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  • Established 1985over 40 years in the Borders
  • 9 full-time electriciansAll 18th Edition qualified
  • SELECT 17074 · ECA 1683735NSI, MCS, OZEV & RECC
  • £10m / £5m insuredEmployers' & public liability
  • Free fixed-price quotesSupplied free, no obligation

Service overview

Detection designed for the building, not the catalogue

A fire alarm system is a life safety installation and a legal obligation for most non-domestic premises. Its value is entirely in how well it is designed for the building's layout, use and occupancy, and in whether it has been maintained since the day it was commissioned.

What the service covers

All fire alarm systems are designed, installed, commissioned and certified to BS 5839-1:2025. We design, install, commission and maintain fire detection and alarm systems: conventional and addressable panels, smoke, heat and multi-sensor detection, manual call points, sounders and visual alarm devices, interfaces to door holders, shutters, ventilation and plant shutdown, and cause-and-effect programming on addressable systems. We also provide interlinked domestic smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarm systems to current Scottish standards, and take on the maintenance of systems installed by others.

Who it is for

Commercial and industrial premises, hotels, pubs and restaurants, retail units, offices, care and community buildings, farm and estate buildings, HMOs and landlords, and homeowners needing compliant interlinked alarms. Around three quarters of our workload is commercial, industrial or agricultural, and fire and security is a core strand of it.

When it is needed

At fit-out or refurbishment, when a fire risk assessment identifies inadequate detection, when the building's use or layout changes, when an insurer or licensing authority requires certification, when an existing panel is obsolete or unsupported, and when servicing has lapsed, an unmaintained system is treated as no system by most inspectors.

Why professional work matters

Design decisions determine whether the system detects a fire early enough to matter: detector type against the risk in each area, spacing and siting, zoning that lets people find the source, audibility in every occupied space, and interfaces that actually operate when tested. We are NSI approved (NSI-000082/FS/S) for fire and BAFE registered (SP203), which is the recognition insurers and enforcing authorities look for.

The cost of leaving it

What an unsuitable or unmaintained system costs

Fire alarm failures are discovered in two ways: at an inspection, or during a fire. Only one of those is recoverable.

  • Enforcement and insurance exposure

    Fire authorities, insurers and licensing bodies expect a system designed to an appropriate standard and evidence of periodic servicing. Without both, premises can face enforcement action, and cover can be challenged after an incident.

  • False alarms train people to ignore it

    Wrong detector type in a kitchen, a dusty store or a wash-down area produces repeated false alarms. Occupants stop responding, the panel gets silenced as a routine, and the system's entire purpose is lost.

  • Obsolete panels with no spares

    When a panel reaches end of support, a single failed board can mean weeks with a system out of service and a fire watch in place. Planned replacement is a fraction of that cost and disruption.

  • Untested interfaces

    Door holders, shutters, ventilation and plant shutdown links are frequently assumed rather than proven. If cause and effect has never been tested end to end, nobody actually knows what the building will do.

  • Coverage that stopped matching the building

    Partitions get moved, mezzanines get built, storage gets stacked to the ceiling. Detection and audibility that suited the original layout no longer cover it, and only a survey will show that.

Our process

How the job runs, start to finish

  1. 01

    Step 1: Survey and risk review

    We survey the building against its use, layout and occupancy, review any existing fire risk assessment, and identify the category of system and detection required.

  2. 02

    Step 2: Design and fixed-price quote

    A written design showing zones, device types and positions, panel specification and interfaces, priced as a fixed sum. Free quotes supplied.

  3. 03

    Step 3: Installation

    Installed by our own fire and security team, managed by Scott Ruthven, cabled in appropriate fire-rated cable and containment, sequenced around your trading or production hours.

  4. 04

    Step 4: Commissioning and cause-and-effect testing

    Every device tested, audibility verified, zoning proven and every interface operated end to end, door holders, shutters, ventilation and shutdowns, before the system is accepted.

  5. 05

    Step 5: Certification, handover and maintenance

    Certification, zone plan and logbook handed over with user training, and a maintenance contract put in place so servicing never lapses.

Payment by bank transfer (preferred) or card. Deposits on larger jobs only, agreed case by case before we start.

What you get

The difference it makes on your site

NSI approved for fire, BAFE registered (SP203)

Systems installed and certified to BS 5839-1:2025 under third-party accreditation (NSI-000082/FS/S) that insurers and enforcing authorities recognise, rather than a self-declared standard.

Detection matched to the risk

Heat, smoke and multi-sensor devices chosen area by area, which is what eliminates the false alarms that make people ignore a system.

Maintenance contracts that hold dates

Servicing scheduled and logged so certification stays current and you are never scrambling for records ahead of an inspection.

One contractor for the whole building

Fire, intruder, CCTV and the electrical installation itself under one roof, so interfaces and supplies are coordinated rather than argued over.

