Fire Suppression Systems for New Build & Residential Developments
Residential sprinklers to BS 9251:2021, dry risers and wet risers. Designed and installed by our in-house fire suppression team as part of the full mechanical package.
Fire Suppression Design and Install, Under One Team
On most new build mechanical packages, fire suppression passes through three different companies before commissioning. A sprinkler consultant designs the system from a desk. An M&E subcontractor coordinates the pipework routes around the consultant’s external drawings. A separate installation crew turns up late in the programme, fits the pipework into spaces nobody properly coordinated for, and schedules their own commissioning visit. Three RFI chains. Three snagging lists. One main contractor QS running interference between parties whose contracts don’t reference each other.
Anders designs and installs fire suppression in-house. The fire suppression team works alongside the mechanical team on the same Revit model, routing sprinkler pipework against ductwork, drainage, soil stacks and structural slab penetrations from first principles. BS 9251:2021 hydraulic calculations are produced by the engineers who’ll be on site during installation. When commissioning arrives, there’s no handover gap between the design intent and the people responsible for the install.
“There’s not many companies like us that offer in-house sprinkler designs and installation, as well as heating.” — Tim Anders, Director
Fire Suppression Systems We Deliver
BS 9251:2021 design and installation for new build apartments, houses, care homes, extra-care developments and sheltered accommodation. Hazard categorisation carried from the fire strategy through design to commissioning documentation. Most of our residential work uses a Resi Riser approach: a tank-fed pumped water supply with risers serving each floor, which suits multi-storey residential and decouples the sprinkler supply from mains pressure variation.
We’re working toward IFCC certification — the third-party scheme that replaced FIRAS following its closure in August 2025. Until that confirms, fire suppression design and installation is delivered to BS 9251:2021 with full hydraulic calculations, pressure test records and commissioning documentation packaged for the building safety case. If a tender specifically requires third-party certified design or install, raise it during tender review and we’ll give you a straight answer on the current position.
Supply, installation, testing and commissioning of dry riser systems to BS 9990 for new build residential and commercial schemes. Dry risers are fire-brigade infrastructure: empty pipework that the fire service charges with water on arrival. Required on most residential buildings from around 18 metres in height, and on many commercial schemes depending on the fire strategy. Coordinated against the stair and lobby layout during design, not as a last-minute addition at second fix.
Pressurised wet riser systems for high-rise residential and commercial buildings above 50 metres where dry riser pressure can’t reliably serve the upper floors. Pump specification, break tank sizing, fire engineer coordination and BS 9990 compliance under the same subcontract as the rest of the fire suppression scope. Wet and dry risers on the same scheme are common and are designed together.
Fire Suppression Is Part of the Full Mechanical Package
We don’t price fire suppression in isolation. The BS 9251:2021 sprinkler layout sits on the same Revit model as the heating, ventilation and plumbing scopes, coordinated by the same team from the same design stage. A standalone fire suppression enquiry isn’t the right conversation for Anders. If you’re tendering a scheme with a fire suppression requirement, send us the full mechanical scope.
Where we Work
Anders delivers heating, fire suppression, ventilation, BMS, plumbing and mechanical design as a single subcontract package. New build housing, care homes and commercial schemes, on projects from £500k to £3.5m, with a sweet spot between £800k and £1.5m.
Our in-house design team works in Revit and BIM with PI-insured drawings from RIBA Stage 1 through to Stage 6 handover. Our fire suppression team designs and installs residential sprinkler systems to BS 9251:2021 in-house rather than subcontracting it on. We’re one of a small number of UK contractors actively delivering ambient loop heating systems for multi-residential developments. Constructionline Gold accredited, Mitsubishi Electric approved for ASHP, Gas Safe registered.
Working on a New Build Mechanical Package?
If you’re putting together a tender list for a residential, care home or commercial scheme between £500k and £3.5m, send us the package. We’ll review the spec, confirm fit, and respond inside five working days.
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Quarterly case studies and technical briefings from our design and project teams. New build mechanical packages, ambient loop installations, fire suppression on residential schemes, regulatory changes that affect specifications. No newsletters. No promotional emails. Just the work.
FAQs
Yes. We produce BS 9251:2021 sprinkler drawings in-house in Revit, including hydraulic calculations, hazard categorisation and Revit model coordination against the wider mechanical scope. We don’t rely on an external sprinkler consultant to design the system and then hand over drawings for installation. The same engineers who produce the calculations are the engineers who commission the system.
FIRAS closed in August 2025. The replacement is IFCC certification (IFC Certification Ltd), and we’re working toward it. In the meantime, fire suppression is delivered to BS 9251:2021 with full documentation packaged for the building safety case: hydraulic calculations, pressure test records, commissioning certificates. If a tender specifies a third-party certified installer, tell us at tender review stage and we’ll be straight about the current position.
Most of our residential work falls within Category 1 (residential dwellings up to four storeys, individual flats and houses) and Category 4 (residential premises where occupants need assistance to evacuate, including extra-care and supported living). Care homes and sheltered accommodation fall into Category 3 or 4 depending on the resident dependency profile. We make the categorisation call early, document it against the fire strategy, and design the system, water demand and pump arrangement to suit.
Yes. Dry risers (BS 9990) on medium-rise residential and commercial schemes, wet risers on high-rise where dry riser pressure can’t cover the upper floors. Both are coordinated against the fire engineer’s strategy during design rather than added at second fix. Both are always part of the full mechanical package — not standalone commissions.
It’s on the same model. Anders produces all the mechanical scopes in Revit: heating, ventilation, plumbing, fire suppression. All coordinated against each other and against the architect’s and structural models in Navisworks before construction starts. Sprinkler pipework is routed at design stage, not squeezed around ductwork that was installed three weeks earlier. That’s what in-house design actually means on a live project.