Independent fire safety consultancy
Fire Safety Services in Alton
Our fire safety services in Alton help businesses, landlords and property managers work out what to fix first, what to budget for and what evidence to keep. Talk to us if you’re facing an inspection, dealing with defects or planning building work.
We cover Alton and the surrounding Alton and East Hampshire area. If you manage several premises, we can help you work out what each site needs and agree a common way to track actions.
Our services
Fire safety support for your premises
You might have a report full of actions, a building project that’s about to move forward, or several sites where nobody has a clear picture of what’s overdue. We help you work out what needs attention, what you can keep and what to ask your contractors to do. Here’s where each service can help.
Risk and ongoing support
Fire Risk Assessments
Taking on new premises, changing how a building is used or working from an old assessment? We visit the site to see how people use it, what could start a fire and how people would get out. You get a written assessment with prioritised actions, so you know what to deal with first and can plan the rest.
DSEAR Risk Assessments
If your work involves solvents, fuels, gases or combustible dust, the way you store and handle them can create fire or explosion risks. We look at where those risks arise during everyday work, including activities like decanting liquids or cleaning equipment. You’ll know which controls are already helping and where changes to storage, ventilation or working practices may be needed.
Fire Safety Consultancy
A fire officer’s visit, a formal notice or conflicting advice can leave you unsure what to act on. We review the findings against what’s actually happening in your building and explain what each point means. That gives you a clearer basis for deciding which work to commission, what to prioritise and what evidence to keep.
Fire Safety Audits & Plans
Your fire risk assessment may be up to date while day-to-day checks, training and records have slipped. We check how your arrangements work in practice, including who does the checks, how faults are reported and whether actions are followed up. You get a plan that assigns responsibilities and gives your team a practical way to keep track.
Fire Safety Manager
When several sites, teams or contractors are involved, it’s easy for everyone to assume someone else is dealing with a problem. We provide ongoing support to track assessments, inspections and repairs, follow up on actions and bring decisions back to the right people. You get a clear view of what’s done, what’s overdue and where you need to act.
Fire Safety Training
Would your staff know which exit to use if their usual route was blocked? We tailor training to your building, the people using it and the roles staff are expected to carry out. That can include raising the alarm, helping people evacuate and preparing fire marshals for the situations they’re likely to face at work.
Strategy and design
Fire Strategy Plans
If you’re converting, extending or refurbishing a building, changes to the layout can affect how people escape and how fire and smoke are contained. We develop or review the fire strategy so your designers, contractors and building managers can work from the same plan for escape routes, fire separation and protection systems.
Heritage Building Consultancy
A new door, alarm cable or escape route can affect historic features you need to preserve. We look at how the building is used and where its construction makes fire safety work more difficult. We then explain the options and their implications, giving you and your project team a basis for deciding what work is proportionate.
Design Reviews and Validations
If different consultants have produced the drawings, door schedules and system specifications, details can conflict even when each document looks right on its own. We review the proposals against the agreed fire strategy and flag gaps for the design team to resolve before they become changes on site.
Planning Support for RIBA Design Stages
A stair position or access arrangement can be straightforward to change at concept stage and expensive to revisit once the design is fixed. We work with your design team to identify which fire safety decisions need making at each agreed RIBA stage and what information is needed for planning and technical design. That helps the team resolve issues before they hold up the next stage.
Emergency Lighting Designs
A fit-out can leave new corridors, turns or changes in floor level outside the coverage of the existing emergency lighting. We work through the routes people would take if the power failed and identify where lighting is needed. Your installer gets a clearer brief, and you can compare quotes against the same proposed coverage.
Fire Alarm Designs
If you’re replacing an ageing alarm or changing how a building is used, installers may price different levels of detection and warning. We set out what the building needs and how the alarm should work with other systems, such as automatic door releases. You can then compare quotes against a common specification.
Surveys and inspections
Fire Stopping Surveys
Cables, pipes and ducts often pass through walls and floors designed to resist fire. Later works can leave openings or damage the seals, particularly above ceilings and in risers. We inspect accessible locations and record the defects, so your contractor knows where repairs are needed and you know where further investigation may be worthwhile.
