Security · Fire detection
Fire detection systems<br />that meet the standard.
Rentals and HMOs have to have working, correctly sited detection, and a landlord has to be able to prove it. We install fire detection systems, from interlinked smoke and heat alarms in a single let to graded systems in HMOs and blocks, certify them, and give you the paperwork.
Surveyed first,
then installed properly.
We establish what the property needs: room count, layout, storeys and whether it is a single let or an HMO.
Mains-powered interlinked smoke and heat alarms, so one triggering sounds them all.
Heat detection in kitchens, where a smoke alarm would only ever be a nuisance.
Higher-category systems where the licence or the council requires them, with panel and sounders.
Installed and certified by a qualified engineer, with the certificate you need for a licence or a tenancy.
Tested through, tenants shown how to test it, and the record written down.
From survey
to handover.
We look at the layout and confirm what category of system the property actually needs.
Devices, cabling, labour and certification, itemised in writing.
Fitted and interlinked, with making good, and minimum disruption to tenants.
Tested, certificated and documented, ready for your licence or your file.
Answered
plainly.
A fire detection system is the whole arrangement: the detectors, the sounders, the wiring or wireless link between them and, in larger properties, a control panel. A fire alarm is the part that makes the noise. For a house or flat the system is usually mains powered interlinked smoke and heat alarms. For an HMO or a block it is a graded system to BS 5839, often with a panel, and the council or the fire risk assessment will say which grade.
In England, at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. They must be working at the start of a tenancy. HMOs are usually held to a higher standard, set by the council and the licence.
All alarms sound together when any one detects. It matters because someone asleep upstairs needs to hear a fire that starts downstairs. It is required for many HMO categories and is good practice everywhere.
Normally yes. A smoke alarm in a kitchen gets disabled within a fortnight because it goes off making toast. A heat alarm gives you detection without the nuisance.
No. Commercial and larger multi-occupancy systems are usually expected to be installed and certified by a BAFE registered firm. GMAS Group does not hold BAFE, so we stick to domestic, rental and HMO detection and will refer you on if your building needs more.
Yes. You get an installation certificate from the engineer, which is what a council or a letting agent will ask to see.
Yes, in many homes and rentals. Wireless interlinked alarms talk to each other by radio, so there is no cable to chase into walls and ceilings, which suits occupied homes and period properties with ornate plaster. Mains powered models with a backup battery are generally preferred. For graded HMO systems the council or the fire risk assessment may specify a wired system, and we follow that.
Most manufacturers give a replacement date of around ten years from installation, printed on the alarm. Alarms past that date, or ones that chirp, fail a test or have been painted over, should be replaced. We can check the dates across a property or a portfolio and replace what is due.
Someone needs to give access. We arrange the visit directly with the tenants or the agent, keep the disruption to the rooms we are working in, and make good any holes before we leave.
All 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west and south-west London, and we cover north, east and south London as well.
Tell us the property
and we will survey it.
A site visit, an honest recommendation and a fixed written quote. London-wide.
Fire alarm systems we install for homes, rentals and HMOs.
Not every property needs the same thing. The right system depends on how the building is used, how many storeys it has, who lives there and what the licence or the fire risk assessment asks for. These are the systems we install most.
Mains powered interlinked smoke and heat alarms
The standard for most London houses and flats, and what Building Regulations expect in new extensions and loft conversions. Each alarm is wired to the lighting circuit with a battery backup, and they are linked so that one detecting sets them all off. Smoke alarms go in the hallway and landing on every storey, a heat alarm goes in the kitchen, and more are added in living rooms where the layout calls for it.
Wireless interlinked alarms
Radio linked alarms that do the same job without chasing cable into walls and ceilings. They suit occupied homes, rentals between tenancies and period properties where you want to keep the plasterwork intact.
Carbon monoxide alarms
Required in rented homes in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, such as a boiler, gas fire or wood burner. We fit them alongside the smoke and heat alarms and, where it helps, use combined units.
Graded systems for HMOs and blocks
Larger houses in multiple occupation are usually expected to have a graded system to BS 5839 Part 6, often with a control panel, sounders in each room and detection in the escape routes. The grade and category come from the council's licence conditions or the fire risk assessment, and we install to that specification.
What BS 5839 Part 6 means for your property.
BS 5839 Part 6 is the British Standard for fire detection in domestic premises, and councils and assessors use its grades and categories to describe what a property needs. It is worth knowing the language before you get quotes.
Grades: how the system is powered and controlled
Grade D systems are mains powered alarms with a backup battery, interlinked together. Grade F systems run on sealed batteries only and are accepted in some existing homes. Grade A and Grade C systems have a control panel, and Grade A is what larger HMOs are usually asked for.
Categories: how much of the building is covered
LD3 covers the escape route only, meaning the hallway and landings. LD2 adds the rooms where a fire is most likely to start, such as the kitchen and the main living room. LD1 covers every room where a fire could start. Most family homes are LD2 or LD3, and HMOs are often LD2 or higher.
Which one you need
The fire risk assessment, the HMO licence or Building Regulations will usually tell you. Where nothing specifies it, we recommend what suits the layout and explain why, in writing, before you agree to anything.
Where detectors go, and how to keep them working.
A detector in the wrong place is almost as bad as no detector. Smoke alarms go on the ceiling, away from walls and corners, in hallways and landings on every storey. Heat alarms go in kitchens, where smoke alarms cause false alarms and end up being disabled. Detectors are kept away from bathroom doors, extractor fans and lights that can affect them.
Regular testing
Domestic alarms should be tested with the test button regularly, and we show tenants how to do it at handover. Graded systems with a panel need a written log of weekly tests and periodic servicing by a competent person, and we can set that schedule up for HMO landlords.
When to replace them
Alarms have a replacement date printed on them, usually around ten years after installation. Older alarms, ones that have been painted over and ones that keep chirping are replaced rather than patched. For landlords with several properties, we can check the dates across the portfolio at the same time as the EICR or gas safety check, so the visits line up.
Who it is for
Homeowners adding an extension or loft conversion, landlords preparing a property for a new tenancy, HMO landlords meeting licence conditions, and managing agents acting on a fire risk assessment.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take fire alarm installation work across all 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west London, in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick and White City, and in south west London, in Putney, Wandsworth and Wimbledon. We also work in south east London, in Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham.
If your property is outside these areas, call us anyway. We travel across London and will tell you honestly if a job is too far to price properly.