Local response

Offices in Coldstream and Duns with nine full-time electricians, so attendance across the Borders and North Northumberland is a short drive rather than a regional dispatch.

Fully insured, fully documented

£10m employers' and £5m public liability cover, SMAS Worksafe SSIP accreditation and RAMS for virtually all jobs.

In detail

Systems, devices and standards

Fire systems are categorised by what they are protecting, life, property, or both, and the category drives everything else.

Conventional and addressable panels

Conventional systems divide a building into zones and suit smaller, simpler premises. Addressable systems identify the individual device in alarm, support cause-and-effect programming and scale far better in larger or multi-storey buildings. Where a premises is likely to be altered, addressable usually costs less over its life because changes are programmed rather than rewired.

Detector selection by area

Optical smoke detection for escape routes and general areas; heat detection in kitchens, plant rooms and dusty environments where smoke devices would false alarm; multi-sensor devices where conditions vary; and beam or aspirating detection considered for high-bay industrial and agricultural buildings where conventional point detection is impractical.

Sounders, visual alarms and audibility

Alarm devices are positioned to achieve audibility in every occupied space, including plant areas and behind closed doors. Visual alarm devices are specified where noise levels or occupancy make sounders alone insufficient, and voice alarm approaches are considered in larger public buildings.

Cabling, containment and interfaces

Fire-resistant cable, correctly clipped with metal fixings, on containment appropriate to the environment. Interfaces to magnetic door holders, roller shutters, ventilation, gas and plant shutdown are wired and proven at commissioning, with cause and effect documented so future engineers can test it the same way.

Maintenance, servicing and takeovers

Periodic servicing, device testing, battery checks, panel inspection and logbook completion under contract. We take over systems installed by others after a condition survey, so a change of contractor does not mean a change of system, and where a panel is obsolete, we say so and plan the replacement rather than nursing it.

Domestic and commercial differences

Domestic properties in Scotland require interlinked smoke and heat alarms with carbon monoxide detection where there is a fuel-burning appliance: mains powered with battery backup, positioned by room use. Commercial premises require a designed, categorised and certificated system with zoning, manual call points, documented servicing and, in many cases, interfaces to other building systems. They are different disciplines with different paperwork, and we deliver both.

Accredited for this work

  • SELECT17074
  • ECA1683735
  • NSI Approved (Fire)NSI-000082/FS/S
  • BAFESP203 Registered
  • MCS via NAPITNEP-66400
  • OZEV ApprovedEV chargers
  • RECCRegistered
  • SMAS WorksafeSSIP approved

Before you call

Fire Alarm Installation: your questions answered

How much does a fire alarm system cost?

It depends on building size, system category, panel type and device count. We survey and design first, then quote a written fixed price so there are no variations invented later.

How quickly can you quote?

Free quotes supplied. Larger commercial systems requiring detailed design typically take one to two weeks.

How long does installation take?

A small commercial system is generally a matter of days; larger addressable installations run to a programme issued with the quote and can be phased around your trading or production hours.

Are you accredited for fire alarm work?

Yes. We are NSI approved (NSI-000082/FS/S) for fire and BAFE registered (SP203), alongside SELECT (17074) and ECA (1683735) approval and SMAS Worksafe SSIP accreditation.

How often must a fire alarm be serviced?

Systems require periodic servicing by a competent contractor plus routine in-house testing recorded in the logbook. Our maintenance contracts schedule the servicing so it never lapses and your records stay current.

How long does a fire alarm system last?

A well-maintained system serves for many years, but panels eventually reach end of manufacturer support and detectors have a working life. We flag both at service visits so replacement is planned rather than forced.

Can you take over a system installed by someone else?

Yes, following a condition survey. If the system is sound we maintain it; if the panel is obsolete or the coverage no longer suits the building, we set out what needs changing and why.

Do you cover emergencies and call-outs?

Emergency call-outs are available and maintenance contract customers get priority. Out-of-hours calls are answered for existing customers, charged at approximately 1.5 times the standard hourly rate.

What guarantee applies?

Manufacturer warranties on equipment are confirmed at quotation. We do not issue a formal written workmanship guarantee, but we always return to put right anything we have done incorrectly.

Which areas do you cover?

The Scottish Borders and North Northumberland from Coldstream, including Duns, Kelso, Eyemouth, Chirnside, Greenlaw, Jedburgh, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Wooler.

Related services

Fire Alarm Installation near you

Working from Unit 4 Home Pl, Coldstream TD12 4DT across the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland.

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New system, an upgrade, or a lapsed service history to put right, book a survey and you will have a written design and a fixed price back quickly.

01890 882981
  • Established 1985 | over 40 years' experience
  • SELECT 17074 · ECA 1683735 · SMAS Worksafe SSIP
  • £10m employers' and £5m public liability cover
  • Free quotes supplied

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