Most businesses in the North West have a fire alarm. That’s not in question. What is in question, fairly often, is whether that alarm is doing what it’s supposed to do, whether it’s been maintained within the last twelve months, and whether the paperwork exists to prove it. Those three things together are where a lot of businesses are more exposed than they realise.
We work across Lancashire and the wider North West care homes in Preston, warehouses in Burnley, schools in Blackburn, offices in Chorley, hospitality venues in the Ribble Valley. The range of sites we visit is wide, and the range of fire safety standards we find when we get there is wider still.
What the law actually requires
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 puts the responsibility for fire safety on the ‘responsible person’ in most cases the employer, building owner, or whoever manages the premises. That person is required to carry out a suitable fire risk assessment, put appropriate measures in place, and keep records if they employ five or more people. They also need to review the assessment whenever there are significant changes to the premises, or periodically as a matter of course.
Since the Building Safety Act 2022, enforcement activity has increased noticeably. The consequences of being found non-compliant are not trivial enforcement notices, unlimited fines, and in serious cases, prosecution. The building safety landscape has shifted, and regulators across the North West are more active than they were.
Why BAFE registration matters
24/7 Protection holds full BAFE accreditation. BAFE is the independent register for fire safety companies in the UK, and registration means our work is audited against British Standards by an external body. It’s not a self-declared standard it has to be earned and maintained.
This matters to you for a few reasons. Firstly, many commercial insurers now specifically prefer or require that fire systems are installed and maintained by BAFE-registered companies. Secondly, if something goes wrong and a fire causes damage or injury, the question of whether your systems were maintained by a competent, independently verified company will be asked. BAFE registration is how you answer that question with confidence.
Not all fire alarm systems are the same
A conventional fire alarm system is adequate for a small, straightforward building. But a multi-storey building, a care home, a school, or a large industrial site needs an addressable system one that can tell you exactly which detector has triggered, rather than just which zone. In a building with dozens of rooms and multiple floors, that difference can be the margin between an orderly evacuation and chaos.
Some environments need something more specialised still. Server rooms, heritage buildings, and clean manufacturing environments often can’t accommodate standard smoke detectors without generating constant false alarms or risking damage from detector discharge. For these settings we install aspiration systems, which continuously sample the air and detect the earliest signs of smoke before a fire takes hold. We also install AOV systems automatic opening vents which release heat and smoke from a building during a fire, keeping escape routes clear. These activate automatically via the fire alarm and need regular testing to remain compliant.
Taking over from your existing provider
We speak to a lot of businesses who are unhappy with their current fire safety provider but feel stuck. The maintenance visits don’t happen when they’re supposed to. The paperwork isn’t being kept in order. Getting a call back after logging a fault takes longer than it should. If that sounds familiar, you can switch. We take over existing systems all the time, regardless of who installed them. We’ll carry out a full health check, bring your documentation up to date, and take it from there.
To talk about your fire safety requirements anywhere across the North West, call 24/7 Protection on 01254 416247
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