FOI Request 2286

Subject: Waking Watches

Status: Complete

Date received: January 2026

Question Asked:

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information relating to residential buildings in your Fire & Rescue Service area where a “waking watch” (or equivalent 24/7 fire patrol) has been implemented as a fire risk mitigation measure.

For the purposes of this request, please interpret “waking watch” broadly to include any arrangement where one or more persons are employed or contracted to patrol a building for signs of fire, raise the alarm, assist evacuation, or provide a temporary fire safety presence pending remediation or installation of alternative measures (including temporary “fire marshal” arrangements and similar terminology).

1) Current number of buildings with a waking watch

As of the most recent date for which you hold data (or as close as possible to the date you process this request), please provide the number of residential buildings in your area with a waking watch in place.

2) Time series (to allow comparison with 2020/21 figures)

For each of the following dates, please provide the number of residential buildings with a waking watch in place in your area (or the nearest available snapshot):

31 March 2020
31 March 2021
31 March 2022
31 March 2023
31 March 2024
31 March 2025
Most recent available date in 2026 (or current date)

If you only began recording after a certain point, please provide figures from the earliest date available and state when recording began.

3)Internal assessment of effectiveness (if held)

Please provide copies of any internal assessments of effectiveness of waking watches held by your Fire & Rescue Service (if held)

Our Response:

Please see our response below to your Freedom of Information Request.

Please note that the information below has been taken from the quarterly mitigating measures data returns. There may be further premises within Cheshire that have introduced waking watch provisions in response to their fire risk assessment findings; however, these have not been formally reported to the Service.

As of 31 January 2026: 0

31 March 2020
This date range predates our records for waking watch data returns, however, the four residential buildings reported in the 2022-23 returns would have also had a waking watch in place during this time period.
31 March 2021
This date range predates our records for waking watch data returns, however, the four residential buildings reported in the 2022-23 returns would have also had a waking watch in place during this time period.
31 March 2022
4
31 March 2023
4
31 March 2024
0
31 March 2025
0
Most recent available date in 2026 (or current date)
0

If you only began recording after a certain point, please provide figures from the earliest date available and state when recording began.

3)Internal assessment of effectiveness (if held)

Please provide copies of any internal assessments of effectiveness of waking watches held by your Fire & Rescue Service (if held)

There has been no internal assessments of the effectiveness of waking watches.

Outcome: Information Provided

FOI responded to within timescales: YES

Further action: NO

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Last updated: Thursday, 5 February 2026