In the aftermath of Grenfell External Wall Fire Reviews (EWS1) were carried out. High rise flats and apartment buildings that have failed an EWS1 have their status in the event of a fire changed from a Stay Put Policy to a Simultaneous Evacuation Policy.

To ensure a Simultaneous Evacuation Policy is adhered to, a building must either employ a full time Waking Watch service (recommended, on average, as 1 Waking Watch Guard for every two floors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year), or install a Common Fire Alarm System which has heat detectors placed at every window in a domestic apartment which is part of a wall with the condemned cladding.

To retrospectively install a Wired Common Fire Alarm System would both be prohibitively expensive and also potentially compromise existing fire compartmentalisation, resulting in further costs to remedy or leaving the building at a greater risk of a spreading fire. A Wireless Common Fire Alarm is, therefore, the preferred option.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), in conjunction with ARMA; Fire Protection Association; Fire Industry Association; OPTIVO; and Institution of Fire Engineers, state in their report that;

“Building owners should move to install common fire alarms as quickly as possible to reduce or remove the dependence on waking watches.

This is the clear expectation for buildings where remediation cannot be undertaken in the ‘short term’. This approach should, in almost all circumstances, reduce the financial burden on residents where they are funding the waking watches.”

Main Control Panel  Situated on the ground floor must have Independent Isolated Mains Supply.

Radio Booster Unit Roughly one needed every other floor in riser cupboards also requires Independent Isolated Mains Supply.

Radio Heat Detector with Combined Sounder Minimum of one per residential unit – must be at a level of 85dB outside each bedroom door.

Radio Heat Detector One to be installed close to each window situated in a wall with condemned cladding at least one such detector should have combined sounder as above.

Radio Survey Kit Used to measure signal strength between walls and floors to identify required locations of repeater panels to ensure complete system coverage.

Legally speaking, anyone can fit a fire alarm, so long as they are deemed ‘competent’, as laid out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If you wire a fire alarm, you need to be aware of the Fire Safety Order. If you do it incorrectly, you could be prosecuted. There have been cases of fire authorities charging fire alarm installers for doing things wrong.


However, independent fire safety experts recommend that: “This product should be installed, commissioned, and maintained by qualified service personnel in accordance with codes of practice, statutory requirements, and IEE regulations for electrical equipment in buildings.” In practice, the main panel and repeater panels will need to be installed by a qualified electrician so that relevant fire accreditation would be preferred. As the detectors and sounders are battery-powered and wireless, they can be installed by a competent person.

Prior to installation, the building where the system is to be installed must be surveyed to ensure that each device to be fitted has a good radio communication path to the control or booster panel. This is done with the V-Fire survey kit. When installing devices, they must be positioned as per the survey. Installing a device even a few inches from the surveyed position can affect the signal strength significantly, especially if any metalwork is contained in the ceiling above the new position (e.g. air-conditioning ducting).

Once the building has been surveyed, the floor plan should be marked up with the locations of the Main Panel, Repeater Panels and all Heat Detectors & Detector / Sounders. The detectors should be labelled by the name of the flat plus the type and number of the detector e.g. 3/1 H1; (Floor 3 – Flat 1 Heat Detector 1).

This allows the fire brigade to quickly identify where a detector has been triggered. From a maintenance point of view, if there is a component fault, the exact location of the faulty component will also be identified on the main panel or by text/email.

The primary system and repeater panels should be installed by a qualified electrician with fire experience. The detectors and sounders can then be installed by a competent person, as and when each dwelling can / will allow. As each detector is installed, it will automatically come into service, meaning that the system does not have to be fully installed before it becomes operational.

Once the condemned cladding has been entirely removed and the building has been signed off as having a Stay Put policy once more, the building management company has a choice of:


1. Decommissioning the entire system – all of the equipment will be removed and the contract will end. All removed equipment will be taken back to Prime Secure stores where it can be tested and reused.


2. The system can be reconfigured from a Common Fire Alarm System to a Stay-Put Evacuation Alert System. In this instance all heat detectors must be removed, leaving sounders only within every residence. The main panel is replaced by a dedicated Evacuation Alert System which is vandal proof and is for exclusive use by the fire brigade. Read more further down this page