Fire safety questions, answered

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the "Responsible Person", usually the employer, owner, landlord or managing agent, must make sure a fire risk assessment is carried out and that fire precautions are kept in working order. In shared buildings there can be more than one Responsible Person, and they must co-operate.

The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It applies to virtually all non-domestic premises and the common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add further duties for certain multi-occupied residential buildings. We work to the 2005 Order and the relevant British Standards.

BS 5839-1 recommends servicing by a competent person at least every six months, so two visits a year, plus a weekly user test of a manual call point recorded in the log book. We provide the six-monthly servicing and issue a certificate after each visit. See our fire alarm maintenance page for detail.

BS 5839-1 is the code of practice for fire detection and alarm systems in commercial and other non-domestic buildings. BS 5839-6 covers systems in domestic premises. Most business and multi-occupancy work is designed and maintained to BS 5839-1.

Yes. The Fire Safety Order 2005 requires the Responsible Person to carry out and maintain a fire risk assessment, recording the significant findings if five or more people are employed. Review it regularly and whenever the building, its use or its occupancy changes. Most premises review annually.

Yes. You are free to change fire alarm maintenance provider whenever you like, and you do not need to replace a working system to do it. We take over systems installed by other companies, and the initial takeover audit is free. See our fire alarm takeover page.

A beeping panel or a fault light usually means a specific problem, often a low battery, a detector in fault, or a system needing a reset. Call us on 020 3393 1661 (Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 10am to 3pm) and describe what the panel is showing. Sometimes we can guide you through a simple fix on the phone; otherwise we will arrange a visit.

Yes. Flame Shield London is BAFE registered and an approved Fike and C-TEC installer, and our technicians are fully qualified and BAFE certified. We are the fire safety division of Electro Heating Limited, company no. 12609754.

No. Consultations, installation quotes and takeover audits are free and carry no obligation. We survey before quoting because an honest price for fire safety work depends on the building, and we explain the price before any work starts.

No. Our phone is answered Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm. We would rather be honest about that than advertise a service we do not run. For urgent faults, call 020 3393 1661 during opening hours and we will help as quickly as we can.

We are based in Southgate, North London and cover London and the surrounding counties. Our core area is North London, including Southgate, Winchmore Hill, Wood Green, Finsbury Park, Enfield and Barnet, and we work across the rest of Greater London.

Yes. We issue certificates for fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers and fire doors, to the relevant British Standard. All our services support compliance with insurance policies.

It depends on the building, the system and the scope, which is why we survey before quoting. We do not publish fixed prices we cannot stand behind, and we explain the cost before any work starts. Ask us for a free, no-obligation quote.

Use the booking form on our book page, which takes under a minute, or call 020 3393 1661 (Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 10am to 3pm). We call every enquiry back within 24 to 48 hours to confirm the details.