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If you’re involved with the property industry in any capacity, you’ll no doubt have seen the recent changes around legislation on fire safety at high-rise properties. While the news has meant greater safety for residents and visitors, many property owners and management agents have been wondering, “What is a Waking Watch service?”.
Our comprehensive report today seeks to provide a thorough understanding of what Waking Watch services involve, what has changed in the wake of the devastating Grenfell fire, and what the current legislation outlines for those who take charge of high-rise properties. We’ll also look at where Waking Watch services apply and the measures you (or your property manager) must have in place.
A Waking Watch is a fire safety system in which specially trained professionals regularly patrol a high-rise property or building, both inside and outside. They will constantly monitor for the first signs of fire, raise the alarm if a fire is detected, and ensure a calm and swift evacuation.
It’s a short-term building fire safety option used to keep residents protected when no fire alarm system is in place, or if an issue has caused the fire alarm to malfunction (such as flooding or property damage).
The NFCC and UK Government recommend that it’s used as part of interim fire safety measures, ensuring that fires are detected early and that evacuation can occur quickly and effectively.
Trained experts (referred to as Waking Watch Officers or Fire Wardens) will liaise with the Fire Service in the event of a fire, providing key information and insights into the building and acting as a “human fire detection” measure for those buildings that need it.
A Waking Watch service is also available if a resident or other staff member reports the first signs of fire. Trained officers will investigate the report and take action based on their findings and the information provided by the other person, as part of pre-agreed residential building safety protocols.
In most properties, a Waking Watch service operates 24 hours a day. All Waking Watch officers are trained to the same high standards and understand the demands of the latest fire risk management strategies. This serves as both reassurance to residents and leaseholders, while also ensuring that these professionals can act appropriately in the event of an emergency.
Waking Watch services have been a part of fire safety services for years, but it’s only since the Grenfell tragedy and the irreplaceable loss of 72 lives that we’re starting to see them become more common as part of the fire safety strategy for high-rise buildings, social housing developments and supported living schemes.
It goes without saying that the Grenfell Fire on 14th June 2017 is among the most devastating tragedies in recent memory. The loss of life, livelihoods and homes is something we can’t – and won’t – attempt to do justice to. What we can focus on is what’s changed in the wake of those tragic events.
Chief among these was the public inquiry launched immediately following the fire. Beginning on the 15th June 2017 – the day following the tragic fire – the inquiry produced a damning, 1,700-page document. This was completed in September 2024 and outlined the failings across the board, from contractor issues and material defects to governmental oversights.
That’s more recently meant the investigation of those involved in the initial Grenfell project, all of whom were either involved in the manufacturing or the subsequent installation of unsafe materials, especially those who experienced issues with cladding and fire safety.
However, while there are significant changes in the works, they naturally take time. It’s a long process to enact major-scale changes to fire safety strategy – as exemplified by the 7-year turnaround for the report alone – and the Grenfell Fire acted as a horrific but much-needed catalyst in promoting essential change to building regulations, construction standards and due diligence.
What has changed, though, and what we’re starting to see now, is updated fire legislation that’s designed to offer more robust protection to residents or those who use the building regularly. This is perhaps the most impactful news for residents and building owners – better legislation means safer homes, safer livelihoods and safer people.
Waking Watch applies to any building where:
These will have been confirmed by an independent Fire Risk Assessment. These are conducted in conjunction with the Fire Brigade or a competent company or individual accredited by the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE).
This usually comes in the form of a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall (FRAEW) – also called a PAS9980 – and will provide appropriate next steps. If the inspection finds nothing of concern, your property does not require a Waking Watch service.
If there are concerns (such as with the cladding on the property), the relevant individuals will be adequately informed and will immediately begin the necessary repairs. As outlined by the SEG (4th Edition), this will involve the provision of fire alarm systems and, in the short term, a Waking Watch solution.
While guidance on fire safety systems, Waking Watch measures, and expectations for high-rise buildings is improving, it can still present a stumbling block for those responsible for buildings. We’ll discuss who takes responsibility in our next section, but let’s first outline the expectations of that person/those people.
We’ve chosen to focus on two key pieces of legislation and what they entail. There are other guidance documents available, such as this piece from the House of Commons Library. Still, the two we’ve opted to cover are comprehensive in their approach and come from regulated, trusted sources.
These legislative stipulations are:
These are often cited as the major regulations surrounding current fire safety protocols and seek to outline the path forward. For many, though, this can be quite a time-consuming process – they’re detailed, robust documents for a reason, but it’s a significant hurdle for building management companies and those who take charge of resident safety.
Here are the key pointers from both those documents and what they outline for the future, alongside our interpretation of those guidelines.
In brief, this stipulates that Waking Watch services are not intended to be a long-term component of the fire safety strategy at any residential property. This is the key takeaway, and it’s likely to resonate more closely with those who are actively seeking fire safety guidance for their residential building.
This is best exemplified by the 4th edition of the SEG, which “seeks to actively discourage the ongoing and prolonged use of a Waking Watch”. There’s further support for that in the full, 44-page guide from the NFCC, which places Waking Watch services firmly in the category of “Transition Period” – an option for shorter-term, immediately actionable, interim fire safety measures.
