BAFE and NAPIT celebrate attainment of “landmark” certification by CS Electrics

The importance of domestic fire safety was highlighted in June 2017 with the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, but the importance of fire safety in the domestic setting does not only apply to high-rise residential blocks. Both BAFE and NAPIT strongly believe that, as a bare minimum, all domestic properties should have a Grade D fire detection and fire alarm system in situ which has been installed by a competent organisation.

Justin Maltby-Smith, the BAFE Group’s managing director, stated: “It’s imperative that decision-makers and members of the public alike understand that electricians cannot do everything regarding electrical systems by default. There are additional British Standards and guidance that outline heightened competency requirements for particular electrical services, one of which is the safe practice of providing domestic fire alarm systems [ie BS 5839-6 Code of Practice for the Design, Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance of Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems in Domestic Premises].”

Maltby-Smith continued: “All four constituent countries of the UK have comparable fire safety dwelling regulations and guidance available. At BAFE, we strongly believe that all dwellings should have systems in place in accordance with the relevant recommendations of BS 5839-6. This is particularly pertinent in the housing sector, which should have far greater scrutiny on this matter in the interests of life safety.”

Correct design, installation and commissioning

Frank Bertie, chief technical officer for NAPIT, asserted: “While working to BS 7671 [ie the Wiring Regulations] is vital, elevated skills and experience is unequivocally required to perform works for domestic fire safety systems. The importance of correctly designed, installed and commissioned domestic fire detection and fire alarm works can often be overlooked.”

Bertie went on to comment: “NAPIT is committed to enhancing standards within the industry. As a UKAS accredited and Government authorised certification body, by providing a scheme which assesses the competence of installers and allows them to demonstrate they have been appropriately certificated to perform this scope of work, we anticipate this will assist in a safer domestic built environment and realise confidence for clients. This is of particular importance for new builds where domestic fire alarm systems must be installed in line with the Building Regulations and relevant British Standards.”

Leading the way

Both BAFE and NAPIT congratulate CS Electrics on its achievement and on leading the way towards raising the bar for domestic fire safety system provision.

Christopher McTearnen, owner of CS Electrics, observed: “We are extremely proud to be the first organisation that has received this third party certification to the BAFE DS301 scheme. It will go a long way in demonstrating that we’re competent to deliver these works. The hope is that this becomes an industry standard that removes any individuals who claim to be competent without appropriate evidence of that assertion. It’s so important that fire safety work is performed by the right providers so that we keep people safe.”

BAFE and NAPIT highlighted disturbing failure rates and the absence of domestic smoke alarms in their infographic published earlier this year.

*For further information on the BAFE DS301 competency scheme visit the BAFE website

**Additional detail concerning NAPIT may be accessed online at www.napit.org.uk