Fire alarm servicing in Theale

Theale is a compact village west of Reading, boxed in by the Kennet & Avon Canal to the south and the M4 to the east. From Newbury it's about 25 minutes by road, via the A4 or the M4. In a small area it packs in large office buildings, busy trade estates and a traditional High Street, and each needs its fire alarm looked after differently.

We maintain any make, conventional or addressable, and take over systems from other installers. Fully insured.

Office buildings at Junction 12

Arlington Business Park sits in parkland right beside Junction 12. Buildings like these usually have an addressable fire alarm that does more than sound: it may release held-open doors, unlock access-controlled doors, call lifts down or open smoke vents. Each of those links should be proved on a service, not just the panel. Common issues we check for:

• a landlord's system in the shared areas with tenant fit-out devices added later, and nobody sure who owns which
• kitchens and breakout areas causing false alarms from the wrong type of detector
• zone plans that no longer match the floor layout after a refit

Testing can be arranged out of hours if your floors are busy. Tell us when you book, as timing and access affect the quote.

Trade counters and warehouses on Station Road

South of the motorway, Access 12 and the Markham Centre on Station Road, and Theale Commercial Estate on Ely Road, are mostly smaller units, often each with its own conventional panel. When a unit changes hands, the fire alarm records often leave with the old tenant. If you've moved in and found a panel with no log book, we start by testing everything and opening a new one, so you have something to show your fire risk assessor.

The village

Theale High Street has a mix of local shops, pubs and restaurants, many in older buildings, with flats above some of them. Business premises fall under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, as do the shared parts of blocks of flats, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add duties for buildings with two or more homes. Managing agents can see our property managers page.

How servicing works

1. Book online or on 01635 938998.
2. Visit: our engineer tests detectors, call points, sounders, the panel, batteries and any linked systems. Our fire alarm team includes engineers with a Level 3 fire alarm qualification, and every service follows BS 5839-1.
3. Findings: faults are recorded and quoted, and nothing is fitted without your approval.
4. Paperwork: certificate and service report within 24 hours on Protect, 48 hours on Essential, with your fire log book updated on both.

BS 5839-1 recommends a service at least every six months, with a weekly call point test by your own staff in between.

Faults, callouts and monitoring

For a panel fault or an alarm that won't reset, call 01635 938998: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, then our 24/7 emergency line. On Protect, one callout a year is included (two with three or more systems), usable in or out of hours. Essential is pay as you go for callouts. If your alarm still signals to a monitoring centre over an analogue line, ask us to check it before the switch-off, due to be completed by January 2027. More on the switch-off.

What a Reading customer says

"Karl and the team have been fantastic, they look after our whole site in Reading and nothing is too much trouble for them."
Google review, Reading business customer

Changing contractor? Start with a system health check. We also cover Englefield, Sulhamstead, Burghfield, Calcot and Tidmarsh. See also Reading and fire alarm servicing in Pangbourne.