Cabling choice should meet and exceed minimum safety needs, says AEI Cables
Posted by: electime 3rd March 2026
The choice of cabling to ensure safety in new modern buildings needs to meet and even exceed legislation and guidance where there may be high risk to people and property, says AEI Cables.
A number of pieces of legislation have been introduced recently which make demands on electrical and fire safety including the Building Safety Act 2022. The Act makes new stringent requirements for higher-risk buildings which are those deemed to be of at least 18 metres in height or at least seven storeys containing at least two residential units.
AEI Cables has also been highlighting the importance of Category 3 Control fire performance cables which are identified under the revised British Standard BS8519: 2020 Code of Practice. These cables reduce harmful smoke, toxic gases and flame spread in the event of a real fire.
Stuart Dover, general manager of AEI Cables, said: “Meeting the legislation and guidance can sometimes seem challenging but the systems powered by these cables – including smoke and heat extraction systems – assist fire services in firefighting and a safe evacuation in the case of life safety.
“This legislation and guidance should be the minimum criteria for relevance in buildings where vulnerable people move about will help firefighters trying to execute a safe evacuation.
“These areas present a higher risk in the event of a real fire and if in doubt those in the supply chain should seek advice. This may mean going beyond the minimum level of cabling to meet this category of relevance but may make all the difference in the event of fire.”
The guidance for Category 3 Control fire performance cables applies to evacuation alarms for the disabled in care homes, emergency voice communications systems and voice alarm systems in relevant buildings including tall buildings, office spaces, hospitals, shopping malls and stadia.
AEI Cables’ Firetec Enhanced cabling has been approved and certified by LPCB to BS8519 (Annex B), Category 3 Control in addition to Category 2 Control. The BS Code of Practice under BS8519 contains six categories of cables, three for power cables and three for control cables each covering survival times of 30, 60 or 120 minutes.
All AEI Cables’ products are supplied with approvals from independent bodies including BASEC and LPCB. It also holds approvals from organisations including Lloyds, the MoD, Network Rail and LUL and works to international standards around the world.
