Fire safety compliance contracts
A compliance contract puts every routine fire safety check your building needs under one agreement and one point of contact. We schedule and deliver each check and keep the evidence in the Vocus Fire Safety Portal. Pay through an annual rolling contract or a smoothed annual plan that spreads the cost evenly.
- One contractEvery check, one contact
- Two ways to payRolling or smoothed
- One portalEvery certificate and due date
- Annual feeConfirmed after survey
Stop joining up five contractors yourself
Most buildings rely on several contractors: one for the alarm, another for extinguishers, a specialist for the sprinklers and an assessor every year or two. Gaps appear where nobody is watching: a lapsed service, a defect never fixed, a certificate nobody can find.
A compliance contract replaces that with one arrangement. We schedule every check, deliver each one, follow up defects and file the certificate. Your legal duties stay with you; the coordination moves to us.
In England
Residential buildings with two or more flats have extra duties under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, including fire door checks above 11 metres and monthly checks of firefighting lifts and equipment at 18 metres or more. We build those into the schedule where they apply.
In Wales
The England-only 2022 Regulations do not apply, but the Fire Safety Order's duty to maintain fire safety measures does. Welsh building safety law is being reformed, including new duties for multi-occupied residential buildings, and we will update your schedule if they apply to you.
The checks your building actually needs
Only the items your premises has, plus management checks such as drills, logbook audits, signage and housekeeping.
Fire risk assessment
Annual review in-house, with arson risk and Responsible Person reviews.
Doors and compartmentation
Annual fire door inspection and compartmentation survey.
Alarms and lighting
Six-monthly alarm service to BS 5839-1; annual emergency lighting duration test.
Extinguishers
Annual service to BS 5306-3, with year-five replacement planned in.
PAT testing
Carried out in-house, with results recorded against each item.
Sprinklers and risers
Sprinklers, suppression, AOVs and risers, serviced on the same schedule.
From site survey to next visit booked
Site survey
We record the systems in place and review certificates, logbooks and your assessment.
Schedule and quote
Every check, its frequency and who delivers it, with both payment options priced.
Delivery
Each check is carried out around your hours, with defects followed up.
Defects and actions
Findings reported with a recommendation and, where within the contract, put right.
Evidence and renewal
Certificates go into the portal and the next visit is already scheduled.
A schedule you never have to chase
Every report, certificate and next-due date is held in the Vocus Fire Safety Portal. When an inspector, insurer, Care Inspectorate Wales, the CQC or a governing body asks for evidence, you find it in minutes.
- A site schedule showing every check and who delivers it
- Certificates and reports filed after each visit
- Defects reported with a recommendation
- One view across every site for multi-site organisations
Same checks, different cash flow
Both options cover the same checks and the same replacement works. The only difference is how the cost is spread.
| Annual rolling contract | Smoothed annual plan | |
|---|---|---|
| All checks managed and evidenced | Yes | Yes |
| Vocus Fire Safety Portal | Yes | Yes |
| How you pay | The actual cost of each year's work, as it falls | The same fee every year |
| Year five | Higher, when extinguisher replacement falls due | No spike; the cost is already spread |
| Cost over the full cycle | The actual cost | No more than the rolling contract |
| Best suited to | Commercial premises and property managers with flexible budgets | Schools, care homes, charities and housing providers with fixed annual budgets |
The detail, when you need it
The full list of checks
Annual: fire risk assessment review, fire door inspection, extinguisher service (BS 5306-3), PAT testing, emergency lighting full-duration test (BS 5266-1), evacuation drill, logbook audit, means of escape check, signage audit, compartmentation survey, arson risk assessment, housekeeping review, training records review and Responsible Person review.
Six-monthly and system servicing: fire alarm service (BS 5839-1), AOV system service, suppression system service, sprinkler system service, dry riser test and wet riser inspection.
Some are specific legal duties, some are the recommended way to meet the general duty to maintain fire safety measures, and some are good practice that keeps your fire risk assessment valid. We only include the systems your building has.
Who you deal with
One point of contact for everything. We schedule every check in the contract, make sure it happens on time, follow up defects and file every certificate in the Vocus Fire Safety Portal. Fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, fire stopping, extinguisher servicing, PAT testing and fire safety training are carried out by our own team.
