Skip to content
Fire Secure UK

Fire Alarm & Security Engineering Wiki UK | Fire Secure UK

Practical technical guidance for fire alarm, life safety, security, electrical and communications systems in the UK.

The Fire Secure UK Wiki is a free, independently maintained technical resource for fire and security engineers, electricians, commissioning engineers, designers and anyone working with life-safety systems in the UK.

Provided by Ironmark Digital Ltd, the Wiki brings together practical engineering guidance, standards-aware explanations, diagrams and reference material covering fire alarms, smoke ventilation, emergency lighting, fire suppression, access control, CCTV, networking, cabling and related systems.

Our aim is simple: explain how these systems actually work, how they interact, and how UK standards and regulations apply in practice.

Fire Secure UK is an independent technical resource and is not a substitute for the applicable British Standard, manufacturer documentation, fire strategy or competent professional advice.

Explore Fire & Life Safety

Fire Alarm Systems

Technical information covering fire alarm design, installation, commissioning, maintenance and system operation, including guidance relating to BS 5839, BS 7273-4, system categories, detection, interfaces and cause-and-effect.

Plain-English Fire Alarm Guides

Introductory explanations of common fire alarm terminology, system behaviour and alarm-response principles.

Fire Strategies

An overview of the common stages of fire strategy development and the information engineers may encounter during design and construction.

Smoke Ventilation

Guidance covering natural and mechanical smoke-control systems, automatic opening vents and associated life-safety interfaces.

Emergency Lighting

Information covering emergency lighting systems, BS 5266, maintained and non-maintained luminaires and central battery systems.

Fire Suppression

Reference material covering common fire-suppression technologies and extinguishing media.

PAVA

Technical information relating to Public Address and Voice Alarm systems.

Emergency Power Systems

Guidance covering power supplies used to support fire and life-safety equipment.

Aircraft Warning Lights

Practical Engineering Guides

Troubleshooting and field-reference material written around problems engineers encounter on real systems.

Earth Faults

Diagrams

Cabling & Electrical

Guidance covering cable types, installation requirements, containment, support systems and surge protection.

Cabling

Cable Types

Surge Protection

Security Systems

Technical reference material covering access control, CCTV, intruder alarms, credentials and physical security.

Access Control

CCTV

Intruder Alarms

Hostile Vehicle Mitigation

Communications & Protocols

Reference material covering serial communications, Ethernet, IP networking and industry-specific protocols used by fire and security equipment.

Serial Communications

Ethernet & IP

Fire & Security Protocols

Networking

Practical networking reference material for engineers working with IP-connected fire, CCTV, access-control and security systems.

Network Cabling

Wireless Networking

Network Fundamentals

Storage & Throughput

Auditing & Assessment

Guidance covering technical auditing, dilapidation surveys and physical security assessments.

UK Fire & Security Regulations

Start here for an overview of the regulatory and standards framework surrounding fire and security systems in the United Kingdom.

About Fire Secure UK

Fire Secure UK is maintained as a free technical resource for the UK fire and security industry.

The Wiki focuses on practical engineering knowledge rather than manufacturer-specific sales material, with information covering both established technologies and modern networked life-safety and security systems.

Content is independently maintained and expanded as new technical topics, standards and practical guides are added.

Last updated 16 August 2026 at 20:33 UTC