How to Compare Fire Alarm Quotes: The Compliance Checklist

The checklist that exposes real differences

• 1. Category in writing: 'to BS 5839-1 Category L2' — a quote without a category is a quote without a design
• 2. Design responsibility named: who signs the design certificate (and their competence basis) — fire alarms carry legal liability, not just labour
• 3. Device schedule: panel model, every detector/call point/sounder by location and type (heat vs optical vs multi placed deliberately)
• 4. Coverage logic visible: sounder levels (65dB general / 75dB at bedheads), detector spacing assumptions — at least referenced
• 5. Commissioning to BS 5839-1 Section 39 itemised — 'install only' quotes leave you buying certification separately at surprise prices
• 6. Certificates listed: design, installation, commissioning — plus zone plan and log book at handover
• 7. Cause-and-effect: door holders, AOVs, plant shutdowns documented where interfaces exist
• 8. Cabling spec: FP200-class fire-rated cable, fixings to current standards (the post-Grenfell metal-fixings point)
• 9. Monitoring/servicing prices separated and optional, not bundled-and-buried
• 10. The company: third-party certification status for fire detection (BAFE SP203/equivalent bodies) and references in comparable buildings

Why fire quotes diverge more than security quotes

Two fire alarm quotes can differ 2–3× while both being 'for the building' — because they're often for different categories (an M-plus-escape-routes L4 against a near-L1), different responsibility models (designed system vs 'we fitted what you asked for', which transfers liability to you), and different ends (commissioned-and-certificated vs powered-up-and-left). The Fire Safety Order makes the responsible person liable for adequacy: the documentation trail — category decision flowing from your fire risk assessment, certificates, zone plan — is what stands between you and that liability when an inspector or insurer asks. Cheap without paperwork is expensive with consequences.

Comparing fairly and choosing

Level the field: send each bidder the same brief — the fire risk assessment's detection requirement (or ask each to state the category they propose and why), building drawings, and interface list (door holders, AOVs, kitchen suppression). Then compare like-for-like: same category, same certification deliverables, five-year view including the twice-yearly servicing (£200–£900/yr by size — see the servicing guide). Weight the soft signals: surveyors who measure and ask about sleeping risk vs drive-by quoters; willingness to coordinate with your assessor; takeover honesty about your existing system. We quote to this checklist structurally — and we'll annotate competitors' quotes against it without drama, because the gaps are usually visible in one read.