How much revenue will you leave on the table by declining fire safety installations? If you’re like many electrical contractors, the answer may surprise you, as the channel team explains.
The truth is stark: A large number of electricians still avoid fire alarm and emergency lighting work, considering it too complicated or risky.
However, these same jobs are successfully completed by security companies – often with less electrical experience than you have.
While you turn down lucrative work, they build businesses around facilities that you can do yourself.
The “fear” factor.
This avoidance often stems from one major concern: litigation risk. Many contractors worry about design specifications, compliance requirements, and technical aspects that they feel they are not prepared to handle.
The result? Fire safety work worth thousands of pounds is outsourced to external specialists, taking potential profit margins with it.
Understanding fire alarm systems
Here’s a fact that might surprise you: At their core, fire alarm systems are just radial or toroidal circuits — basic electrical principles you already understand well.
The complexity does not lie in the electrical work itself, but in the design and operating requirements for which many contractors feel unprepared. Strip away the intimidating jargon, and you’re looking at familiar territory.
The “Three Pieces of Paper” framework.
Every compliant fire alarm installation requires three important documents, and understanding this framework eliminates a lot of the mystery:
1. Design certificate
Ensure that the system layout meets safety standards and construction requirements – this can be provided by qualified engineers
2. Installation certificate
Your responsibility as the installation contractor – standard electrical work that you are already qualified to handle
3. Assignment certificate
Final testing and sign-off by qualified engineers – again, can be outsourced to specialists
Key insight? You don’t need to handle every aspect yourself. With the right support network, you can confidently handle fire safety installations while ensuring full compliance.
What we cover in our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions.
Fire Safety – see the three certification framework and explain why you don’t need a BAFE qualification to install fire alarms, plus how to access design and commissioning support. Emergency Lighting – Keeping up to date with legislative changes, including significant 2019 updates that increased requirements from 0.5 to 50 lux in some commercial facilities, as well as understanding photometric data and distancing requirements. New: Evacuation Planning – Essential knowledge for the growing EVAC systems market in buildings over 18 metres, particularly following post-Grenfell legislation, including the distinction between residential and commercial requirements.
Market opportunities that you may be missing
Changing legislation has created opportunities. After Grenfell, buildings higher than 18 meters now require evacuation systems (EVAC).
Meanwhile, 2019 emergency lighting standard changes mean that many existing fixtures remain non-compliant. These commercial building retrofits represent significant ongoing revenue streams.
Add to that the reclassification of vacation rentals and Airbnb properties as commercial buildings, and the opportunities multiply quickly.
Take action through training
The comprehensive CPD training offered by the channel can turn lost opportunities in the emergency field into profitable enterprises.
Our sessions provide practical knowledge, ongoing support and access to qualified design and commissioning engineers – removing barriers that may currently prevent you from capturing this lucrative market.
Don’t let profitable business walk out the door while others build their businesses on opportunities you are qualified to handle. Invest in knowledge that pays off and discover why a career in fire safety can become your most profitable specialty.
Find more details about the canal’s fire safety scope and CPD training here
Discover more industry features here
