Waking Watch
Replacement
London & the South East
A waking watch was always a temporary measure. Government funding is now available to replace it with a permanent wireless fire alarm system — and Triple Star is on the IMAF approved installer panel, serving residential buildings across London, South East London, and Kent.
The Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF) launched 1 April 2026. This new £62.7 million government fund — managed by Homes England — covers the capital cost of installing a common fire alarm system in eligible residential buildings, removing or reducing reliance on waking watch. Triple Star is registered on the Homes England IMAF approved installer panel.
What waking watch actually is — and what it is costing your building.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the National Fire Chiefs Council introduced waking watch as a temporary safety measure for residential buildings with fire safety defects — primarily unsafe cladding — that required a switch to a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
It involves trained fire wardens patrolling all floors and the exterior of your building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The principle is sound as a short-term emergency measure. The problem is that hundreds of buildings across England — including many across London and the South East — are still relying on it years later, at a cost that was never intended to be sustained.
The government has been clear: waking watch should only be used in the most exceptional circumstances and for the shortest possible period while a fire alarm system is installed. The IMAF exists precisely to make that transition happen.
- Temporary by design — intended as a short-term bridge, not a long-term solution
- Human error risk — an alarm system detects a fire instantly and consistently; a waking watch depends entirely on patrol timing
- No building benefit — waking watch costs nothing towards remediation and does not improve the physical state of the building
- Legally exposed — building owners face increasing regulatory and insurance pressure to replace it
The cost of staying on waking watch vs switching to an alarm
Gov dataWaking watch vs wireless fire alarm — what actually changes.
Replacing a waking watch with an EN54-compliant wireless fire alarm system is not just a compliance upgrade — it changes the day-to-day reality for building managers, residents, and managing agents in every direction that matters. This is what the waking watch alternative delivers.
A manual, 24/7 patrol that costs more every single day it continues.
- Median cost of £11,361 per building per month — running indefinitely
- Detection depends on a person being in the right place at the right time
- No compliant documentation or evidence trail for insurers or the fire service
- Leaseholders and residents under ongoing financial and psychological stress
- No reduction in building risk — only a human response layer on top of it
- Insurers and mortgage lenders increasingly unwilling to engage with buildings on long-term waking watch
Continuous, automated detection — installed without disrupting your residents.
- Upfront capital cost funded through IMAF for eligible buildings — £0 to leaseholders
- Instant, automatic fire detection 24 hours a day — no patrol delays, no human error
- BS 5839-1 Category L5 commissioning certificate — a compliant, auditable record from day one
- Wireless installation with no chasing, no cabling disruption — residents remain in their homes throughout
- Six-monthly maintenance managed by Triple Star — compliant with BS 5839-1:2025
- Removes barriers to building insurance and leaseholder mortgage eligibility for many affected properties
From waking watch to working alarm — in four steps.
Triple Star manages every stage of the waking watch replacement process, from initial eligibility check and IMAF application support through to installation and ongoing maintenance — across London and the South East.
Free Site Survey & Eligibility Check
Triple Star visits your building, assesses the fire safety position, and confirms whether your building meets the IMAF eligibility criteria. We will identify whether an FRA, FRAEW, or enforcement notice is already in place — and advise on what supporting evidence will be needed for your application.
IMAF Application & Funded Quote
The responsible entity or building owner submits an application to Homes England via the IMAF portal. Once an eligible decision is confirmed, only IMAF panel-approved installers can provide the funded quote. As a registered panel installer, Triple Star provides this quote directly — Homes England reviews it against programme benchmarks before approving.
Wireless Alarm System Installation — Minimum Disruption
Triple Star installs the Hyfire Taurus EN54-25 certified wireless fire alarm system. Detectors, sounders, and call points are pre-programmed off-site and mounted without cabling through walls, ceilings, or floors. Residents remain in their homes throughout. The system is designed to BS 5839-1:2025 Category L5 to satisfy IMAF and NFCC requirements for simultaneous evacuation buildings.
Commission, Hand Over & Maintain
On completion, Triple Star issues the BS 5839-1 commissioning certificate required by IMAF to confirm the system meets the Category L5 specification. Waking watch can then cease. Triple Star takes on the BS 5839-1:2025 maintenance contract — six-monthly visits, built-in detector testing, digital compliance reports issued on completion of every visit.
What IMAF is, who can apply, and what it pays for.
IMAF is the UK Government's fund to replace waking watch with common fire alarm systems in eligible residential buildings awaiting remediation. It launched on 1 April 2026 and is designed to run continuously until at least 2035.
