Fire alarm monitoring ca be a beneficial addition to your commercial fire safety strategy. In this blog we cover what it is, if you need it and the benefits of fire alarm monitoring.
Wondering if your fire alarm needs to be monitored? The short answer is no – by law there is no explicit legal requirement for your fire alarm system to be monitored under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
However, by not monitoring your fire alarm, it means it is only purposeful if someone hears the alarm and takes action. When unmonitored, your fire alarm is not working to its full potential to save lives and could be putting the safety of your employees, visitors, assets, and business at risk. In fact, despite an overall decline in UK fire incidents, UK Fire and Rescue Services still attended over 38,000 building fires in the year ending December 2024, highlighting the persistent threat to commercial properties.
Let us explain exactly what a monitored fire alarm system is. A monitored fire alarm is when a third party fire monitoring provider professionally monitors your fire alarm system for any alarm triggers via a dedicated Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). If an alarm does sound, the third party can quickly identify whether or not it is a false alarm and instantly alert the fire brigade and emergency services if needed. This process uses advanced communication technology, often dual-path, to ensure the signal is transmitted reliably and quickly, adhering to standards like BS 5839-1 which govern system design and maintenance.
A monitored fire alarm addresses the crucial issue of a fire alarm going unnoticed. If a fire breaks out out of working hours, who will hear the alarm and report the incident? When the fire alarm is being monitored, the responsibility is put on the third party and you can have peace of mind that if an alarm does sound, immediate action will be taken whether you are on-site or not. This is particularly vital for businesses like logistics warehouses or waste management facilities, which are often unmanned overnight or over weekends and pose a high fire risk.
While compliance with the law is your baseline, a high-quality monitoring service is the single best way to protect your business continuity, staff, and assets. With the rise of hybrid working, many businesses, including those in the office sector, have periods where premises are entirely vacant. During these times, an unmonitored system is a liability.
A professional Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) operates under stringent European standards such as BS EN 50518, which outlines the requirements for receiving and processing alarm messages. This standard ensures that the centre’s infrastructure is resilient, secure, and capable of a rapid, reliable response, differentiating a professional service from a simple local notification system. Furthermore, many commercial insurance providers increasingly prefer, or outright mandate, that fire detection systems in high-risk or high-value environments are monitored, as it significantly mitigates the potential for extensive damage. Failure to have this in place could invalidate your commercial insurance policy, adding a major financial risk to the physical threat.
Investing in monitoring is not just about a quicker fire service response; it is a holistic approach to risk management that includes system maintenance and compliance. For instance, remote diagnostic features, offered through connected managed services, allow your provider to identify technical faults in your fire panel instantly. This helps prevent system failures and ensures you remain compliant with the ongoing maintenance requirements under fire safety law. This preventative approach aligns with the principles we promote in our guide on predictive maintenance.
Fire alarm monitoring holds multiple benefits that will improve the overall safety of your business.
The monitoring team can action an emergency response in a matter of minutes, much faster than an individual can in the stressful event of a fire. This, therefore, increases the chances of the fire brigade controlling the fire and reducing the damage to your site. This rapid response is critical, as every minute saved is a minute that prevents further financial loss, particularly in highly flammable environments like food production or farm storage.
False alarms are not only frustrating and annoying, but they can also waste your and the emergency services’ time. Fire False Alarms due to apparatus reached over 183,000 in the last year, according to UK Government statistics. When monitored, false alarms can be prevented as professional Alarm Receiving Centre operators are trained to use sophisticated verification methods before contacting the Fire and Rescue Service, ensuring only confirmed, genuine alarms are acted upon, which can save your business from potential penalties for nuisance calls.
If a fire is detected and acted upon quickly, which it will when being monitored, then this can help reduce any potential business disruption in the form of any damage to the site, equipment or stock, as well as panic from employees. With a monitored fire alarm, you will all be able to leave the site calmly and promptly knowing that the fire brigade is already on its way. Minimising downtime is central to any sound business continuity plan.
With a third-party monitoring your alarm system, this responsibility no longer sits with you or your employees. You will all be able to exit the site safely if a fire does break out, with no need for employees to attend to the alarm activation and potentially putting their lives at risk. Employees can focus on safely following their pre-planned evacuation procedure, which is a key component of creating fire safety champions within your team.
Fire alarm monitoring operates 24/7, 365 days of the year, meaning your site is constantly being monitored. You will therefore have increased protection from fire and better overall safety than if your system was unmonitored. This round-the-clock vigilance is essential for businesses, particularly those in the retail or property management sectors, where assets must be protected outside of operating hours.
Having a monitored fire alarm system gives you complete peace of mind that someone is keeping a watch on your site for potential fires breaking out. You therefore don’t need to worry if no one is on-site, if it’s during a weekend or bank holiday, or about putting such responsibility on your staff. It’s an investment in the resilience and long-term security of your commercial venture.
A monitored fire alarm therefore acts as an additional investment that provides an extra layer of protection for your site and employees. Although not legally necessary, it provides peace of mind and confidence that if something did happen and a fire broke out, then the emergency services would always be on their way.
At BusinessWatch, we offer a professional and honest service, whilst monitoring your fire alarms 24/7, 365 days a year. Fully NSI Gold accredited, we always provide a 5* service. NSI Gold accreditation is the highest certification level in the fire and security industry, guaranteeing that our operations, technical competence, and quality management systems (like ISO 9001) are continuously audited to the most stringent British and European standards, giving you the assurance that your fire safety is in the best hands possible.
Whether you want to set up a new monitoring contract for your fire alarm system or want to switch from your current monitoring supplier, we’ve got you covered. Get in touch on 0330 094 7404 today or get a free quote.
