Fire, security and life safety systems with ECA

[edit] Emergency lighting the way to an ECA fireside chat video series

Fireside Chat - Bitesize Videos

The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has unpacked and dissected the recent updates to the emergency lighting suite of standards in a new fireside chat series here.

The nine-part series features Gary Parker, ECA’s Head of Technical Standards, talking to Chris Watts, Chair of the BSI Technical Committee – Emergency Lighting; Gary Gundry, Independent Technical Consultant; and Chris Edwards, ECA’s Technical Manager, about the latest changes in bitesize videos.

• What's Changed in BS 5266
• Why Competence Matters
• Battery and LED EvolutionCentral Battery Systems and Circuit Integrity
• Common Misconceptions
• Five-Year Photometric Testing
• New Lighting Coverage Rules
• Opportunities for Contractors
• The Role of the Responsible Person

[edit] Fire, Security & Life Safety Systems

Emergency Lighting, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems form an integral part of a buliding's fire strategy - designed to provide an early warning and safe evacuation in the event of an emergency.

A well designed security system offers an effective solution in protecting against a number of scenarios. Many of these systems serve a single purpose but often interface with combined elements such as CCTV, access control, intruder alarms, holdup alarm, social alarms and other building services.

This page provides information relating to installations and practices for life safety systems and security systems, including topics such as such as emergency lighting and fire alarms

You can find everything you need in a variety of formats that suit your needs whether you prefer long form content or video resources. ECA are continually working to deliver different outputs to improve our Members' experience.

[edit] Applying the right standards

Standards set the benchmarks for good practice, professionalism and help provide assurance to clients and ensure their expectations are met. They also promote a culture that encourages the delivery of high quality services.

Applying the right standards is crucial when carrying out different areas of work; importantly they fulfil obligations under contract but ultimately obligations under Health and Safety and the Electricity at Work Regulations.

[edit] Applying the right standards for Fire Alarm & Emergency Lighting Systems

When designing, installing, commissioning, testing, inspecting or maintaining emergency lighting, fire detection and alarm systems, depending on the scope of work, a combination of the most recent edition of the following standards and guidance would apply:

[edit] Emergency Lighting:

• BS 5266-1 Emergency lighting. Code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises
• BS EN 50172 Emergency escape lighting systems
• BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations
• HSR 25 Guidance on The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
• Fire detection and alarm systems:
• BS 5839-1 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises
• BS 5839-6 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises
• BS 5839-8 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of voice alarm systems
• BS 5839-9 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of emergency voice communication systems
• BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations
• HSR 25 Guidance on The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

[edit] Applying the right standards for Security Systems

When designing, installing, commissioning, testing, inspecting or maintaining security systems, depending on the scope of work, a combination of the most recent edition of the following standards would apply:

[edit] Intruder Alarm:

• PD 6662 Scheme for the application of European standards for intrusion and hold-up alarm systems *Plus IA 1501 industry agreement on interim update to PD6662:2010
• BS 8243 Installation and configuration of intruder and hold-up alarm systems designed to generate confirmed alarm conditions. Code of practice
• DD CLC/TS 50131-7 Alarm systems. Intrusion and hold-up systems. Application guidelines
• BS EN 50131-1 Alarm systems. Intrusion and hold-up systems. System requirements
• DD 263 Intruder and hold-up alarm systems. Commissioning, maintenance and remote support. Code of practice .

[edit] CCTV:

• BS EN 62676-1-1Video surveillance systems for use in security applications. System requirements. General
• BS EN 62676-4 Video surveillance systems for use in security applications. Application guidelines
• BS 8418 Installation and remote monitoring of detector-activated CCTV systems. Code of practice

[edit] Access Control:

• BS EN 60839-11-1 Alarm and electronic security systems. Electronic access control systems. System and components requirements
• BS EN 60839-11-2 Alarm and electronic security systems. Electronic access control systems. Application guidelines.
• BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations – to reference the correct installation of cables for the above systems.
• HSR 25 Guidance on The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

[edit] Downloadable written resources

Developed by our Technical experts and offering concise advice on specific areas of interest on Fire Alarms, Emergency Lighting Systems and Security Systems.

[edit] Guidance Notes & Technical Bulletins

[edit] Use of professional, branded editable certificates and risk assessments

ECA offers a variety of Member-only editable certificates and risk assessments to support Members with their certification requirements and day-to-day work. Please utilise the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to ensure that certificate functionality is optimised - click on 'How to edit ECA technical editable certificates' for more information.

Please note – ECA Members should only use certificates and reports that they are competent to complete. ECA will not accept liability for any Member using a certificate or report outside the scope of their competence.

ECA would not advocate any Member using certificates or reports outside the scope of their ECA Technical Certificate.

Should you have any questions on the scope of your ECA Technical Certificate please contact membership@eca.co.uk

[edit] How to edit ECA technical editable certificates

All the ECA technical editable certificates are provided in a pdf file format.

In order to save your changes to the editable certificate, please make sure you download each certificate to your device, before making the edits. If you do not download the certificate and make changes on the web browser or via online pdf viewer (i.e. Google Chrome), your changes may be lost once you reopen the certificate.

View our guidance on how to save your technical documents in a non-editable PDF format once completed >

ECA recommends using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view and edit all certificates. Adobe Reader is free software and can be downloaded from Adobe website, iTunes or Google Play.

Please also note that 'Adobe Fill and Sign' software has a limit of 200 fields to a page, and may therefore not be suitable for use with certain certificates.

Some ECA certificates allow adding your business logo to the form. Please note, due to pdf file restrictions, the logo uploaded must be in a pdf file format.

If you should experience any problems with the ECA editable certificates, please contact Member Services on 020 7313 4800 (option 1).

[edit] Fire Alarm Editable Certificates

[edit] FSA BS 5839-1 2025

[edit] BS 5839-9:2021

[edit] BS 5839-6:2019

[edit] BS 5839-1:2017

[edit] Emergency Lighting Editable Certificates

[edit] BS 5266-1: 2025

[edit] BS 5266-1:2016

This article appears on the ECA news and blogsite as "Emergency lighting the way to an ECA fireside chat video series" dated 16 December, 2025 and Fire, Security & Life Safety Systems.

--ECA