Swindon, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire

Fire Safety Compliance & Maintenance in Didcot

Fire risk assessments, fire alarm servicing, extinguisher servicing and alarm monitoring for laboratories, science park units, offices, shops and rented homes in and around Didcot.

Didcot sits at the centre of Science Vale, where two district councils share the ground: the town itself is in South Oxfordshire, while Milton Park and the Didcot B power station site fall within the Vale of White Horse. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service brought in an updated automatic fire alarm response policy in October 2024, after consulting on no longer attending most commercial alarm activations unless a fire is confirmed, which puts more weight on how well a building's own systems are looked after.

We cover Didcot from our Hayes head office, along the M4 to junction 13 and then the A34. IDS Global has been trading since 2011 and is a member of the IFSM and the FPA.

Businesses and buildings in Didcot

Milton Park, between Didcot and Abingdon, is a 300 acre science and technology park with nearly 3 million sq ft of floor space and more than 280 organisations. It is run by MEPC. Its buildings range from laboratories and research space to industrial and warehouse units, co-working space and serviced offices, with life sciences, energy and space technology the main sectors. A council case study puts the workforce at over 9,000, with 38% living in Didcot. Harwell Campus, about 2 miles from the town, adds over 240 organisations, including Diamond Light Source.

In the town, the Orchard Centre opened in August 2005, and the 2021 Census counted 32,183 residents. Garden Town status is driving growth of over 15,000 new homes and 20,000 jobs by 2031, across sites such as Great Western Park, Valley Park and Ladygrove East. The former Didcot A coal station, closed in March 2013 and cleared in stages up to 2020, forms part of the Science Vale enterprise zones, while RWE's gas-fired Didcot B, commissioned in 1997, stands next door in Sutton Courtenay.

Fire Risk Assessments in Didcot

A research building on a science park can combine several very different uses. Laboratories with flammable solvents and compressed gases sit beside write-up offices and shared plant rooms, and space is reconfigured as tenants grow or leave. Each change can alter escape distances, compartmentation and what the alarm is expected to do.

Our fire risk assessments follow the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and since the Fire Safety Act 2021 took effect on 16 May 2022 they cover external walls where relevant. OFRS reported 491 audits under its risk based inspection programme in 2024-25, with 211, or 43%, found unsatisfactory, so a current assessment with a ranked action plan matters.

Fire risk assessments

Fire Alarm Servicing in Didcot

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service says around 99% of the alarm activations its crews attend are false, often caused by cooking fumes, dust or poor maintenance. Its own advice to businesses is to log every false alarm, review detector types and positions with an alarm engineer, and replace obsolete detection.

We service existing fire alarm systems to BS 5839, testing devices, checking panels and batteries, investigating faults and keeping the log book up to date. For laboratories and workshops, that includes looking at whether fume, steam or dust from processes is reaching detectors that were never meant to see it.

Fire alarm servicing

Fire Extinguisher Servicing in Didcot

The extinguisher mix in a lab building is different from an office floor. Electrical equipment, server racks and analytical instruments usually call for carbon dioxide units, while stores, workshops and warehouse units elsewhere on the same park may need foam or powder.

We carry out annual extinguisher servicing to BS 5306-3, check that types and positions still suit the hazards in each room, and replace units that are condemned or past their discharge test date.

Fire extinguisher servicing

Alarm Monitoring in Didcot

OFRS consulted in 2024 on no longer attending automatic alarms at most commercial premises unless a fire is confirmed or there are signs of fire, and its updated policy went live that October. An empty building at night then relies on someone else noticing the signal.

We connect existing fire and intruder alarms to a monitoring centre, so activations are passed to your nominated keyholders and, where a fire is confirmed, to the fire service.

Alarm monitoring

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and automatic alarms

OFRS consulted on its automatic fire alarm response in spring 2024, with the survey closing on 13 May. The proposals covered no longer attending alarms at medium and low-risk buildings, which include most general commercial premises, unless a fire is confirmed or there are signs of fire. Higher-risk premises, such as hospitals, care homes, hotels and other sleeping accommodation, keep an emergency response. A cabinet member decision on 2 July 2024 left the final option to the Chief Fire Officer and the service's Statement of Assurance records that the updated policy went live on 10 October 2024. The nearest station, on The Broadway in Didcot, is day crewed and on call, and is not staffed 24 hours a day.

HMO licensing across South Oxfordshire and the Vale

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse run HMO licensing jointly and apply the national mandatory scheme only: an HMO needs a licence when five or more people from two or more households live there. Neither council currently runs an additional or selective scheme. A licence lasts five years, costs £1,034 in total for up to five bedrooms, and the application includes a property inspection. HMOs with more than six residents also need planning permission.

Conservation areas in Didcot

South Oxfordshire has two conservation areas in the town. Didcot Old Conservation Area was designated on 20 February 1979. Didcot Station Road Conservation Area followed on 14 December 1982 and covers two-storey terraces built by the Great Western Railway for its workers in dark red and blue brick, protected by an Article 4 Direction since 1992.

Crime in Didcot and around Milton Park

police.uk street-level data for August 2025 to July 2026, within about a mile of Didcot town centre, records 1,849 crimes, including 184 shoplifting offences, 155 of criminal damage and arson, 42 vehicle crimes and 34 burglaries. Around Milton Park, the same period shows 279 crimes, including 16 burglaries, 15 vehicle crimes and 42 other thefts. Figures are approximate.

Services available in Didcot

Frequently asked questions

Will the fire service attend an automatic alarm at my Didcot business?

Do not assume it will. Since 10 October 2024 Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has operated an updated automatic fire alarm response policy, following a consultation that proposed focusing attendance on higher-risk buildings such as hospitals, care homes and sleeping accommodation, or where a fire is confirmed. Check the service's current guidance for your premises type. Your fire risk assessment should set out who investigates an alarm safely and when to call 999.

Is Milton Park covered by South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse?

Milton Park lies within the Vale of White Horse district, between Didcot and Abingdon, while Didcot town is in South Oxfordshire. Both are served by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. The two councils work jointly on HMO licensing, and both currently apply the mandatory scheme only. We cover sites on either side of the boundary from our Hayes head office.

How can a laboratory building cut its false fire alarms?

Start with the cause. OFRS points to cooking fumes, dust and poor maintenance as common triggers, and in labs, fume cupboards, autoclaves and process steam can add to that list. Keep a log of every activation, review detector types and positions with an engineer, and make sure the system is serviced to BS 5839 so faults are caught early.

How does IDS Global reach Didcot from Hayes?

IDS Global travels from our head office in Hayes along the M4 to junction 13, then takes the A34 north towards Didcot and Milton Park, joining the A4130 for the town centre. Harwell Campus, about 2 miles from the town, is reached the same way, so visits to several Science Vale sites can be grouped into one day.