Martyn’s Law asks premises to plan for evacuation, invacuation and lockdown — not just fire evacuation. Here’s how your fire alarm system fits in, and what we can genuinely help with.
Martyn’s Law — formally the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — got Royal Assent in April 2025. It requires certain publicly accessible premises to have procedures in place for responding to a terrorist attack. It is regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and enforcement is expected from spring 2027 — it is not yet in force.
The law is deliberately outcomes-focused — it does not mandate specific equipment, and government guidance is explicit that no third-party products are officially endorsed for compliance. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Martyn’s Law guidance expects premises to be able to direct people clearly through three different responses, depending on the threat.
Get people out of the building — the response fire alarms are already designed for.
Move people to a safer area inside the building, rather than out into a potential threat.
Secure people in place, with doors and access points controlled to keep a threat out.
Fire alarms are built to do one thing well: tell everyone to evacuate, immediately, the same way, every time. That is exactly why using the same tone for a lockdown or invacuation instruction is a real risk — it can send people through fire doors and outside, directly into a threat, when the safer instruction was to stay put or move to a protected area. Here’s what a fire alarm system can genuinely add to support invacuation and lockdown plans.
A sounder tone or spoken voice-alarm message that’s clearly different from the fire evacuation signal, so people don’t mistake “stay in” for “get out.”
A keyswitch or dedicated call point lets a manager or security officer start the lockdown/invacuation signal on demand, separate from automatic smoke and heat detection.
Sounder circuits and zones set up so different parts of a building can receive a different instruction, rather than one signal for the whole site.
Electromagnetic door holders linked to the panel, released in a controlled way so specific doors close to form a protected area rather than staying propped open.
Where you already have a separate access control or security system, we can advise on how the fire alarm panel’s outputs and inputs connect to it — the access control installation itself is a separate specialism.
Any lockdown/invacuation function we add is tested and recorded alongside your routine BS 5839 fire alarm servicing, so it stays part of your regular maintenance visits.
For the risk assessment and procedures themselves, you’ll need a qualified security consultant. We handle the fire alarm system side of implementation once you know what you need.
Book a Martyn’s Law alarm assessment and we’ll look at what your current panel can support for lockdown and invacuation.