Guides
Fire Detection Guides
Plain-English explainers on fire detection standards and system design, written for specifiers and installers by a BAFE SP203-1 UK trade supplier.
Fire alarm cause and effect
A practitioner's method for programming cause and effect on Gent Vigilon — sectors, delays and double knock, zones v groups, command builds — with a downloadable matrix template.
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Call points: the rules & the myths
What BS 5839-1 actually asks of manual call points — siting, height, covers, spacing — and the myths left over from older editions, each dated to its birth.
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BS 5839-1:2025 — what changed from 2017
The 2025 edition's changes ranked by practical impact — sleeping-room detection, call points, batteries, servicing, and the clause renumber map.
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Gent CLSS explained
What you need for Honeywell CLSS on Gent and Morley panels — the gateway, connection, subscription and self-test licences, in five decisions.
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BS 5839 fire alarm categories
L1–L5, P1–P2 and the LD categories explained — what each protects, how much of the building it covers, and how a category becomes an equipment schedule.
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Flame detector types: UV, UV/IR & IR3
How ultraviolet, UV/IR and triple-infrared flame detectors work, the false-alarm sources each handles, and where each one fits.
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Commercial fire alarm testing
The weekly call-point test, periodic servicing, the logbook, and the test keys and access equipment used to keep a system working.
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Fire alarm battery calculator
Size fire alarm panel standby batteries to BS 5839-1 — a calculator, the worked method, and the stocked 12V flame-retardant sizes.
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