The Interim Measures Alarm Fund is managed and delivered by Homes England via the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) platform. It provides grant funding for the upfront capital costs of installing a fire alarm system in eligible buildings — costs that would otherwise fall on building owners or, in many cases, be passed down to leaseholders.
It directly replaces the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, which closed on 31 March 2026, and builds on over £100 million in government funding that has gone into the predecessor schemes since 2020. The NFCC has been clear in its guidance that building owners must move to install common fire alarm systems as quickly as possible — IMAF provides the financial mechanism to do exactly that.
Critically, applications must include a quote from an installer on the Homes England IMAF supplier panel. Triple Star Fire & Security is registered on that panel — one of a limited number of firms across London and the South East currently able to provide IMAF-compliant quotes and undertake funded waking watch replacement installation work.
- What IMAF covers: The reasonable upfront capital costs of the alarm and installation, including VAT where irrecoverable
- What it doesn't cover: Ongoing maintenance costs, waking watch charges already incurred, or remediation work itself
- System specification: Must be designed to BS 5839‑1 for a Category L5 system to satisfy NFCC guidance on simultaneous evacuation
- Who applies: The Responsible Entity or Responsible Person — not leaseholders or residents directly
IMAF eligibility checklist
All of the following must apply to access funding
- Building is located in England and used as residential or student accommodation
- Currently reliant on a simultaneous evacuation fire safety strategy requiring fire service intervention or waking watch
- Technical documentation exists (FRA, FRAEW, enforcement notice, or fire service correspondence) identifying the need for an interim alarm
- Application submitted by the Responsible Entity, Responsible Person, or authorised representative
- Building has not already received funding from IMAF, WWRF 2023, or a previous waking watch fund
- Hotels are not eligible for IMAF funding
Only IMAF-panel registered installers can provide the funded quote. Triple Star is one of them.
Homes England's IMAF supplier panel is a defined, approved list of installation companies who meet the programme requirements and are cleared to carry out funded work. A building owner cannot access IMAF funding without a quote from a panel member. Triple Star Fire & Security is registered on the IMAF panel — making us one of a limited number of waking watch replacement specialists across London and the South East able to take your building through the full process, from eligibility to commissioning certificate.
Hyfire Taurus — installed in occupied high-rise residentialWhy we use Hyfire Taurus for waking watch replacement.
Not every wireless fire alarm system is equal. For waking watch replacement in occupied residential buildings — particularly the high-rise London blocks and multi-storey developments across the South East where this problem is most acute — the specific technical and practical demands are stringent. The Hyfire Taurus is the system that meets them most comprehensively, and has a proven track record in exactly these environments across the UK.
No cabling through occupied flats
Wireless installation removes the need to enter individual dwellings to run cable. Residents are not displaced or disrupted during installation.
EN54-25 certified — IMAF compliant
Taurus devices carry full EN54-25 certification and UKCA marking. The system meets BS 5839-1 Category L5 as required by IMAF and NFCC guidance.
Dual-channel redundancy as standard
SafeSwitch technology provides automatic failover to a second channel if the primary is compromised — the system never loses communications due to a single channel fault.
60-channel interference avoidance
NetworkOptimiser manages 60 communication channels automatically, making Taurus reliable in high-density urban environments with competing wireless traffic from neighbouring buildings.
Pre-programmed off-site
Devices arrive on-site pre-configured. Installation time in the building is reduced to mounting and scan — a complete high-rise installation is typically completed in days, not weeks.
10-year battery life
Standard 3V lithium batteries in all input devices last 10 years with no proprietary cells. Maintenance cost over the system's life is predictable and low.
The IMAF panel membership is not the only thing that sets us apart.
Waking watch replacement requires a specialist who understands both the regulatory framework — IMAF eligibility, BS 5839-1:2025, NFCC guidance — and the practical realities of working in occupied, high-risk residential buildings. Triple Star has both. We carry out waking watch replacement across London, South East London, and Kent.
Our Managing Director sits as a BSI committee member. We are BAFE and SSAIB accredited, ISO 9001 registered, and ECA members. We have been installing and maintaining fire and security systems since 2006. The IMAF panel registration is new; the competence behind it is not.
Registered on the Homes England IMAF supplier panel. One of a limited number of firms cleared to provide IMAF-compliant quotes and undertake funded waking watch replacement installation work across London and England. This registration is required for your building to access IMAF grant funding.
Accredited Hyfire Taurus installer. Trained in TauREX commissioning and maintenance workflows — including the radio survey, off-site programming, and on-site EasyScan link-up process specific to this platform.
BS 5839-1 Category L5 commissioning certificate on completion. The certificate required by Homes England to confirm IMAF compliance — issued by Triple Star as part of our standard handover. Waking watch can cease from the date of commissioning.
