Why accreditation matters when it comes to fire safety

Choosing a fire safety company for your business is no small matter. When you're weighing up the value of the safety of your whole business, its employees and the whole property, it's clear that getting it wrong is a grave mistake. So how do you find a reliable fire safety option?

Luckily there is an independent regulatory organisation that assesses the reliability of fire detection and prevention systems. It's called the British Association of Fire Equipment, or BAFE, and it approves fire safety companies based on its SP203 scheme to prove a company is deemed reliable.

BAFE was set up in 1981 in the grounds of Moreton-in-Marsh's Fire Service College in Gloucestershire. Being independent, it is able to give impartial decisions about what constitutes a good fire safety company without being seen to show favouritism for one company or another.

So what does BAFE SP203 actually signify? In order to be assessed for this qualification, a company must apply to a BAFE certification body for training. This is a modular course that ensures companies are drilled in the areas they need to know the most. Firstly, they learn about the design of their fire safety systems. Secondly, they learn about the installation of the fire safety equipment. Thirdly, they are assessed on the commissioning and detection of their fire detection and prevention systems. And finally they are educated in the handover and maintenance of the systems.

There are a number of certification bodies that are responsible for handing out BAFE SP203 certificates and for assessing the essential knowledge explained in the BAFE guidelines for fire safety equipment. BAFE itself, meanwhile, oversees the setting forth and amendment of these guidelines.

So, when you sit down to decide on a fire regulation and prevention service for your company, make sure you contact AEL Systems on 01325 467398 and be safe in the knowledge that we are certified under BAFE SP203-1.