They say there is no smoke without fire. Well, there are also rarely fires without a preventable cause. If you are a stakeholder in a property, especially a multi-occupancy or high-rise building, there are many compelling arguments for why you should get on top of your fire safety measures now. Obviously, the highest priority is avoiding harm and loss of life and keeping residents safe. High on the list is also your legal responsibility and making sure you are compliant. Beyond that, issues of business continuity and reputation play an impactful role.   

Most failures of fire safety systems do not happen overnight. There are often visible warning signs long before a fire incident actually occurs. This article aims to serve as a practical checklist to help you identify risk early enough to make a difference.   

1. Aging smoke control systems     

Smoke control systems that are older than five years need your attention and to be assessed to make sure they function adequately and meet today’s standards. Electrical parts often need replacing every two years and mechanical parts can start to fail after five years. Smoke control is important to ensure safe exit routes, so that if a fire does start, smoke does not impede evacuation.  

Older automatic opening vents (AOVs), extraction fans, fire or smoke dampers and control panels can all suffer from component wear which can make them significantly less reliable. When they do fail, repair can be challenging due to obsolete parts.  

 Keep in mind that buildings sometimes evolve over time. Whether through renovations or changes in intended use. Ensuring that your smoke control systems are functioning properly and fit for the building as it is used today will be a vital part of fire safety measures that are fit for purpose.    

2. Poor or missing maintenance records    

Staying compliant with fire safety means getting documentation in order, which in turn means ensuring regular inspections and testing takes place. If your Maintenance Records are poor or missing, don’t ignore the issue.  

Regular inspections are not just a tick-box exercise for record-keeping and audit requirements (though they matter for these as well!). They play a vital role in ensuring fire safety systems are fit for purpose. Skipping these or ignoring the lack of documentation could land you in legal trouble, or worse, lead to fire incidents. 

You should have a regular schedule and solid documentation for testing of your AOVs, smoke extract fans, dampers, fire alarm interfaces, and back-up power systems.   

3. Frequent faults or system failures 

It’s easy to find the re-set button and move on when there is an alarm fault, or gloss over it when a small part of a system seems to malfunction. These should never be ignored, especially if they are recurring. If fans fail to start, if smoke vents don’t open, or if false alarms mean that people stop responding with the urgency that they should invoke, the fire safety measures you have in place could be about to fail when you need them the most.  

Take malfunctions seriously to address any issues early, and in the case of false alarms, be proactive in communicating to residents that the issue has been resolved so that fire alarms are treated as the emergency situations that they should be.  

4. Changes to building layout or use  

As mentioned above regarding smoke control, fire safety systems can become obsolete when there are changes to a building and how it is used. Smoke movement patterns can vary significantly, even from refurbishments, let alone larger structural changes. 

If there are extensions, internal layout changes or changes of use of the building, such as increase in occupancy numbers, it is important to review fire safety and smoke control systems, to make sure they are adequate for the new way the building is being used.    

5. Non-compliance with current standards  

Depending on the age of the fire safety measures in place, there is a chance that they are non-compliant with current regulations. With growing scrutiny after recent reforms to building safety laws, you may find your system is under par when it comes to smoke clearance rates, integration with alarms and fire doors, and a lack of performance validation.  

Ensuring your safety measures meet modern standards help to ensure you are not liable if something goes wrong, while also helping to keep people as safe as possible.   

6. Smoke spread during minor incidents  

A very clear warning sign that your fire measures are failing could be when there is a minor incident and smoke spreads or lingers. This could be that a small kitchen fire leads to smoke escaping into a corridor or stairwell. 

 It could be that smoke takes longer than it should to clear or reduces visibility. It could be that smoke escapes through closed doors in unexpected ways. All of these are real-world warnings that a more significant fire would not be contained in the building.   

7. Lack of commissioning or performance testing data 
 

We have mentioned maintenance records above. It’s also important to check that all commissioning certificates and performance testing records are in order. Missing documentation can create uncertainty when it matters the most. 

Performance testing is about confirming that systems work under real fire conditions. They validate the fire system design assumptions and make sure that the system will do its job in an incident.  

Without this evidence of performance, it could be hard to prove compliance and effectiveness.  

8. Resident or staff safety concerns 

Communication from the people using the buildings, even when it comes in the form of complaints, can be extremely valuable in alerting us to fire systems that need attention. This may be feedback that evacuation procedures are unclear or contradictory.  

As mentioned above, it could be excessive alarm faults that mean occupants have stopped responding with urgency. It could be matters of ventilation or just lack of confidence in safety systems. 

Whatever the concerns raised, proactive engagement with the occupants, residents, visitors and staff in your building will help you to gather helpful information to prevent disaster.   

Your next steps 

We have outlined eight ways to check that your fire safety measures are fit for purpose, and that you’re not ignoring those early signs that a system or procedure is falling short.  

Your initial steps could be: 

• To commission a review of your fire risk assessments 

• To audit your smoke control system 

• To prioritise any upgrades needed by level of risk they pose 

• Engage competent fire safety professionals to assess your building and recommend any necessary upgrades. 

Fire safety failures are usually predictable and preventable, and taking action early is far less costly, both in financial and human terms, than responding after failure. 

About Sertus

Sertus is a UK-based manufacturer of smoke ventilation products, dedicated to safeguarding lives and property through unequivocally compliant, expertly engineered, and reliably manufactured solutions. Driven by our vision to be the UK’s manufacturer of choice for smoke ventilation, we’re setting the standard – leading, not following – with products that combine innovation, performance, and quality. From early-stage design through to post-install support, we partner with contractors, architects, consultants, and developers to deliver smoke ventilation that works – every time.

At Sertus, Make It Simple isn’t just a tagline – it’s our promise. We simplify the complex world of fire safety through intelligent design, clear guidance, and comprehensive support, helping our customers achieve compliant, high-performance buildings with confidence.

Learn more at sertus.uk. For media enquiries, contact hello@sertus.uk or call 01483 269999.