Sprinkler systems for blocks of flats
A new block above 11 metres, a fire risk assessment that flagged the system, or a managing agent taking over a building with no records.
- ISO 9001 and LPCB approved, the certification insurers look for
- BS 9251 · BS EN 12845 · BS 9990
- Free survey, fixed price in writing, no travel charge
What is different about blocks of flats
Since 2020, Approved Document B has required sprinklers in new blocks of flats where the topmost storey is more than 11 metres above ground level. That threshold came down from 30 metres, and it is the single biggest change in UK sprinkler regulation this century. What it created is a large number of buildings with a system, and a much smaller number with a complete record for it.
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Residential systems are their own standard
BS 9251 covers residential and domestic sprinklers, and it is not BS EN 12845 with different heads. The design assumptions, the water supply and the maintenance regime are different, and a contractor who works to the commercial standard by habit will get it wrong.
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The records belong to the building
Commissioning documentation, as-fitted drawings and the maintenance log stay with the block, not with whoever last held the contract. Getting them handed over is the part worth insisting on, and it is where a change of managing agent most often loses the thread.
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Access to flats is the practical problem
Anything inside a dwelling needs the resident to let you in, which means notice, a schedule and usually two attempts. We plan the communal work and the in-flat work as separate visits so one does not hold up the other.
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Risers and sprinklers are separate duties
A block over 18 metres owes a dry riser under BS 9990 as well, on its own testing interval. They are frequently held by different contractors and fall out of step, which is the gap a fire risk assessor finds.
What we do for these buildings
- BS EN 12845 Sprinkler servicing The full BS EN 12845 routine, from the weekly gauge and alarm check to the annual service. Fire sprinkler servicing and maintenance
- BS EN 12845 and BS 9251 Design and installation New systems, extensions and upgrades, designed, installed and commissioned. Fire sprinkler system design and installation
- BS 9990 Dry risers Six-monthly inspection and the annual pressure test, with the certificate your fire risk assessment asks for. Dry riser testing and servicing
- BS 9990 Wet risers Charged risers, their pumps and their tanks, tested together because they only work together. Wet riser servicing, testing and pump maintenance
- Any hour 24/7 emergency A leak, a failed pump or a discharged head, answered out of hours. Emergency sprinkler and riser repair
Blocks of flats: questions
Our block is just under 11 metres. Do we need sprinklers?
Not under Approved Document B as the building stands. That settles the question for today and very little else: a roof-level alteration, an added storey or a change of use can move a building across the threshold, and the requirement then applies to the work being done. The measurement is taken to the floor of the topmost storey rather than to the ridge, so it is worth knowing which side of it you are on by measurement rather than assumption.
We have taken over the block and there are no records at all. What now?
That is a normal starting point rather than an awkward one, and it is recoverable. A survey establishes what is actually installed and what condition it is in, and a set of as-installed drawings can be produced from the system as it stands. It costs something once, and every handover after that is straightforward.
Do residents have to let you into their flats?
For anything inside a dwelling, yes, and that is the part that needs planning rather than the engineering. We give notice, work to a schedule and expect to make a second visit for the flats nobody was in for. The communal areas are done separately so the whole programme does not stall on one door.
Who is legally responsible, the freeholder or the managing agent?
The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order is whoever controls the premises, which in practice is usually the freeholder, with the managing agent acting for them. The duty can be delegated as work but not as responsibility, which is why the certificate and the record matter as much as the visit.
Worth reading first
- Compliance Sprinklers in blocks of flats: what the rules require In England, new blocks of flats above 11 metres must have sprinklers fitted. Residential systems are designed and maintained to BS 9251, which is a different standard from the commercial BS EN 12845.
- Compliance When does a UK building legally need sprinklers? In England, new blocks of flats over 11 metres must have sprinklers, and Wales requires them in almost all new homes. Beyond those thresholds, sprinklers are required by building control, by the fire strategy, or by an insurer rather than by a single national rule.
- Risers What is a dry riser, and how does it work? A dry riser is a normally empty vertical pipe in a building, with a breeching inlet at ground level and landing valves on the upper floors. The fire and rescue service charges it with water from a pump when they need to fight a fire above ground level.
The published documents behind this page
Every interval and threshold on this page comes from one of these. Links go to the publisher, not to a copy of the document.
- BS 9251Fire sprinkler systems for domestic and residential occupancies. Code of practice
The residential equivalent: blocks of flats, care homes, student accommodation and houses.
BSI
- BS EN 12845Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance
The standard commercial and industrial sprinkler systems are designed, installed and maintained to. It sets the weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual routines.
BSI
- BS 9990Non-automatic fire-fighting systems in buildings. Code of practice
Dry and wet risers, and private fire mains. The source of the six-monthly inspection and the annual pressure test.
BSI
British Standards are copyright documents and most are bought rather than read free. We hold the ones we work to. If you need to know what one of them says about your building, ask us rather than buying it.
Approved, and audited on a schedule.
Two certifications, and the first one is the reason we could apply for the second. ISO 9001 is a precondition for LPCB approval, so this is a sequence rather than a collection.
ISO 9001:2015
Certified by BRE Global, accredited by UKAS
An audited quality management system. It means the way a job is planned, recorded and signed off is itself inspected by somebody independent, on a schedule.
LPCB approved
Loss Prevention Certification Board
The approval UK insurers look for on sprinkler work. A system installed by an LPCB approved contractor counts as genuine risk mitigation on your policy; one installed by anybody else may not.
Working to BS EN 12845, BS 9251 and BS 9990. If your insurer or fire risk assessor wants the certificates themselves, ring us and we will send them over.
Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.
No survey fee to find out where you stand. Describe the site and we will tell you which intervals apply and what the visit involves.