EVCS & Voice Alarm Systems
Specialist design, installation, and commissioning of Emergency Voice Communication Systems and voice alarm systems.
Specialist design, installation, and commissioning of Emergency Voice Communication Systems and voice alarm systems.
An Emergency Voice Communication System (EVCS) provides two-way voice communication between a building's control point and people in disabled refuge areas, firefighting lobbies, and other key locations during a fire evacuation. It's a critical life safety system that allows someone waiting in a refuge to speak directly to the person coordinating the evacuation.
EVCS is covered by BS 5839-9 and is required in most multi-storey buildings that have disabled refuge areas — which, in practice, means a very large number of commercial, residential, educational, and public buildings. It's also required in buildings with firefighting shafts, high-rise buildings, and sports stadia.
This is a specialist area of fire safety that many fire alarm companies don't cover. We've been designing, installing, and commissioning EVCS for years — it's one of the things that sets us apart.
Complete EVCS design and installation to BS 5839-9, including outstation placement, master station configuration, and integration with the building's fire strategy. We work with leading EVCS manufacturers including Baldwin Boxall.
Independent commissioning of EVCS — testing every outstation, verifying speech intelligibility, confirming cause and effect matrices, and issuing commissioning certificates. We can commission systems installed by others.
Voice alarm systems to BS 5839-8 for buildings where spoken evacuation messages are more effective than sounders alone — shopping centres, airports, large offices, and public buildings.
Commissioning of voice alarm systems including ambient noise measurement, speech intelligibility testing (STI), speaker coverage verification, and message sequence testing.
Ongoing maintenance of EVCS and voice alarm systems, including periodic testing of all outstations, battery checks, and speech intelligibility verification.
EVCS and voice alarm systems need to integrate with the main fire detection system. We design and commission both elements, ensuring the cause and effect programming works as the fire strategy requires.
EVCS is far more common than people realise. Any multi-storey building with disabled refuge areas needs an EVCS so that people waiting in a refuge can communicate with the building's control point. This affects offices, hotels, residential blocks, schools, care homes, shopping centres, and many more building types.
You're likely to need an EVCS if your building has any of the following:
If you're unsure whether your building needs an EVCS, get in touch — we can review your fire strategy and advise.
A voice alarm system replaces conventional sounders with speakers that broadcast pre-recorded spoken messages during a fire evacuation. Instead of just hearing a sounder and having to work out what to do, occupants hear clear, specific instructions — which floor to evacuate, which routes to use, and what to do next.
Voice alarm is covered by BS 5839-8 and is commonly used in buildings where clear spoken instructions are more effective than sounders alone:
Voice alarm systems need careful design to ensure speech intelligibility meets the required standards across all areas of the building. We carry out ambient noise measurement, STI (Speech Transmission Index) testing, and speaker coverage verification as part of commissioning.
Our EVCS and voice alarm experience includes work on major commercial and institutional buildings:
Full commissioning of fire alarm, voice alarm, and EVCS systems. Delivered during the Covid pandemic
20+ year ongoing maintenance relationship
VESDA system verification, loop commissioning, graphics integration, and cause & effect verification
Our engineers hold EAL Level 3 qualifications in BS 5839-1 and BS 7273-4, and have extensive practical experience with EVCS and voice alarm systems from manufacturers including Baldwin Boxall, Advanced, and others.
We provide EVCS and voice alarm services across the UK, with fast local response from our Northamptonshire base.
We also work nationwide. Get in touch to discuss your requirements.
Whether it's a new installation, commissioning of an existing system, or ongoing maintenance — get in touch to discuss your requirements.