FUNDING
Most building owners are paying for fire safety the government would fund.
There's £62.7 million sitting in a government fund for residential fire alarm systems. Most of the people who qualify don't know it exists. This page explains what's available, who's eligible, and how to access it.
Check your IMAF eligibility →IMAF: the fund that pays for the alarm that ends your waking watch
The Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF) is a £62.7 million government fund, administered by Homes England. It launched on 1 April 2026, replacing the Waking Watch Replacement Fund.
IMAF covers the capital cost of installing a BS 5839-1 Category L5 common fire alarm system in residential buildings that are currently relying on a waking watch or other interim fire safety measures. In plain terms: it pays for the permanent system that lets you stand down the waking watch you're paying for every month.
To qualify, a building generally needs to be:
- In England
- Residential or student accommodation (hotels are not eligible)
- Currently on a waking watch, or on a simultaneous evacuation strategy that depends on fire and rescue service intervention
- Supported by an FRA or FRAEW identifying the need for an interim measures alarm
There's one condition worth knowing early: an IMAF funding application has to be supported by a quote from an installer on the IMAF approved panel. We'll come back to what that means for working with us further down.
CSS: the parallel fund for cladding
The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) is a separate, ongoing government fund. It covers cladding remediation on medium-rise residential buildings — not fire alarms.
It matters here because many buildings dealing with a waking watch are also dealing with cladding. The two funds run in parallel: CSS for the cladding work, IMAF for the alarm system that lets you end the waking watch. If your building is facing both, they're handled as separate applications — and it helps to work with someone who understands how they fit together.
A quick note on what's changed
The funding landscape has shifted, and there's a lot of out-of-date information around. To be clear:
to new applications on 31 March 2026. If you've been told to apply to WWRF, that route is gone — IMAF is its replacement.
That was an early name for what became the Cladding Safety Scheme. It's not a distinct fund.
If you've been confused by any of this, you're not alone — it's one of the most common things we clear up in a first conversation.
How we help you access it
Funding is only useful if the application succeeds and the system actually gets installed. We handle the whole path:
We check your eligibility — free, and quick. We tell you honestly whether your building qualifies.
We prepare the application — including the compliant system quote IMAF requires, sourced through our IMAF-panel installer network.
We design, install, and certify the system — a full BS 5839-1 Cat L5 common alarm, delivered through our network of BAFE SP203-1-certified installers while our own certification is in application.
We maintain it — so the building stays compliant long after the funding is spent.
A note on the IMAF panel: funding applications must be supported by a quote from an installer on the IMAF approved panel. Block Fire's own panel application is in progress; in the meantime, we work with established panel members so your application is valid from day one.
Find out what you qualify for.
A short, free eligibility check tells you which of your buildings could have their fire alarm systems funded — and what you'd save by ending the waking watch.