PAT testing and the law
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems and equipment to be maintained so far as reasonably practicable to prevent danger. The law does not set a PAT interval, but a proportionate programme of inspection and testing, based on the type of equipment and how it is used, is the usual way to show you have met that duty. We carry out PAT testing ourselves and record results against each item.
The year-five extinguisher point
Under BS 5306-3, water, foam and powder extinguishers need an extended service, a discharge and refill, at five years, and CO₂ extinguishers an overhaul at ten. Replacing a standard extinguisher is usually more economical than an extended service, so that is what we budget for. On the rolling contract the replacement cost lands in the year it falls, usually year five. On the smoothed annual plan it is spread evenly across every year. More on extinguisher servicing.
Your duties stay with you
A contract does not transfer the Responsible Person's legal duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies in both England and Wales, and our terms say so plainly. What changes is the workload. We carry the coordination, the scheduling and the evidence, and tell you clearly what needs a decision from you.
At a glance
- Who it's for
- Schools, care homes, charities, housing providers and commercial premises
- Covers
- Annual and six-monthly fire safety checks, sprinkler, AOV and riser servicing, and PAT testing
- Payment
- Annual rolling contract or smoothed annual plan
- You receive
- One point of contact and every record in the Vocus Fire Safety Portal
- Price
- Annual fee confirmed after survey, based on sites, systems and payment option
Speak to the team
Questions about your building or your duties? Talk them through with us before you commit to anything.
0330 133 4591Fire service experience, one accountable contract.
30+ years in Fire and Rescue
Our Managing Director, Paul Chamberlain, spent more than three decades in Fire and Rescue, from operational incident command to strategic leadership. That is the lens every assessment is written through.
Wales and England, done right
Fire safety law differs either side of the Severn. Every report and recommendation is written for the rules that actually apply to your building.
One accountable contract
Assessment, remediation and ongoing maintenance under one contract, with one point of contact. No gaps between contractors for you to manage.
Every record in one place
Reports, certificates and next-due dates for every site in the Vocus Fire Safety Portal, ready to show an inspector, insurer or auditor.
Compliance contract questions
Short answers to what people ask us most. Can't see yours? Call us on 0330 133 4591.
What is the difference between the rolling contract and the smoothed plan?
Both cover the same checks and replacement works. On the annual rolling contract you pay the actual cost each year, so years with extinguisher replacements cost more. On the smoothed annual plan the fee is the same every year, and over the full cycle it costs no more than the rolling contract.
Does a compliance contract make Vocus the Responsible Person?
No. The Responsible Person's duties under the Fire Safety Order stay with you, and our terms say so. We schedule, deliver and evidence the checks and advise you on findings, but decisions about acting on them remain yours.
Are all of these checks required by law?
Not each one individually. The law requires you to assess fire risk and maintain your fire safety measures, and British Standards and official guidance set out how to do that, such as six-monthly alarm servicing and annual extinguisher servicing. The rest are good practice that keeps your fire risk assessment valid. We only include checks relevant to your building.
Can sprinkler and AOV servicing go in the contract?
Yes. Sprinkler, suppression, AOV and riser servicing can all be included. We book the visits, check the certificates and follow up defects, and you deal with one point of contact.
Can we have one contract for several sites?
Yes. Each site gets its own schedule based on the systems it has, and the portal shows every site's records and next-due dates together. That suits multi-site care groups, academy trusts and housing providers.
What happens to our records if we leave?
Your certificates and reports belong to your compliance history. Our terms provide for copies of your records to be supplied on written request after the contract ends, so you are never left without evidence.
Can we switch to you part-way through the year?
Yes. We review your existing certificates and pick up each check from its current due date, so nothing is duplicated or missed. Outstanding defects from previous contractors are listed so you can decide how to deal with them.
Services
Sectors
Further reading: Fire alarm testing and servicing: what the law expects · Emergency lighting testing · Fire door checks for landlords in England and Wales
Put your fire safety on one contract
Tell us about your sites and the systems in them. We will survey, confirm the checks your buildings need and quote both payment options.