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 staffed two officers on days and two on nights for the eight days the system was out of use.
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 building was staffed with two officers on days and two on nights, on a four-on, four-off rota. A short deployment still gets a proper rota rather than ad-hoc cover, because the officers need to know the building’s escape routes from the first shift, not the third.
Officers were fire-marshal certified and 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 building’s L5 fire alarm system was being decommissioned. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must put interim measures in place while automatic fire detection is out of service. Waking watch was agreed as that measure and ran for the eight days the system was down, standing down on 3 April 2026 once it was reinstated and confirmed operational.
Yes. This one ran eight days. Short deployments are common where an alarm is being replaced, upgraded or repaired, and they need the same standard of cover as a long one — the building is equally unprotected either way. Officer numbers still come from the Fire Risk Assessment rather than being scaled down because the job is brief.
Two officers on days and two on nights, four on four off, for the full eight days. Officers were trained in fire awareness and evacuation, uniformed and identifiable, and equipped with two-way radios or mobile phones to stay in contact with the building’s management team and, where required, the fire and rescue service.
Reviewed by Emma Walker, Group Managing Director. Published · updated .
Ashridge Group is SIA ACS approved and holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 accreditation. See all our accreditations
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.
Further reading
Working out whether this fits your own site? Our guide to what a waking watch costs, and what the alternative costs covers the numbers and the standards in more detail.
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