Evacuation Alert Systems

Following events that exposed the limitations of existing evacuation procedures in high-rise residential buildings, the fire safety industry and the fire and rescue services worked together to develop a new standard that addresses those gaps directly.

BS8629 sets out the requirements for evacuation alert systems in buildings of this type, giving fire and rescue services the ability to initiate and manage a floor-by-floor or full building evacuation from a central control point. Without a compliant EAS in place, that capability simply does not exist, and the ability of the fire and rescue services to coordinate an effective evacuation is significantly compromised.

At Incognito Systems, our team is trained to design, install and maintain evacuation alert systems in full compliance with BS8629, ensuring that the buildings we work on meet the standard and that the fire and rescue services have everything they need to do their job.

An EAS gives fire and rescue services direct control over the evacuation process from a single panel, typically located at the building's fire control point. From there, they can trigger evacuation signals floor by floor or across the entire building, depending on how the incident is developing.

This staged approach is central to how modern high-rise evacuation is managed. Rather than triggering a full building evacuation immediately, which can cause congestion on stairwells and create additional risk, the fire and rescue services can direct occupants on specific floors to evacuate while others remain in place until instructed otherwise.

Every EAS we install is designed from the outset to meet the requirements of BS8629. Our engineers are trained specifically for this work, and every installation is fully documented and verified before handover. Ongoing maintenance is available to keep the system operational and compliant, with servicing schedules and records maintained to the standard required for regulatory inspection.