Compartmentation Surveys
If you’ve inherited incomplete drawings or a building that’s been altered several times, you may be unsure whether its fire-resisting walls and floors still form effective barriers. We trace the lines of separation, check accessible areas for defects and explain where opening up may be needed. That helps you scope repairs before committing to a wider programme of work.
Fire Door Assessments
A fire door can look sound and still fail to close properly or have gaps that affect how it performs. We check the door, frame, seals, closer and hardware as a set and record findings door by door. You can give contractors a clear repair brief and track which defects have been put right.
Fire Extinguisher Surveys and Audits
The extinguishers you inherited may have been chosen for a different layout, tenant or activity. We review the risks in each area and check whether the existing equipment is suitable, accessible and in the right place. You’ll know what can stay, what should move and where you need a different type or additional cover.
Fire Extinguisher Sales, Servicing and Maintenance
If you’re opening a site, replacing damaged units or catching up on overdue servicing, we can supply and commission suitable extinguishers and look after the equipment already in place. We record what was checked, what needs attention and when the next service is due, so you have a clear record to hand when someone asks.
Electrical Compliance Audits & Support
If you’ve inherited a stack of electrical reports or manage several sites, it can be hard to tell what’s due, which defects have been put right and where evidence is missing. We help you set up or review your electrical compliance programme, audit Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) and supporting records, and check how remedial work is tracked and signed off. Together, we turn the findings into a schedule your team can follow, with clear priorities and responsibilities.
Professional credentials
Accreditations and memberships
These organisations support professional development, publish technical guidance and provide ways to check registration. Select a logo to find out more.
Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM)
The IFSM is a professional body for people who manage fire safety. It provides training, technical resources and opportunities for practitioners to share experience. Its work covers the day-to-day decisions that keep buildings safer, from fire prevention to managing escape routes and procedures.
National Fire Risk Assessors Register (NFRAR)
The IFSM runs this public register of individual fire risk assessors. The register shows an assessor’s level of registration, so you can check whether it matches the type and complexity of the premises you need assessed.
Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)
The SFPE is an international professional body for fire protection engineering. It publishes engineering guides, supports research and provides continuing education. Its technical resources help engineers work through questions such as how smoke moves through a building and how occupants can escape.
Institute of Fire Prevention Officers (IFPO)
The IFPO supports people working in fire prevention through education, professional development and technical resources. Its events and practitioner network give members a way to share experience on inspection findings, building risks and practical approaches to fire prevention.
UK Fire Association
The UK Fire Association represents businesses providing fire prevention, protection and training services. It gives members access to industry guidance and training resources, and its public directory helps clients find firms by service or specialism.
British Fire Services Association (BFSA)
The BFSA brings together people from local authority, industrial, airport and private fire services, as well as the wider fire protection sector. Its events and professional development activities give members opportunities to exchange experience across those settings.
Fire Protection Association (FPA)
The FPA is a UK fire safety organisation that carries out research and fire testing and provides training and technical guidance. Its work helps building owners, insurers and fire safety professionals make decisions about protecting people, property and business operations.
NAPIT
NAPIT runs registration and certification schemes for electrical and other building services work. Its public search lets you check a contractor’s current registration and the types of work it covers, which is useful when appointing someone for electrical inspection or testing.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
The IET is a professional engineering institution that publishes technical guidance and supports professional development. It jointly publishes BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, a key reference for the design, installation and verification of electrical installations in the UK.
Fire service coverage in Alton
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service is the usual fire service contact for inspections at many workplaces and managed premises in Alton. Its business fire safety team can give general guidance. ESI can help with advice specific to your building or with working through the findings from an inspection.
See the fire service contact and enforcement information for Hampshire.
Local enforcement
Recent fire safety enforcement near Alton
Notices served by the fire and rescue service on premises near you. Names and addresses are removed. More details are publicly available on the NFCC Enforcement Register.
6
notices served within 10 miles in the past 12 months
Article 14, emergency routes and exits, was cited in 3 of 5 enforcement notices