A Waking Watch here is designed to facilitate the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance implemented by the NFCC and to ensure, above all else, that residents are safely and securely removed from imminent danger. It’s intended to be in place for no more than 6 months, but if a bespoke plan takes longer to formulate, it may last for up to 12 months.
Chair of the NFCC’s Protection Scrutiny Committee, Gavin Tomlinson, sums this up well in the SEG press release issued in August 2022. In their words, a Waking Watch service is “the clear expectation for buildings where remediation cannot be undertaken in the short term”.
We would also argue that, given the highly-trained nature of Waking Watch personnel, there’s a natural sense of leadership. The NFCC’s SEG guidance for short-term solutions requires that someone take charge, and a Waking Watch solution allows for a suitably qualified individual to do that alongside their fire marshal duties.
It’s easy to assume that this goes without saying – particularly given the communicative and safety-focused nature of a Waking Watch service – but it’s now written into the SEG guidance published by the NFCC.
This, for us, is a welcome change and something we’ve been firm advocates for in our work across Waking Watch solutions. Take our recent work with Berwick Court Management – a beautifully appointed residential block in Southwark. In conjunction with our guidance, they issued a full, resident-wide policy change via their website.
That’s only one option of how to approach it, but what the SEG does make clear is that resident engagement should be an integral and consultative part of the Waking Watch. We agree with that, and – as with any site we deliver services for – instruct our personnel to ensure that residents know who they are and why they’re there.
We’ll discuss more about resident engagement and its importance with a Waking Watch service in a later section.
A key takeaway that is often overlooked in the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance (SEG) is that Waking Watch solutions should be tailored to the specific site for which they’re in place. That, in our eyes, should go without saying, but there have clearly been issues in the past where that hasn’t been the case, and the SEG outlines the need for that tailored approach.
To quote the SEG, it seeks to promote an “end to risk-averse ‘one size fits all’ applications of on-site staffing”. Our expert interpretation of that – and one that we hope is shared by others in our industry – is that Waking Watch solutions should be designed with the site in mind.
That’s particularly true for larger buildings or those with multiple buildings on the same site. For ProFM, Waking Watch isn’t a service that can be “cookie-cutter” in its approach – residents with specific needs, floor plans, evacuation management and exit strategies will all be different from property to property and even across the same site with multiple buildings.
Waking Watch is, as we’ve seen, a “stopgap” but an extremely necessary solution. Both the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the Fire Safety England (FSE) Regulations outline it as such, and we would strongly agree – there needs to be a firmer plan in place for ongoing residential building safety.
Both the FSE and the NFCC recommend these as effective fire detection methods, including smoke and fire alarm systems, clear signage for emergency exits, and other measures (such as resident methods for raising the alarm).
If the building you live in or visit regularly has a Waking Watch solution in place or will have one in the near future, you will have already been notified.
Resident engagement is essential. Not only does this allow for a better relationship between Waking Watch officers and residents, but it’s also crucial so that people know what’s happening and why. Unnecessary fear or worry only leads to issues further down the line, and transparency here is key to creating a calm environment even in the face of danger.
That’s part of the current stipulations from the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance (SEG) issued by the FSE and something we’ve seen in action in our recent work with Berwick Court Management.
There are a few different ways this can happen. Our client opted to issue a statement via their tenant and landlord website, which is a great way to distribute the information quickly and effectively to all affected parties.
It’s not the only option, though, and we’re starting to see apps and smart technology take an active role in Waking Watch. Any Waking Watch apps that you need to download or use will be advised to you before they’re implemented, and should always be compatible with multiple devices.
This also enables a managed and calm evacuation, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. The person who’s responsible for your building (more on this in our next section) will also make any decisions about how to inform you of changes to Waking Watch services at your building.
As part of the Building Safety Act 2022, the government introduced the concept of accountable persons (APs) and the principal accountable person (PAP). These are the individuals who assume accountability and responsibility for high-rise residential buildings.
Under those regulations, every high-rise building in England must have at least one AP. If there is only one AP, this person will also be the PAP (or principal accountable person). If there are multiple APs, the PAP will be, per the Building Safety Act 2022, whoever “is legally responsible for the repair of the exterior and structure of the building”.
As a general rule, and what many will find as the circumstances for their building, there are a handful of PAPs that will be the principal point of contact. That includes:
In rare circumstances, the PAP may also reside at the property, but this is seldom the case, as many high-rise buildings fall under the control of a commonhold association, a local authority, or a social housing provider.
The governmental guidance around AP and PAP duties is robust, but as an overview, some of the main responsibilities of an AP are:
Alongside those duties, the PAP will also have a handful of additional, more specialist responsibilities. These are:
While these duties may seem extensive and often stressful, they’re an essential part of the process and crucial for ensuring the ongoing safety of any residential building. They’ll also be the ones who are ultimately responsible for choosing the Waking Watch supplier (ProFM’s Waking Watch services, for instance) and for organising the necessary measures that come after that.
