Berkshire

Fire Safety Compliance & Maintenance in Reading

Fire risk assessments, fire alarm servicing and fire door inspections for Reading offices, business parks, HMOs and heritage buildings, plus maintenance and monitoring of existing security systems.

Reading's offices, business parks and student lets each bring their own pressures: a reduced fire service response to automatic alarms at offices, borough-wide licensing of small HMOs, and 15 conservation areas.

We work from our Hayes head office and reach Reading along the M4. We have been in business since 2011 and are members of the IFSM and the FPA.

Businesses and buildings in Reading

Around the station, schemes such as One Station Hill (275,000 sq ft), Apex Plaza (221,000 sq ft) and Campus Reading International (375,000 sq ft) sit alongside the Station Hill development, planned for up to 625,000 sq ft of offices and 1,300 homes, with PepsiCo and PwC occupying offices there from 2025. Business parks ring the town from Winnersh Triangle in the east to Arlington Business Park in the west. Green Park, near M4 junction 11, has 19 office buildings and more than 6,500 workers, mostly within Reading Borough. Thames Valley Park, marketed as East Reading, is in Earley within Wokingham Borough, and Arlington Business Park is in Theale, West Berkshire.

The University of Reading reports more than 27,000 students from 147 countries, which sustains a large HMO market. In the Market Place and London Street conservation area, 16th and 17th century timber-framed buildings stand beside Georgian town houses and Victorian brick banks and commercial buildings.

Fire Risk Assessments in Reading

A multi-let office at Green Park is assessed on its alarm cause and effect, evacuation strategy and how landlord and tenants share duties. A timber-framed building off Market Place raises questions about concealed voids, separation and escape through altered historic plans. A student HMO needs an assessment that lines up with the council's licence conditions.

We carry out fire risk assessments under the Fire Safety Order with a written action plan ranked by priority. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service audits premises through its Risk Based Inspection Programme and can prosecute under the Order, so a current, site-specific assessment matters.

Fire risk assessments

Fire Alarm Servicing in Reading

With no automatic fire engine for alarm calls from Reading offices and shops, a building's alarm and its response procedure must work on their own. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service consultation figures attribute 41% of false alarms with a recorded cause to faulty or poorly maintained systems.

We service and test existing fire alarm systems to BS 5839, including device testing, fault finding and log book records. For HMO landlords we can provide the BS 5839 test certificate a licence application requires, and test emergency lighting to BS 5266 where it is present.

Fire alarm servicing

Fire Door Inspections in Reading

Reading Borough Council's HMO licence conditions include fire doors between shared kitchens and escape routes, and with small HMOs now licensed, many more landlords need evidence those doors work. We inspect gaps, seals, hinges, closers, glazing and signage, and report defects with photographs and a remedial list. In listed buildings and conservation areas, our report records what is there and what falls short, so owners can agree an approach with the council before any work.

Fire door inspections

CCTV and Intruder Alarm Maintenance in Reading

With shoplifting rising around the town centre (see the crime figures below), existing CCTV, intruder alarms and access control only help if they work when needed. We service and repair existing systems: cleaning and refocusing cameras, checking recording, testing detectors and batteries, and maintaining access control readers. Existing systems can also be connected to alarm monitoring for an out-of-hours response.

CCTV, intruder alarm and access control maintenance

RBFRS and automatic fire alarms

Since 20 September 2024, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service no longer automatically sends an engine to automatic fire alarm calls at shops, offices, leisure centres, sports grounds, libraries or health centres. It still attends schools, higher-risk buildings and sleeping-risk premises such as hotels, care homes and flats, and a 999 call reporting fire always gets a response. The service says 99% of such calls are false alarms. Its consultation recorded over 2,900 automatic alarm calls a year on average over five years; of false alarms with a recorded cause, 41% came from faulty or poorly maintained systems, 34% from cooking and 15% from steam or dust. Formal notices are published on the NFCC enforcement register for at least three years.

HMO licensing in Reading from March 2026

Mandatory licensing covers most HMOs with five or more occupants. An additional licensing scheme, designated on 17 November 2025, extends licensing to all small HMOs borough-wide from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2031, with inspection programmes planned from September 2026 and September 2028. Applications need a BS 5839 fire alarm test certificate dated within 12 months (for systems with a panel), a BS 5266 emergency lighting certificate within 12 months where emergency lighting is present, an EICR within five years and a gas safety certificate. Licence conditions include fire blankets and fire doors between shared kitchens and escape routes. Article 4 directions also restrict house to small HMO changes in parts of Park, Redlands and Katesgrove wards, and Jesse Terrace.

Conservation areas and historic buildings

Reading has 15 conservation areas, including Market Place, St Mary's Butts/Castle Street, Castle Hill/Russell Street/Oxford Road, Eldon Square and Kendrick. Listed building alterations need consent, and in conservation areas replacing windows, doors or external features needs planning permission unless materials match. The council's Market Place and London Street appraisal identifies timber-framed buildings at 26/27 Market Place, 49/53 London Street and 3/5 London Road.

Crime around Reading town centre

police.uk street-level data for the Abbey and Battle neighbourhood, within about a mile of the town centre, records 10,342 crimes between August 2025 and July 2026, including 2,023 shoplifting offences, 983 incidents of anti-social behaviour, 535 of criminal damage and arson, 446 vehicle crimes and 321 burglaries. Monthly shoplifting rose from 134 in August 2025 to 213 in July 2026.

Services available in Reading

Frequently asked questions

Will the fire service attend an automatic fire alarm at my Reading office?

Not automatically. Since 20 September 2024 Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service does not send an engine to automatic alarm calls from offices, shops and similar premises. It still attends sleeping-risk premises such as hotels, care homes and flats, and always responds to a 999 call reporting fire. Your fire risk assessment should say who checks an alarm and calls 999.

What fire safety certificates does a Reading HMO licence application need?

Reading Borough Council asks for a BS 5839 fire alarm test certificate from a competent engineer, dated within the last 12 months, where the system has a panel. Where emergency lighting is present, a BS 5266 test certificate within 12 months is also needed, alongside an EICR within five years and a gas safety certificate. The council provides a Grade D certificate template.

Does my three or four person HMO in Reading now need a licence?

Yes. Under Reading Borough Council's additional licensing scheme, all small HMOs with fewer than five occupants need a licence from 1 March 2026. The scheme is borough-wide and runs until 28 February 2031, with inspection programmes planned from September 2026 and September 2028.

How can we reduce false fire alarms in our building?

RBFRS consultation data shows 41% of false alarms with a recorded cause came from faulty or poorly maintained systems, 34% from cooking and 15% from steam or dust. Regular servicing to BS 5839 tackles the first group. Reviewing detector types near kitchens, showers and dusty areas addresses the rest.

Do you cover Green Park, Thames Valley Park and Arlington Business Park?

Yes. Green Park lies mostly within Reading Borough, with parts in Shinfield and Burghfield. Thames Valley Park is in Earley, within Wokingham Borough, and Arlington Business Park is in Theale, West Berkshire. We reach all three from our Hayes office along the M4.