Electrical and fire safety for churches and places of worship

Real experience, handled gently

Buildings that deserve a careful hand

Churches and places of worship aren't like other buildings. They're older, often listed, frequently in daily use, and precious to the people who look after them. Wiring can be a patchwork laid down over decades; access can mean scaffolding, high ceilings and tight galleries; and the fabric itself limits where a cable can sensibly go. We've worked in these buildings enough to know all of this before we arrive.

Our aim is always the same: keep the building safe and compliant while disturbing as little as possible. That means routing work thoughtfully around heritage features, protecting surfaces, and choosing the least intrusive way to do a proper job. Where a listed building consent or a faculty is in play, we'll work within those constraints rather than around them.

What we look after

• Fire alarm systems, designed and serviced sympathetically
• Emergency lighting for aisles, exits and stairways
• Fire extinguisher supply, siting and servicing
• EICRs and electrical safety inspections
• Lighting upgrades and efficient LED, sympathetically fitted
• Compliance and remedial works after inspections and fire risk assessments
• Careful working around services, events and heritage constraints

Fire safety sits at the heart of what we do. A place of worship usually has just a handful of exits, high ceilings and large numbers of people gathered at once — so the fire alarm system, emergency lighting and fire extinguishers all have to be right and certified. They also have to sit sympathetically in a historic space, so we choose cable runs and detector positions that stay as unobtrusive as possible — and we keep everything serviced so it's always ready.

Keeping you compliant with the Fire Safety Order

Every church and place of worship falls under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the RRO — which places a legal duty on the "responsible person", often a warden, the PCC or the buildings committee, to keep the building's fire precautions in good order and properly recorded. We help you meet that duty in practice: systems tested on schedule, certificates kept in date, and clear paperwork you can hand to your insurer, your inspector or the diocese without scrambling for it. Where a fire risk assessment flags something, we carry out the remedial work and re-certify, so nothing is left hanging.

Lighting and electrical upgrades

Beyond fire safety, we keep the wider installation safe and up to date. Wiring in these buildings is often a patchwork laid down over decades, so we carry out EICRs and the electrical repairs and remedials that follow. We also upgrade lighting — nave, chancel and aisle lighting, chandeliers, and external and approach lighting — to efficient, low-maintenance LED that lifts the space while cutting running costs and time spent up ladders. It's the same careful, compliance-led approach whether it's a full scheme or a single failed circuit.

Working around your building and its people

Just as important is how we work while we're there. We're used to the realities of these buildings — restricted access, scaffold and tower work at height, tight galleries, and narrow windows between services. Weddings, funerals, festivals and community events don't stop for us, so we plan around them, keep noise and mess down, and clear up properly at the end of each day. We're comfortable working with the people who look after the building — wardens, the PCC or buildings committee, the architect and the diocese — and within faculty and listed-building constraints, so the right permissions are in place before we start and there are no surprises along the way.