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In the fire safety industry, we’ve reached a turning point. For years, “competence” was often judged by experience alone—measured by how long someone had been working in the field. However, with the latest edition of BS 5839-1:2025 and the implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022, the industry is moving towards clearer, evidence-based standards of competence.
Today, it’s not enough to simply have experience. Increasingly, engineers must be able to demonstrate competence through recognised training, qualifications, and documented work practices.
The latest revisions to BS 5839-1 represent more than a technical update; they reflect a broader shift across the fire safety sector toward accountability, traceability, and professional competence.
For fire alarm professionals, this means:
Stricter Design Considerations Ensuring systems are suitable for increasingly complex building layouts and risk profiles.
Clearer Expectations of Competence Greater emphasis on the definition of a “competent person,” supported by relevant training, qualifications, and experience.
Improved Documentation Standards Higher expectations around commissioning records, certification, and handover documentation.
These changes align with the wider regulatory focus introduced by the Building Safety Act, where competence must be demonstrable and auditable.
Many experienced engineers fall into what could be called the “experience trap.” Methods learned years ago may still work in practice, but standards, technologies, and compliance expectations continue to evolve.
Without keeping up to date with current standards such as BS 5839-1:2025, even highly skilled engineers can find themselves working in ways that no longer fully meet modern compliance expectations.
The challenge isn’t a lack of ability—it’s ensuring that experience is supported by current knowledge and recognised evidence of competence.
To remain competitive in today’s fire safety industry, professionals increasingly need a combination of:
Current technical knowledge
Practical workplace competence
Recognised industry qualifications
Understanding the standard is one thing—being able to apply it on real systems is another. Effective training should combine theory with practical application so engineers understand how compliance works in real installations, testing, and maintenance scenarios.
For experienced engineers who are already carrying out installation, commissioning, or maintenance work, obtaining a recognised competence-based qualification can formalise existing skills and demonstrate professional capability to employers, clients, and principal contractors.
Qualifications such as the EAL Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Providing Electronic Fire and Security Systems are widely used within the industry to confirm workplace competence.
The evolving regulatory environment presents both challenges and opportunities. Engineers who invest in maintaining their knowledge and demonstrating their competence will be best positioned to work on larger projects and higher-risk buildings.
At LFS, our goal is to support professionals in building both technical understanding and recognised competence.
Whether you want to update your knowledge or demonstrate your competence, we offer structured training pathways.
A practical course designed to help engineers understand and apply the requirements of BS 5839-1:2025 through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on exercises.
For engineers already working in the industry, this workplace-based qualification allows learners to demonstrate competence through real job activities and assessment.
Achievement of this qualification is one of the recognised components used when applying for the FESS Systems Technician (Gold) card through the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme. Applicants must also meet additional ECS requirements, which may include health and safety assessment and other eligibility criteria depending on the route.
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