Believing that these false alarms are due, in no small part, to systems that have been badly designed and equipment which has been poorly installed by suppliers who lack in competence, the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) and the fire alarm industry have developed a registration scheme for premises which have monitored fire alarm systems.



This will affect most public premises, such as offices, shops, factories, warehouses, educational establishments and residential care homes, as they have monitored alarms.

A monitored alarm is one that is linked to an Alarm Receiving Centre (known colloquially as an ARC), as opposed to a Bell Only system which is one where the ringing bell relies on attracting someone's attention who then rings the Fire Brigade.

An ARC is a permanently manned call centre whose staff are dedicated to monitoring security alarms and contacting the right Authority if there is an activation. An ARC is bound by strict legislation to ensure the highest standards of operation.

At the moment if a monitored alarm is activated, the ARC is able to alert the Fire & Rescue Service immediately. Soon, however, monitored alarms will have to be registered by the CFOA who will issue a Unique Reference Number (URN) to the registered system. If there is an activation, this URN will be required to be quoted by the ARC before they call the Fire Brigade.

The CFOA will only issue URNs to register systems and equipment if it has been designed, installed, commissioned and maintained to a certain standard.

To achieve this standard (for example BAFE SP203), a supplier will have to have been successfully audited by an independent specialist inspection body such as BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment) who are recognised by Government, other enforcement authorities and insurers.

Put simply, if a monitored fire alarm is not certified and maintained by a company who has achieved third party accreditation, the CFOA will not issue a URN and without a URN, the Alarm Receiving Centre cannot immediately notify the Fire & Rescue Service if there is an activation.

This registration scheme is part of the drive by CFOA to raise the standards when it comes to fire safety.

In addition, the new Regulatory Reform Act introduces new Fire Safety law and comes into effect on 1st October 2006.

This Act puts the onus firmly on the persons who are responsible for public buildings to appoint a responsible person to undertake a fire risk assessment for that property. This was formerly done by the Fire & Rescue Service but they will no longer do this, and Fire Safety Certificates will no longer be issued.

The responsible person is charged with ensuring that the suppliers of their fire safety equipment are competent. One way of proving a supplier's competence is to make sure that they have third party accreditation, such as BAFE.

Because third party accredited suppliers have already demonstrated their competence, the information they provide can be trusted. Such suppliers could also assist with (but not undertake) carrying out the fire risk assessment for the responsible person.

There are also organisations that will carry fire risk assessments for a fee on behalf of a company but the ultimate responsibility for fire safety lies with the individual company and this cannot be deferred.

Therefore it is preferable that the responsible person actually carries out the assessment to maintain a true level of understanding and control.

Various check lists have been produced to help the responsible person with this task. The risk assessment includes identifying fire hazards, and people who are at risk, as well as identifying the action that can be taken to protect the premises and people in it.

The fire risk assessment must also include a record of what the risk assessor has identified, and a clear plan of how to prevent fire and keep people safe. This information has to be shared with all the people at that premises - in other words, training must be given.

Another good reason why it is best for the responsible person to carry out the fire risk assessment is that it must be kept up-to-date by regular review. Any changes which are identified in both the risk and the action to combat it must be recorded and communicated to everybody in the building.