The costs of the Waking Watch service are typically paid by the property’s leaseholder. This is often an estate or building management company, a local authority, or a social housing provider, but it can occasionally be an individual.
The guidance on what the leaseholder does and doesn’t need to pay for is complex, but as a general rule, costs associated with unsafe cladding, fire safety, remediation and historical defects, as well as issues caused by a developer who is currently the leaseholder, are always paid for by the leaseholder.
In terms of cost, there is no set price for a Waking Watch package. The most recent estimates, from 2020, do not take into account new guidance from the NFCC and SEG, and therefore’re not reflective of current building fire safety standards. These place the average cost at around £15,000 per building per month, but this is likely to be multiple times higher.
The bespoke nature of the service means that it depends entirely on key factors associated with the building, including:
While the costs can initially seem steep, it’s important to remember that this is an absolute necessity, especially in the short term. We’ve discussed the laws and regulations surrounding Waking Watch at length in this guide, and it’s clear that it’s a non-negotiable solution.
There are options available, however, which can allow leaseholders to recoup some of those costs. On the 11th April 2025, the Government announced a new wave of Waking Watch Replacement funding, which is set to run until March 2026.
This is estimated to be around £41.7 million, dedicated to replacing Waking Watch services in favour of fire alarms in residential buildings. According to the above guidance, this builds upon the £35 million Waking Watch Relief Fund issued in 2023 and seeks to extend support long into the future.
Applications for the funding opened in September 2024, but with the revised deadline of March 2026, there’s now more time than ever to act upon the issues raised by your Fire Risk Assessment.
If you’ve contacted a relevant Fire Safety Service (such as the Fire Brigade or a member of the IFE’s Register), you’ll already have the recommendations for the next course of action outlined by the results of your Fire Risk Assessment.
If this states that your property is in good working order or that its construction does not use any unsafe or potentially dangerous cladding, you do not need to do anything. Your property is completely safe, and there would be little benefit in having fire watch services.
As part of this, your residents will adhere to “Stay Put” guidance. This means that the construction of the building ensures that fire is contained for between 30 and 120 minutes, allowing the Fire Brigade sufficient time to respond and keep residents safe.
The only time when this may change, and your AP or PAP will need to request a further Fire Risk Assessment, is if there is something that changes the capacity of the fire alarm system. This may be construction works which disrupt the communications or damage the structure of the property.
If your property has recommendations as part of the Fire Risk Assessment, then the PAP and AP (or APs) must immediately begin the process of making the building safe. Multiple factors could jeopardise the safety of the residential building, including:
This is where a Waking Watch must be implemented, and it must be implemented with immediate effect. Without one, your property is in direct contravention of the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidelines (SEG) outlined by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and could potentially put people in huge, avoidable danger.
Here is also where the PAP/AP should alert residents to the changes and what they may mean for them. In the case of a Waking Watch service, it’s good practice to let your residents know about the company that will be providing the Waking Watch, how many officers are expected to be on site, and the shifts they’ll be operating on.
Choosing a Waking Watch service should be done swiftly, yet with careful consideration. Our tips for choosing the right Waking Watch provider include:
This is an area where ProFM truly excel. While we understand (and support) the idea that Waking Watch services are designed to be a short-term solution, that doesn’t mean we cut corners. Waking Watch solutions are, to us, an essential part of keeping people safe and preventing incidents like those we saw with Grenfell and, in 2024, the Dagenham Fires.
We’re ideally equipped, both on a local and national level, to deliver the solutions your residents deserve. Each one of our officers undergoes extensive, fire-specific training and understands the requirements of the Waking Watch service. The consequences of not having that aren’t something we take lightly, and we strive for that expert coverage across all we do.
Our in-house experts act as your first port of call in this matter and – if you’ve just received your Fire Risk Assessment – are immediately contactable on 03444 779991. You can also see how seriously we take Waking Watch solutions, as demonstrated by our past work with Connexus Homes in Herefordshire.
Not only will our in-house team be able to advise you on your next steps concerning a Waking Watch service, they’re also able to offer more tailor-made advice on the number of officers you need and how quickly we’re able to deploy. It’s an area you can’t afford to delay on, and we’re on hand to help.
Once a Waking Watch has been implemented, the SEG guidelines state that a plan for further action (a Transition Plan) should be drafted within one month of the Waking Watch starting. This allows for enough time to arrange the relevant installation and completion of a robust fire alarm system.
This should then be done within a 6-month timeframe (referred to by the SEG as a Transition Period). From there, the PAP/AP will need to formulate a longer-term Remediation Plan to change any unsafe constructional elements to safer, more compliant materials.
There is no set timeframe for the Remediation Plan to be completed within, and the NFCC understand that it can be a time-consuming process that’s tied to so many moving parts.
However, by implementing the steps above and prioritising both a Waking Watch service in the short term and those more permanent measures in the long term, you can ensure comprehensive safety for your residents and ultimate transparency for everyone involved.
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Emily is responsible for business growth and account development via new sales. She leads the Business Development teams through strategic goals and objectives in line with business targets and strategy. Emily is a friendly, approachable and a respected senior manager at ProFM Group who always strives to deliver service excellence.