What is Waking Watch Security? | Ashridge Group
What is Waking Watch Security?
Waking watch is a 24/7 fire safety patrol service required when a building’s active fire protection systems are offline or compromised. Trained officers conduct continuous rounds to detect fire hazards, check that escape routes remain clear, and alert occupants and emergency services if a fire is detected.
Important: Waking watch is a fire safety measure, not a security patrol service. Clients searching for security patrols (theft, trespass, vandalism) should see our walking watch services. If you are unsure which you need, contact Ashridge and the team will advise.
Waking Watch vs Walking Watch — What’s the Difference?
These terms are often confused. They refer to different services.
Waking watch is a fire safety role. Trained officers conduct continuous 24/7 patrols of a building to detect fire hazards and alert occupants when a building’s fire safety systems are not fully operational. It applies to residential blocks during remediation work, buildings awaiting fire certification, and properties where fire systems are offline for maintenance. Governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Walking watch is a general security patrol service. Officers move through a site at set intervals, checking for unauthorised access, damage, and perimeter issues. It is not a fire safety role. Used on construction sites, vacant properties, and commercial buildings between tenancies.
Clients searching for “walking watch” sometimes mean waking watch, and vice versa. Both terms appear in client enquiries. Ashridge provides both services. The right one depends on whether the risk is fire safety (waking watch) or security (walking watch).
Who Arranges Waking Watch?
Responsibility for arranging waking watch typically falls to property managers and building owners, resident management companies, developers and construction companies, and facilities directors for commercial properties. Local fire authorities may serve a notice requiring waking watch when they identify that fire safety measures in a building are inadequate. Insurers may also specify waking watch as a condition of maintaining cover during renovation or system downtime.
What Does Waking Watch Cover?
Waking watch officers conduct rounds at intervals specified by the fire authority or insurer, typically every 15 to 30 minutes for high-rise residential buildings. Each patrol covers means of escape (all fire exits, stairwells, and emergency routes checked for obstruction), fire detection (fire alarm and detection equipment status where accessible), compartmentalisation (fire doors, walls, and barriers checked for damage or propped-open doors), combustible materials (accumulation of fuel, waste, or other ignition sources identified and reported), and communication (immediate notification to building management and 999 if a fire is detected).
Officers maintain a patrol log throughout their shift. Ashridge provides these logs to clients and can supply them to fire authorities or insurers on request.
What Does Waking Watch Not Cover?
Waking watch is a fire safety service. It does not cover theft, trespass, or vandalism (walking watch covers this), static security presence at entry points (static guards), alarm response unless specifically commissioned alongside waking watch, or general site security for construction or vacant properties. Sites needing both fire safety patrols and security coverage commission waking watch alongside walking watch or mobile patrol. Ashridge can advise on the right combination.
When is Waking Watch Required?
Waking watch is typically required when a building’s fire alarm system is offline for maintenance or repair, fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are not operational, compartmentalisation has been compromised by building work, a fire authority has served a notice requiring temporary fire safety measures, or a building is awaiting final fire safety certification following construction or major renovation.
Property managers and developers should check with their local fire authority and insurer to confirm waking watch is required and what frequency of patrol is specified.
Get a Waking Watch Quote
Ashridge directors served in the British Army and Royal Air Force. That background shapes how we run waking watch patrols: structured, accountable, and built around what fire authorities and insurers actually want to see.
If you have received a fire authority notice or your risk assessor has recommended waking watch, call us. We will tell you what cover looks like for your building and what it will cost. No template quotes.
Officers deployed from local bases across London, Milton Keynes, Weybridge, Basingstoke, Manchester, and Scotland.
Phone: 0800 085 5022