Fire Alarms Leeds – Making The Complex Simple

FIRE ALARMS LEEDS – INSTALLING SYSTEMS SINCE 1982

Our fire alarms office in Leeds has been serving the region for over thirty years. Here are the super-important (if a bit boring) facts that you need to know.

DO YOU NEED ONE?

Not sure if your business needs a fire alarm? Check out our two-second flowchart.

So unless you operate from one tiny-room I guess you need one.

FIRE ALARMS LEEDS – YOU CARRY THE CAN!

The Fire Safety Order says you must carry out ‘Due-Diligence’ to make sure you employ a ‘competent’ installer. ‘Hold the fort! .. What does that mean?’ Well don’t worry the government advises that the simplest way to prove it is to use a company with third-party certification such as NSI Gold / BAFE Modular Scheme. Quite a mouthful I know but you just look for this badge.

Be careful though there are many fire alarm companies in Leeds saying on their websites phrases like – ‘Working to BAFE standards’. To you, legally, that’s in the chocolate fireguard category. Remember the person carrying the can would be ‘The Responsible Person’. If you’re not sure that’s you then you can substitute owner, proprietor, managing director, CEO. If you’re at the top of your company tree, no matter how small or large, then … It’s you!

MAKE SURE IT’S UP TO SCRATCH

One of the most common failings found on a fire-risk assessment (a legal requirement for UK companies) is ‘non-compliant fire alarm’. It’s obviously very important to stay on the right side of Fire Safety law but how would you feel if you found your insurer wasn’t going to pay out because your Fire Alarm wasn’t up to scratch? You wouldn’t be the first company in Leeds to suffer that fate. To be insurance approved many insurers would insist on a company that is BAFE SP203 approved – Not one that says they work to that standard. The British Standard BS5839:2017 is complex and we have been asked to look at many systems across Leeds that often don’t come close to meeting it. In fact it’s quite interesting to Google a few and discover many saying they work to BS5839:2013 … pssst it changed last year!

NEEDS CERTIFYING

A fire alarm system should come with four certificates, one for each stage of the process: Design, Installation, Commissioning and Handover. If you are getting a quote for a fire alarm system a good test is to ask, ‘Will it come with any kind of certificate?’. If the answer isn’t the four we’ve just mentioned …well maybe you need another quote. If a fire officer or your insurer asked to see them and they don’t exist you’ve got problems. Oh and by the way trying to get an approved company to certify someone else’s poor installation … like plaiting fog!

FIRE ALARMS LEEDS – WHAT CATEGORY?

Fire alarm companies in Leeds and in fact across the UK often make the mistake of deciding what category of fire alarm you need. And that’s a bad thing how? Well it seems a little odd but they need to be very technical and understand how to design a system that meets every category .. but choosing the category should be done by others. Confusing ay? Look, they can certainly be one of the people who advise and have an opinion but the main people involved in the choice are your fire-risk assessor, your insurer and finally – you. For instance a fire risk assessor might be happy with a Life Protection system but you and your insurer would also like to save the business. So fire alarm companies should tell you all the categories and what they mean but you should decide which one to go for – then they have to know their stuff and make sure the design meets your choice exactly.

FIRE ALARMS LEEDS – THEY NEED TO BE SERVICED

After installation your system must be maintained. It has to be serviced a minimum of twice a year. If it was a large system or perhaps an dirty, dusty working environment then it would need servicing more often. Now here’s the thing that can get missed when getting quotes – Will the installation company that installed it want to service it? You would be surprised how many fire alarm companies in Leeds don’t and are only interested in the installation. This can leave you up the proverbial creek without a fire canoe, never mind a paddle! You see servicing requires a certificate too and just as before there are not many approved companies interested in issuing certificates to poorly installed fire alarms.
Systems need testing weekly … by you! And that needs to be recorded in your logbook. If you get a fire officer’s visit it’s one of the documents he will definitely ask for, right after asking for your current fire risk assessment. If you don’t want the hassle of weekly testing we can handle that too. Here’s a list of services available:

GET A FREE QUOTE

Our quotations are completely free and without obligation so call us or fill in our Contact Form now.

We can provide conventional, addressable or analogue addressable fire alarms both wired and wireless. From corner shops to castles we can take care of it. Keeping you compliant and legal doesn’t have to cost the earth. We cover all areas from our Leeds office. We’re local and can call at a time that’s convenient to you. Get a straightforward quote, no smoke and mirrors and rest easy at night.

UK legislation The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006 is quite onerous and following the Grenfell Tower Disaster is about to be amended and get a whole lot moreso. Never was it more important to sort out your fire-safety protection and keep yourself on the right side of current and future legislation. We’ve been doing just that for businesses since 1982 and have over 15,000 customers across Leeds and West Yorkshire. Why don’t you join them and get a free quotation today via our Contact Page?

Getting Smart With Keybury Fire Alarms, Leeds