Commercial Fire Alarm Systems in Nottingham, designed, installed and certified to BS 5839.

Service overview

What "Commercial Fire Alarm System" actually means in Nottingham.

A commercial fire alarm system is the network of detectors, sounders, manual call points and a central control panel that warns occupants of a fire in time to evacuate. Under BS 5839 there are two parallel standards: BS 5839-1 for non-domestic premises (offices, shops, schools, factories, care premises) and BS 5839-6 for residential settings including HMOs, blocks of flats and supported living.

Both require a system that is designed (not just bought from a wholesaler), installed by competent persons, commissioned by a third party, commissioned by us, and logged in a fire log book held on site. We deliver all five — design, install, commission and log book — for premises across Nottingham and the East Midlands.

Our typical clients are landlords with newly-licensed HMOs, retail and hospitality tenants on category fit-outs, office occupiers post-office-move, and industrial sites where insurer requirements have escalated after a near-miss elsewhere in the trade. Where a Fire Risk Assessment exists we work to it directly; where one doesn't, we'll specify a category from observed risk and document it.

The honest bit

What insurers and councils actually look for

We see fire alarm systems fail compliance for the same reasons every quarter. No category statement (so the FRA can't be reconciled to the system). Mixed-manufacturer detectors and panels without compatibility certification (you cannot legally connect a different brand's heads to most panels). Sounders below 65dB at the bed-head in residential settings. No commissioning certificate from a third party. And no documented record of the design category against the Fire Risk Assessment.

Each of these voids your fire safety compliance and most likely your insurance. After a fire, the loss adjuster checks the logbook before they check the loss. A system without a current commissioning certificate gets the claim rejected. We've been called in by buyers and underwriters more than once to certify the system before they will sign off the deal.

The fix is design, install and commission — done by a competent contractor against BS 5839 from day one. It is not the place to save money.

How we deliver it

Our commercial fire alarm system process, step by step.

1. 1. Design to BS 5839

   Category statement (L1 / L2 / L3 / L4 / L5 or P-grade for residential), zone plan, detector schedule, sounder calculations.

2. 2. First-fix cabling

   Fire-rated cable (Firetuf FP200 or equivalent) clipped, capped or in conduit per the design. Out-of-hours where required.

3. 3. Panel + device install

   Panel mounted, addressable loops connected, devices installed and labelled per the zone plan.

4. 4. Commission & test

   Every device tested, sounder sound levels measured, cause-and-effect logic confirmed, third-party commissioning certificate issued.

5. 5. Logbook & service contract

   Logbook handed over and explained to the responsible person, with all design and commissioning paperwork in a single pack for the file.

Why it matters

What you actually get.

Ajax fire detection system commissioned at a 7-bed licensed HMO in Beeston — Grade A, LD2.

Technical depth

Categories explained, addressable vs conventional, and what your premises actually needs

BS 5839-1 categories run from L1 (life protection — automatic detection in every room of a non-domestic property) through L2 (life protection in escape routes plus high-risk rooms) and L3 (life protection in escape routes only, the most common office spec) down to L4 (escape routes only with manual call points) and L5 (a designed system for a specific risk, e.g. a server room). The category drives detector count, position and cost. Most Nottingham offices and retail units run L2 or L3.

BS 5839-6 covers residential premises and uses Grade A through F instead. Licensed HMOs of three storeys or more typically need Grade A LD2 (a full fire alarm system with mains-powered detectors and battery backup, panel-controlled) — equivalent in build cost to a small commercial L3. Smaller HMOs can run on Grade D1 mains-interlinked detectors without a panel. The right grade comes from the FRA, not from price.

Addressable systems use a single loop of cable that returns to the panel, with each detector having a unique address — which means the panel tells you exactly which device is in alarm or fault. Conventional systems use multiple zone cables and tell you only the zone, not the specific device. We install addressable as default for any property over 5 zones because fault diagnosis is dramatically faster and the system is far easier to extend later. We predominantly install Ajax fire detection systems where they suit the brief.

Scope	Typical price (incl. VAT)	Notes
Small office / retail Cat L3 (under 200m²)	£1,800 – £3,200	Conventional or addressable, 8–14 devices, 1–2 zones.
HMO Grade A LD2 (4–7 bedrooms)	£2,400 – £4,800	Most-fitted residential spec — addressable, panel + 12–22 devices.
Mid-size commercial Cat L2/L3 (200–800m²)	£3,500 – £8,500	Addressable, 2–5 zones, integrations with door release or smoke control.
Large or industrial Cat L1/L2	£8,500 – £25,000+	Multi-loop, multi-zone, networked panels, repeater displays.

What changes the price

• Category required (per FRA or specifying engineer)
• Conventional vs addressable
• Whether smoke control, door release or BMS integration is needed
• Cabling complexity (FP200 in lath-and-plaster vs surface conduit)
• Existing system retention (panel upgrades vs full strip-out)

The person responsible

Joshua Richardson & Benjamin Clurow

Co-Directors

NICEIC Approved Contractor, NICEIC Part-P Domestic Installer

Joshua Richardson and Benjamin Clurow co-founded JBRC Ltd and are the two named directors at Companies House (#17015285). They jointly run the business — both surveying, designing, installing and commissioning BS 5839 fire alarm systems across Nottingham, so every customer is dealing directly with a director from quote through to certification.

Recent jobs

Real commercial fire alarm system work, recently signed off.

7-bed HMO, Beeston — full Grade A LD2 install over a weekend.

Council licence inspection cleared on first visit. Service contract running since.

Beeston, Nottingham

Lace Market office tenant — Cat L3 retrofit during a 2-week fit-out.

Commissioned out-of-hours so the office never closed. Insurer accepted certificate same day.

Lace Market, Nottingham

Mansfield warehouse — Cat L2 with smoke control integration.

Networked panel with repeater at gatehouse. Scope creep absorbed without re-quote.

Mansfield