your needs.

What sort of fire alarm system should you have?

The type of fire alarm system you have installed will depend on a lot of factors. These include:

•         If you store or use any high-risk substances, such as flammable chemicals
•         If you operate high-risk tools or machinery or undertake activities with high fire risk, such as cooking with deep fat fryers
•         If you are responsible for the care of vulnerable occupants, such as babies and young children, the elderly or disabled
•         If you have an unusual premises layout where a fire wouldn’t be easily spotted
•         If you have multiple floors in your building where a single sounding alarm wouldn’t be heard

Having your premises fire risk assessed by commercial fire alarm installers

In most cases, unless you have a very simple one-room, open layout business premises, you will most certainly need to have some form of fire protection system installed.

The first step to take would be to have a Fire Risk Assessment done. The results of your fire risk assessment will be able to tell you whether you need a fire alarm or not.

If you are planning to move business premises, or you are taking on your first business premises, then having a Fire Risk Assessment will give you a good grounding to understanding your fire risk, and what type of fire alarm system you will need to install.

Should you be inheriting an existing fire safety system from the buildings previous occupants, it may well be the case that the system will not be sufficient to meet your needs. This is why having your existing system assessed and thoroughly tested for safety will let you know if it will be cheaper to remove the system and start again from scratch, or simply update what you have to the level of protection that your business needs.

What are your alarm choices?

Generally speaking, there are three types of fire alarm that you can choose from. Each type has its advantages so you need to understand what they offer before making your decision.

 1: A conventional alarm: This type of alarm divides up your premises into zones. Should you have a fire outbreak, the alarm panel in the affected zone will signify a fire. However, you will only know which zone the fire is in but you may not know the exact area. This is why a conventional fire alarm is most suited for smaller workplaces running low-risk environments.

 2: Addressable fire alarm: This system has devices with their own unique electronic address. Should one detector activate, the fire alarm panel will be able to tell you exactly where the fire breakout is. These are most commonly used within larger, more high-risk premises such as hospitals, care homes and schools.

 3: Wireless alarm systems: These are much better suited to premises that cannot have lots of hard cabling installed, such as historic buildings and churches. They work in the same way as an addressable system, but without the hard wiring. Instead, there is a secure, wireless link between each sensor and the fire alarm panel.

 Contact our team today

We hope this breakdown of fire alarm systems has helped. Don’t forget that you can ask our team of expert commercial fire alarm installers for advice and guidance. We are happy to help!