Full lifecycle maintenance included. BS 5839-1:2025 compliant six-monthly service visits, with digital compliance reports issued on completion of every visit. We design and install the system, then maintain it — one relationship, full accountability.
IMAF Approved Installer Panel
Registered with Homes England to provide funded quotes and carry out IMAF installation work
Accredited Taurus Installer
Trained and certified to install and maintain Hyfire Taurus EN54-25 wireless systems
Waking watch replacement — your questions answered.
Everything building owners, managing agents, and responsible persons need to know about replacing a waking watch with a funded wireless fire alarm system in London and across England.
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What is waking watch?
Waking watch is a temporary fire safety measure that requires trained fire wardens to patrol all floors and the exterior of a residential building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was introduced by the National Fire Chiefs Council following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 as an emergency interim measure for buildings with fire safety defects — primarily unsafe cladding — that required a switch to a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
It was always intended as a short-term bridge until a permanent common alarm system could be installed. The problem is that hundreds of buildings across England, including many in London and the South East, are still relying on it years later at significant ongoing cost.
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How much does waking watch cost?
Government data from the MHCLG Building Safety Programme shows the median waking watch cost is £11,361 per building per month — or approximately £137 per leaseholder per month. At that rate, annual waking watch costs exceed £136,000 per building.
The real cost is that this expenditure produces no lasting improvement to the building. A wireless fire alarm system — the recognised waking watch alternative — typically costs a fraction of that on a one-time basis. For eligible buildings, the Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF) covers 100% of the installation cost, meaning leaseholders pay nothing towards the capital cost of the replacement system.
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What is the alternative to waking watch?
The recognised waking watch alternative is a common alarm system — specifically a system designed to BS 5839-1 Category L5, which provides the simultaneous evacuation capability that waking watch was originally put in place to support. This is what NFCC guidance and the IMAF programme require.
For eligible residential buildings in England, the government's Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF) covers the cost of installing this waking watch alarm system, making the transition effectively free for leaseholders. Wireless systems such as the Hyfire Taurus EN54-25 are particularly suited to this application because they can be installed without any cabling through walls, ceilings, or individual flats — so residents can remain in their homes throughout installation.
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What is the Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF)?
IMAF is a £62.7 million UK Government fund managed by Homes England, launched on 1 April 2026. It provides grant funding for the upfront capital cost of installing a common fire alarm system in eligible residential buildings that are currently reliant on waking watch or a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
It directly replaced the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, which closed on 31 March 2026, and is designed to run until at least 2035. Critically, a building owner cannot access IMAF funding without a quote from an installer registered on the Homes England IMAF supplier panel. Triple Star Fire & Security is registered on that panel — one of a limited number of firms across London and the South East able to provide a valid IMAF-compliant quote.
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Can I get waking watch replacement in London?
Yes. Triple Star Fire & Security carries out waking watch replacement across London — including inner London boroughs, South East London, and the wider Kent and South East region. We are registered on the Homes England IMAF approved installer panel, which means we can provide the IMAF-compliant funded quote that is required for London buildings to access government grant funding for their waking watch fire alarm installation.
If your building is in London and currently operating a waking watch, contact us to arrange a free survey and eligibility check. We will assess your building, confirm whether IMAF funding applies, and give you a clear view of the timeline from application to commissioning.
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How long does waking watch replacement installation take?
With the Hyfire Taurus wireless fire alarm system, a typical high-rise residential building installation takes between two and five days on site, depending on the number of floors and total device count. Because devices arrive pre-programmed off-site and require no cabling through walls, ceilings, or floors, the installation process is substantially faster than a wired system. Residents remain in their homes throughout.
From initial survey to commissioning certificate, the full waking watch replacement process — including the IMAF application and Homes England eligibility review period — typically takes between eight and sixteen weeks. Triple Star manages every stage of this process as a single accountable contractor.
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Who can apply for IMAF funding?
Applications must be submitted by the Responsible Entity or Responsible Person for the building — typically the freeholder, building owner, or their appointed managing agent. Leaseholders and individual residents cannot apply directly.
The building must be located in England, currently operating a simultaneous evacuation strategy such as waking watch, and supported by appropriate technical documentation — such as a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW), or fire service correspondence. Hotels are not eligible. Triple Star can advise on what documentation you will need before submitting a waking watch service application to Homes England.
Every week on waking watch is another week of avoidable cost.
If your building in London, South East London, or Kent is eligible for IMAF funding, the waking watch replacement alarm installation can be fully funded by the government — and Triple Star can take you from initial survey to commissioning certificate as a single, accountable contractor. Speak to us today and we will confirm your eligibility, explain the IMAF process, and give you a clear view of the timeline.