Fire

There are eight categories of commercial fire alarms set out in the British Standard (BS 5839). To understand which category of fire alarm your business needs, you will need to ask a fire safety expert to carry out a fire risk assessment of your building. They will consider the type of building it is, its contents, the nature of your business and the level of risk.

The eight categories of commercial fire alarm are as follows; we can fit all categories of alarm.

Manual Fire Alarms (Category M)

M category fire alarms are the simplest of fire alarms, these rely on people inside a building detecting a fire and manually activating the alarm. Typically, a manual fire alarm system consists of a series of break glass units, installed at each exit point in a building.

Automatic Fire Alarms

These alarms automatically detect fire using heat or smoke detectors.

For the Protection of Life (Category L)

L category fire alarms are the ones considered to be the best for protecting life. There are five sub-categories (L1-L5), which classify an alarm’s level of effectiveness:

• L1 Alarms — Maximum Life Protection. Detectors are installed in all areas of a building where a fire could start and linked up to a centralised alarm system. This category is ideal for large premises such as hotels and care homes.
• L2 Alarms — Additional Life Protection. Smoke detectors are installed in all rooms that form part of an escape route, including corridors. Detectors are also installed in high-risk rooms, such as kitchens, boiler rooms and areas with heavy plant machinery. This category is good for factories or medium-sized residential premises.
• L3 Alarms — Standard Life Protection. Detectors are installed in all escape routes and rooms that open onto an escape route. This category is often used in standard-sized office blocks and commercial buildings with flights of stairs.
• L4 Alarms — Modest Life Protection. Detectors are installed in escape-route areas only, such as corridors and stairways, as well as circulation areas that make up part of the escape route. Commercial properties with lower levels of risk might install this category of alarm.
• L5 Alarms — Localised Life Protection. This category of alarm is used to tackle a fire risk in a certain area of a building, such as a room storing hazardous materials. It will be used in addition to an L4 or L3 system.

For the Protection of Premises (Category P)

P category fire alarm systems are best for protecting property. There are two sub-categories:

• P1 — Complete Fire Protection. Detectors are installed in all areas of a building, lowering the risk of damage, disruption, and financial impact.
• P2 — Protection for Parts of a Building. Detectors are installed in high risk areas only and will help to minimise any damage to the property and losses to the business.

Our Process for Fire Alarm Installations

After your initial enquiry, our process is as follows:

1. Conduct a site visit or remote site assessment, and discuss your requirements
2. Specify the works required and provide a quote
3. Once the quote is accepted, we will book it in as a job, procure materials and organise labour
4. If required, initiate a remote monitoring connection with the local fire brigade
5. Undertake a risk assessment and produce a Risk Assessment Method Statement, which describes the safety precautions we will put in place to control the risks identified in the risk assessment
6. Confirm dates for the work
7. Complete the work, set up any software, check signalling of any remote monitoring
8. Obtain any necessary certificates and if required, apply for a unique reference number through the local fire brigade
9. Produce an Operation and Maintenance manual (O&M manual)