RESIDENTIAL
Stop paying for waking watch.
Start funding the fix.
The government's £62.7m Interim Measures Alarm Fund covers the cost of the alarm system that replaces your waking watch. We handle the eligibility check, the funding application, the design, the install, and the certification — start to finish.
Check your IMAF eligibility →Waking watch was meant to be temporary. For most buildings, it isn't.
A waking watch costs a typical residential block £8,000 to £14,000 a month — money that leaves the building every month and buys nothing permanent. It was only ever meant to be a stopgap until a proper fire alarm system was installed.
The system that ends it is a BS 5839-1 Category L5 common alarm. And for residential buildings in England on a waking watch, the government will now fund it — through the Interim Measures Alarm Fund, which replaced the Waking Watch Replacement Fund in April 2026.
Most building owners we speak to either don't know the fund exists, or assume the application is harder than it is. Both are costing them money every month they wait.
From IMAF eligibility to signed-off system.
We handle the whole journey — so you're not managing a funding application, a designer, an installer, and a certifier separately.
Eligibility check
We confirm whether your building qualifies for IMAF funding — current interim measures, the documentation in place, and the criteria that matter. Fast, and free.
Funding application
We prepare and support the IMAF application, including the compliant system quote it requires. You're not left to navigate Homes England's process alone.
Design and installation
A BS 5839-1 Category L5 common alarm system, designed for your building and installed by SP203-1-certified engineers from our partner network — specified from the start to be upgradeable to a BS 8629 evacuation alert system if your building's strategy changes.
Certification and handover
A fully certified system with an audit-ready handover pack — the documentation your fire risk assessor, insurer, and the Building Safety Regulator will want to see.
Ongoing maintenance
Every installation is maintained under contract, so the system stays compliant and your building stays covered year after year.
Certified delivery, today.
Block Fire's own BAFE SP203-1 certification is in application. Until it's awarded, we deliver every installation through our network of established, BAFE SP203-1-certified installers — so your system is designed, installed, and certified to full standard from day one.
You get the benefit of a single accountable partner managing the whole project, backed by the certification that funded work requires. Nothing about your building's safety waits for our paperwork.
Who we work with
We work with the people responsible for residential building safety in England:
- Block management firms and freeholders carrying waking watch costs across portfolios of buildings 11m and over
- Purpose-built student accommodation operators preparing for the Building Safety Levy and tightening compliance obligations
- Build-to-rent operators with long-hold liability and institutional backers who expect things done properly
If you've got residential or student buildings in England on a waking watch or simultaneous evacuation strategy — with an FRA or FRAEW identifying the need — they're likely eligible for funding. The first step is finding out.
Find out what your portfolio qualifies for.
A short eligibility check tells you which of your buildings could have their fire alarm systems funded — and what ending the waking watch would save you. No obligation.