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As a business owner, property manager, or fire safety professional, if you have responsibility for a fire alarm system in your commercial premises, it’s important to understand or be aware of the recent changes to BS 5839. This is the national standard with which you need to comply regarding fire safety regulations.

BS 5839-1: 2025 came into effect from 30^th April 2025, superseding its 2017 version, laying out a stricter code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in all types of (non-domestic) commercial, public or industrial buildings.

The latest standard has been designed to ensure that there is always robust fire detection in place Essential Fire Safety Checklist for Commercial Buildings, in order to safeguard life and property, and to ensure that there is minimal disruption to day-to-day business operations.

Here are the key points regarding the latest changes to the standard:

Compulsory to have Zone Layouts

It is now compulsory to display zone layouts in your premises. The zone layout is a plan of the building, indicated adjacent to the fire panel, which shows the fire and rescue services the whereabouts of the fire according to the plan and what the fire panel is displaying (e.g., Zone 5 warehouse).

Most modern fire alarm systems Fire & Life Safety Systems | Commercial | Safety Solutions in well-managed sites should already have these zone layouts in place, as a matter of course. This updated requirement is especially relevant for many older systems, however, which may not have originally included zone layouts.

If your building falls into this latter category and you don’t have a supplier who can provide you with a zone layout, contact us immediately and we can assist you with this extremely important area of fire safety compliance.

In the past, lives have been lost in commercial premises because people weren’t aware of where a fire had originated or had spread. This was all due to no zone plan being in place, which would have directed firefighters to the correct area of the building in sufficient time.

Monitored fire alarms in care homes and residential homes

Fire alarms in care homes and residential homes Why Care Homes & HMOs Must Upgrade to Addressable Fire Alarms must now be monitored to ensure there is a rapid fire brigade response, should a fire event occur. It is no longer sufficient to have a bells-only system in place, reliant on staff to call the fire service.

Fire alarm signals should be received by the ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) How Remote Alarm Monitoring Works | Justice Security within 90 seconds of activation.

In the past, there have been at least two fires that have occurred, resulting in fatalities, where the loss of life could have been attributed to the staff not calling the brigade in time. If a monitored alarm system had been in place, it would have automatically called the brigade as soon as the fire alarm activated, potentially keeping people out of harm’s way.

This is why the updated BS 5839 standard has now made it compulsory to have alarm monitoring in place throughout all commercial premises.

Responsibilities of Building Owners and Responsible Persons

As part of BS 5839-1: 2025, building owners and responsible persons must ensure systems are audited, maintained and managed by qualified professionals who have undergone up-to-date training and certification.

At the same time, all contractors must ensure that they maintain evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and keep their records up to date.

On this last point, every engineer at Justice Fire & Security is fully trained and qualified Commercial Security System Installation Services on BS 5839: 2025 via industry-recognised training courses regarding the latest regulations.

In Summary

The BS 5839-1:2025 standard is a significant step forward in fire safety, providing much clearer guidance, stricter compliance and improved protection than was required under its 2017 predecessor.

To clarify whether your current system complies with BS 5839-1:2025, or if you need help navigating the new changes, the expert team at Justice will provide you with all the assistance and guidance you require to ensure you stay compliant.

For over 40 years, Justice Fire & Security have designed, installed and maintained security and fire safety systems for a wide range of commercial properties (public and private sectors) throughout Birmingham, the wider West Midlands and Warwickshire, along with Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Contact Us | Security Systems | Justice Fire & Security (justicesecurity.co.uk),

We are founder members of the NSI, the industry's leading inspectorate body and are proud of our gold status - the highest quality level - for security systems, fire detection and alarm systems.

Furthermore, we are members of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and have British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE) SP203 accreditation.

For all enquiries, contact our main switchboard on 0845 468 9077

To read the full guide to the BS 5839 changes, go to:

Guide-to-the-changes-in-BS-5839-1-2025.pdf