Building-specific fire safety support
Arrange the right personnel cover for your building’s fire safety plan. USSG coordinates waking watch and fire marshal requirements through specialist suppliers, with duties, hours and responsibilities agreed before work starts.
Specialist supplier delivery · Site-specific arrangements · 24/7 support
Building-specific support
For building managers, the practical question is what cover the premises need and how that cover will work. USSG coordinates specialist supplier enquiries around your building’s assessed requirement.
Waking watch sits within the wider security, cleaning and facilities support offered by USSG. Each service has its own scope and delivery arrangements.
For a combined site brief, compare our security and facilities services before identifying the support you need.
Start with the requirement
The starting point is your building’s assessed needs. A request for a fire marshal does not automatically mean a waking watch is required.
Temporary personnel cover to identify signs of fire and raise the alarm under an agreed building-specific plan. It may be considered where competent advice identifies an interim need associated with the building’s evacuation arrangements.
Personnel assigned specific fire safety and evacuation responsibilities within your workplace or building plan. The brief must explain what the marshal is trained and authorised to do.
A brief people can work from
Turn the requirement into written instructions. The applicable duties depend on the role, the assessment and the building’s fire safety arrangements.
Specify the areas to be covered, access arrangements and any checks required by the plan. Report concerns through the agreed escalation route.
Confirm how personnel report an incident, raise the alarm and communicate with nominated contacts in accordance with the building’s procedures.
Define the assistance expected of personnel, including any arrangements for people who may need support. Duties must match training and the site plan.
Agree the recording of completed duties, faults, incidents and unresolved issues, together with handover responsibilities between shifts.
From enquiry to an agreed brief
Tell us the postcode, building use, required hours and proposed start date. Identify the person responsible for the building’s fire safety arrangements.
Confirm the relevant fire risk assessment, evacuation plan and scope with the specialist supplier. Agree a secure route for sharing building information.
Agree the supplier, staffing, competence evidence, supervision, costs, reporting and availability before accepting a deployment.
Set out site induction and handover arrangements. Agree who reviews the temporary cover and how any change in the building’s needs is communicated.
Before accepting a proposal
USSG arranges this service through specialist suppliers. Ask for evidence relevant to the proposed assignment, rather than assuming a general security credential covers fire safety work.
Review USSG’s company credentials and their scopeA quote based on the building
A useful quotation shows the assessed coverage and what the price includes. A headline hourly rate alone will not explain the full requirement.
Location, related support and guidance
Share your postcode so supplier availability can be checked. A listed service area does not guarantee fire safety staffing at that location.
Explore the areas we coverKey holding and alarm response are distinct from a waking watch. Discuss any separate security response requirement as part of your wider site brief.
View key holding and alarm responseUse the guidance applicable to your building and UK jurisdiction. Appointing personnel does not replace the responsibilities of those managing fire safety.
Read GOV.UK workplace fire safety guidanceSupport beyond the fire safety brief
A building may also need security, property checks or cleaning. Specify these separately: they do not replace a waking watch or the fire marshal duties in your plan.
If the brief includes repairs or planned upkeep, discuss property maintenance support. Any specialist fire protection work needs its own competent provider and agreed scope.
Questions before booking
Practical answers about the service, the people and the information needed to arrange cover.
A waking watch is a temporary arrangement involving personnel who monitor a building for signs of fire and raise the alarm in accordance with its agreed fire safety plan. Whether it is needed, and how it operates, must be determined through competent fire safety advice for that building.
Waking watch is a specific temporary monitoring and alarm-raising arrangement. A fire marshal or fire warden carries out assigned fire safety and evacuation duties within a workplace or building plan. The roles can involve different training, staffing and responsibilities; one should not automatically be substituted for the other.
USSG arranges waking watch and fire marshal requirements through specialist suppliers. The proposed supplier, personnel requirements, duties, hours and reporting arrangements are agreed before deployment.
There is no universal staffing number suitable for every building. Layout, occupancy, the fire risk assessment, communication arrangements, patrol requirements and the evacuation strategy must inform a competent assessment of the staffing needed.
It should not be treated as a permanent replacement for appropriate fire protection or necessary remedial work. Any proposed change to temporary measures must be assessed and authorised through the building’s fire safety management arrangements.
Tell us the hours specified in your building’s plan. Supplier availability, staffing and shift arrangements must be confirmed for the location. USSG offers 24/7 support; this does not mean that a particular deployment or start time is guaranteed.
The price depends on the assessed staffing requirement, operating hours, site layout, role-specific requirements, expected duration and supervision or reporting arrangements. A site-specific proposal should define what is included and how changes are agreed.
This page is for enquiries about arranged personnel cover. A fire risk assessment, training course or change to an evacuation strategy is a separate requirement and must not be assumed to be included in a staffing proposal.
Send the site postcode, building use, required hours, proposed start date and a contact for the building’s fire safety arrangements. Tell us whether a current fire risk assessment and evacuation plan are available. Agree a secure way to share sensitive documents before sending them.
