Fire Detection Systems

 Fire alarms in the workplace are subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It states that you, as a business, must make sure that the following is adhered to in regards to detection and alarms:

‘the premises are, to the extent that it is appropriate, equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment and with fire detectors and alarms’

This means that, while the law doesn’t explicitly demand you install fire alarms in every business, they are all but mandatory to ensure lives are safeguarded. 

The only situation in which you might argue against requiring a fire alarm system is if you have fewer than five members of staff, all working in the same small space where the alarm can be quickly and easily raised by shouting to each other due to proximity.

The above scenario is relatively rare these days, especially for offices and other workplaces where employees are spread across large, open plan spaces, across multiple floors or even across multiple buildings.

As a business, you have a duty to meet fire safety regulations, but in truth, it should go beyond legalities for two main reasons: 

• To safeguard lives – Fire alarms are important in the early detection and warning of fires. This allows anyone in your building to evacuate safely and with plenty of time. Above all else, saving lives is the priority.

• To prevent loss of business – A fire in your business can be devastating to your operations, but if it’s detected early it can hopefully be dealt with quickly either with an appropriate extinguisher or by the fire and rescue services. This can help limit damage and keep you in business.

 Fires can be caused by many things – sometimes accidental and sometimes due to negligence – but if you have an appropriate fire detection and alarm system, you give yourself a better chance of limiting the devastation they can cause. 

BS 5839-1 is the British Standard that categorises different fire alarm systems. These are designed to better plan which type of fire alarm system is most suitable for your workplace based on the building, the risk level and your operating practices.

• Category M – Manual fire alarm system – break-glass call points, no automatic detectors incorporated.

• Category L1 – Systems installed throughout all areas of the building.

• Category L2 – Systems installed in defined parts of the building only, including all parts necessary to satisfy the recommendations of the code for a Category L3 system.

• Category L3 – Systems designed to give warning of fire early enough, allowing all occupants to escape safely (with the possible exception of those in the room the fire originates in).

• Category L4 – Systems installed within those parts of the escape routes comprising circulation areas and circulation spaces, such as corridors and stairways.

• Category L5 – Systems in which protected area(s) and/or the location of detectors are designed to satisfy specific fire safety objectives (other than that of a Category L1, L2, L3 or L4 system).

• Category P1 – Automatic fire detection systems designed to protect the property – systems installed throughout all areas of the building.

• Category P2 – Automatic fire detection systems designed to protect the property – systems installed only in defined parts of the building.