Waking Watch case study
Centrick needed interim fire cover at Waterside Heights, a premium apartment building in Dickens Heath Village near Solihull, while its L5 fire alarm system was decommissioned. We provided waking watch for the eight days the system was out of use, standing down on 3 April 2026 once it was operational again.
Centrick needed waking watch cover at Waterside Heights, a modern premium residential apartment building in the Waterside development at Dickens Heath Village, near Shirley in Solihull, while the building’s L5 fire alarm system was decommissioned.
While a building’s automatic fire detection is out of service, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to put interim measures in place. Waking watch was agreed as that measure.
We provided waking watch cover for the eight days the L5 system was out of use, so the building was never left without a means of raising the alarm.
The officer on shift was trained in fire awareness and evacuation, uniformed and identifiable, and in contact with the building’s management team and, where needed, the fire and rescue service.
The watch ran for eight days and stood down on 3 April 2026, once the fire alarm system was reinstated and confirmed operational.
Planned alarm work is one of the most common reasons a building needs a short waking watch, and cover ends the day the system comes back.
The service
This engagement was delivered by our waking watch team. Read how the service works, what it covers and how it is staffed on our waking watch and fire safety services page.
The area
We work across Birmingham and the surrounding region. See the sites, sectors and services we cover in Birmingham.
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