The market for fire safety is large, global, and diverse. It encompasses businesses of all sizes within every sector and is crucial for compliance. 

Whether you are a manufacturer of fire protective equipment, a construction firm, or healthcare business, you must ensure you are protecting your employees and clients by meeting fire safety regulations.

We have an extensive range of fire-related standards to help meet your fire safety needs. The top ten most adopted standards in the fire sector and their benefits to organizations are as follows:

BS 5839-1:2025 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises.

BS 5839-1 provides recommendations for the planning, design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in and around non-domestic premises. Anyone involved in the commissioning, installation, design, and planning of fire alarm and detection systems will find this standard useful.

BS 5839-6:2019+A1:2020 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises. Part 6: Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic buildings.

This British Standard is part 6 in a short series on fire alarm and detection systems in buildings.

BS 5839-6 gives recommendations for systems in both new and existing domestic premises to make them safer to live in. It gives recommendations on the planning, design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises that are:

• Designed to accommodate a single family

• Houses in multiple occupations comprising of several self-contained units, each designed to accommodate a single family

• Sheltered housing, including both the dwelling units and the common areas

The recommendations apply to both new and existing domestic premises and include recommendations for routine attention. BIP 2044:2020 is a book written to help readers comply with the requirements in the British Standard.

BS 9251:2021 Fire sprinkler systems for domestic and residential occupancies. Code of practice.

BS 9251 covers recommendations for domestic sprinkler systems, includes residential and domestic buildings above four stories or 18m and above, and has removed the parts that conflict with BS EN 16925. It gives recommendations for the design, installation, components, water supplies and backflow protection, commissioning, maintenance, and testing of fire sprinkler systems installed for life safety purposes with additional benefits for property protection.

PAS 79-1:2020 Fire risk assessment. Premises other than housing. Code of practice.

This PAS gives recommendations and corresponding examples of documentation for undertaking and recording the significant findings of fire risk assessments in non-domestic premises and parts of non-domestic premises for which fire risk assessments are required by legislation. 

Consequently, PAS 79-1 gives recommendations on how to carry out fire risk assessments that will protect the occupants of non-domestic premises, e.g. employees, contractors, visitors, and members of the public, while PAS 79-2:2020 gives recommendations for domestic premises.

This PAS will benefit fire safety professionals with knowledge of the principles of fire safety, who are either responsible for one particular organization’s fire safety assessment or work for consultancies providing fire risk assessments as a service.

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BS 9999:2017 Fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. Code of practice.

BS 9999 gives recommendations and guidance on the design, management, and use of buildings to achieve reasonable standards of fire safety for all people in and around them. It also provides guidance on the ongoing management of fire safety within a building throughout its entire life cycle, including guidance for designers to ensure that the overall design of a building assists and enhances the management of fire safety.

This British Standard is applicable to the design of new buildings, and to alterations, extensions, and changes of use of an existing building. It can be used as a tool for assessing existing buildings, although the fundamental change in line with the guidelines might well be limited or not practicable. The recommendations and guidance in this British Standard are intended to safeguard the lives of building occupants and firefighters.

BS 8214:2016 Timber-based fire door assemblies. Code of practice.

This standard gives recommendations for the specification, installation, and maintenance of timber-based fire doors. It includes updated guidance associated with the sealing between the door assembly and the surrounding structure. 

The recommendations are applicable to timber-based hinged or pivoted pedestrian door assemblies or door leaves, fitted into frames of any material. BS 8214 reflects changes in the industry to meet its usability, particularly in relation to the installation and maintenance of fire doors, and is particularly relevant to those who work in the fire performance and smoke control sectors.

BS 5839-9:2021 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings - Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of emergency voice communication systems

Part 9 in a series of national standards on fire alarm systems, BS 5839-9 covers how to design, install and maintain emergency voice communication systems (EVC).

It gives recommendations for the planning, design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of emergency voice communication systems as part of a fire detection and alarm system, and covers systems with components linked by wires, wirelessly, or a combination of both. BS 5839-9 applies to the use of EVC during an emergency fire situation at buildings, including sports stadiums, entertainment, and other public venues, and emphasizes the correct use of an EVC in broadcasting evacuation messages and not in raising the fire alarm.

BS 9991:2024 Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings. Code of practice.

BS 9991 exists to help people put adequate fire safety measures in place in residential buildings. This includes fire detection and alarm systems and fixed fire-fighting systems.

The standard applies to the design of new buildings, and to material alterations, extensions, and material changes of use to existing buildings. It does not cover hotels, caravans/mobile homes, hospitals, residential care homes, places of lawful detention, or hostels.

BS 9991 also provides guidance on the ongoing management of fire safety in a building throughout the entire lifecycle of the building. This includes guidance for designers to ensure that the overall design of a building assists and enhances the management of fire safety.

The recommendations and guidance are intended to safeguard the lives of building occupants and firefighters.

BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Part 4: Actuation of release mechanisms for doors.

This is the fourth in a five-part series of British Standards giving recommendations on how fire protection measures should operate. BS 7273-4 deals with the mechanisms for opening doors that form part of the means of escape in a fire.

This standard covers the electrical control arrangements for activating mechanisms that unlock, release or open doors in the event of a fire. It covers any building, including dwellings, unless otherwise stated. The standard gives recommendations for the design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of electrical control arrangements for the actuation of mechanisms.BS 7273-4 applies to all aspects of the interface between these mechanisms and fire detection and fire alarm system, including interfaces that incorporate acoustic coupling and radio transmission.

BS EN 12845:2015+A1:2019 Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance

BS EN 12845 is the European standard that covers best practices for automatic sprinkler systems that are a part of fixed firefighting systems. It specifies requirements and gives recommendations for the design, installation, and maintenance of fixed fire sprinkler systems in buildings and industrial plants, and particular requirements for sprinkler systems that are integral to measures for the protection of life.

The aim of BS EN 12845 is to ensure optimal protection in the event of a fire hazard. 

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