The Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) sector has rapidly evolved to become a vital part of the UK’s higher education ecosystem - offering students modern, amenity filled, and professionally managed living spaces. However with the rise in PBSA, there also comes significant responsibility.
High occupancy rates, diverse usage patterns and the need for 24/7 operational oversight mean that fire safety is not only a regulatory requirement, but a cornerstone of duty of care. Against the backdrop of the Building Safety Act, increasing scrutiny from insurers, and rising expectations from students and parents alike, fire safety has never been more business-critical.
Why Fire Safety Now Demands Strategic Oversight
In today’s climate, fire safety in PBSA developments is as much about proactive management as it is about detection and response. Key pressures facing operators include:
Tighter Regulations: From BS-5839 compliance to Golden Thread requirements, PBSA operators must demonstrate full lifecycle accountability.
Rising Insurance Costs: Carriers are demanding greater transparency and risk mitigation to justify cover and control premiums.
Reputational Sensitivity: One avoidable incident can undermine trust, attract media attention, and impact occupancy rates across a portfolio.
These pressures demand a new approach to fire safety, one that is digital, centralised, and predictive.
Fire Safety Challenges Unique to PBSA
Student living environments present unique fire safety considerations:
High Turnover: With new residents arriving annually (often with limited fire safety awareness), systems must be intuitive, robust, and consistently monitored.
Frequent Hazards: Cooking appliances, misuse of plugs, and tampering with detectors are common issues in student rooms and communal areas.
Multiple Sites: Managing compliance across dispersed, often city-centre locations requires joined-up systems and shared oversight.
Drax Technology: Digital Fire Safety Built for Scale
This is where Drax Technology steps in. Our fire safety platform provides PBSA operators with the tools to manage risk, compliance, and cost through a single intelligent system - shifting their fire safety management from reactive to proactive.
Using IoT-connected alarms, real-time system diagnostics, and intelligent alerting, Drax Technology’s solutions provides early visibility of developing issues, allowing swift intervention before problems escalate.
Our platform helps PBSA teams:
Predictive Maintenance and Alerting that helps you to identify issues earlier and respond faster.
Detect faults early to minimise insurance exposure and maintain uptime.
Enhanced visibility on rooms where tampering or repeat alarms frequently occur.
Call Point monitoring capturing false alarms and testing schedules take place.
Automate compliance logging for BS 5839, Golden Thread, and HHSRS documentation.
Unify fire safety oversight across all buildings, ensuring every team member stays informed.
Fire Door asset management and remediation forecasting through our innovative mobile application.
Water Monitoring and risk of Legionella bacteria in areas of stagnant water flow.
Real-Time Multi-Site Monitoring giving you total visibility of your portfolio in a single interface.
Scalable Integration that is designed to grow with your portfolio, from individual sites to nationwide coverage.
New and Legacy systems that are compatible with a number of OEM systems, bringing your life safety systems into one dashboard.
Supporting the Golden Thread in Student Living
The Golden Thread of safety - a central concept from the Building Safety Act - demands traceable, accessible, and up-to-date digital records. For PBSA operators, this includes:
Keeping system activity logs from design to daily operation.
Maintaining inspection records, fault resolutions, and resident communications.
Ensuring that all safety-critical data is auditable and easily shareable with fire services, regulators, and internal teams.
Drax Technology’s solutions are innovated with the Golden Thread in mind. Every system action is time-stamped, digitally recorded, and accessible via a secure dashboard. This creates a detailed and robust evidentiary trail to support regulatory inspections, investor reporting, and operational reviews.
Reducing Cost Without Compromising Safety
Beyond compliance, fire safety systems also drive hidden costs - from false alarms and service callouts to downtime caused by undetected faults. Our data shows that many PBSA providers overspend on reactive maintenance and still fall short of audit-readiness.
Drax Technology changes that by:
Enabling predictive maintenance, helping teams resolve issues before they become outages.
Reducing manual reporting, freeing up teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
Alerting the right people in real time, ensuring rapid incident response without unnecessary escalation.
With configurable notifications via SMS, email, or app, facilities teams can act quickly without needing to be on-site 24/7.
Reassuring Students and Stakeholders
Parents want to know their children are safe. Universities want transparency from accommodation providers. And students themselves increasingly expect that their wellbeing is a priority.
By integrating Drax Technology’s fire safety system, PBSA providers can:
Show real evidence of compliance and maintenance.
Respond faster to incidents, even remotely.
Build a reputation for professionalism and care which directly supports marketing, occupancy, and partnership goals.
Why Drax Technology?
As the regulatory, financial, and tenant landscapes evolve, PBSA providers face mounting pressure to move beyond minimum standards. With over 25 years of experience and a deep understanding of PBSA operations, Drax Technology enables this transition - turning fire safety into a strategic advantage that also delivers both compliance and confidence. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you in having total control of your fire safety strategy.
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