What fire protection do Wigwam sites have?

Our site pages describe fire and smoke detection; we don't describe sprinklers, fire doors or extinguishers at any site. Fire and smoke detection systems are listed on the location page, or where marked the price guide, for Bath, Bristol Hengrove (opening October 2026, per its page), Bromsgrove (price guide), Burton-on-Trent, Cheltenham, Chipping Norton, Dorking, Leatherhead (price guide), Lincoln, March (price guide), Marlow (price guide), Reading (price guide), Shipston-on-Stour and Tewkesbury. Other sites' pages, and our container units, don't describe fire detection, so ask us about the site you're choosing on 0800 2545585. A unit isn't fireproof: your goods are stored at your own risk and must be insured, and our contents protection lists fire among the risks it covers.

Below: a table by site, then sections for businesses, for people storing a relative's belongings, and for existing customers after a fire. Need details for your insurer? See For businesses.

Site by site: what our pages say

Our pages don't say whether fire detection at Chipping Norton and Shipston-on-Stour covers their container units, and our container storage page doesn't describe fire protection; ask us what's fitted.

Our short answer on CCTV and site security adds that "all our sites have monitored alarms and meet all fire and safety regulations." It doesn't say whether those alarms include the fire detection; ask us if that matters.

What we don't publish, and what a unit isn't

None of our pages says which sites have sprinklers, fire doors or fire extinguishers, whether the fire detection alerts a monitoring centre or the fire service, who responds and how quickly, or whether a customer or insurer can see the site's fire risk assessment. Our blog on how safe self storage is says "secure storage facilities like Wigwam are equipped to handle this risk with fire-resistant construction materials and smoke detectors throughout the premises," but it doesn't name sites or describe the construction.

A unit is not fireproof. Our business document guide says: "We do not make fireproofing claims, because we do not offer a fireproof unit." Another of our guides describes a unit as "not a fireproof or flood-proof vault, and you should not treat it as one."

In England, whoever is responsible for fire safety in business premises must carry out a fire risk assessment and put in place and maintain appropriate fire safety measures (GOV.UK). Measures are set building by building, so ask about the site you'll use.

How the storage rules keep fire risk down

Among the storage rules that bear on fire risk:

• you must not store "combustible or flammable substances including but not limited to gas, paint, petrol, oil, cleaning solvents or compressed gases" (clause 18);
• "You must not use portable heaters in the Unit at any time" (clause 19);
• you must not store lithium-ion batteries over 160Wh "unless they are built-in and cannot be removed from the otherwise permitted Goods"; "portable battery chargers, power banks or any similar portable power source"; more than five e-scooters, e-bikes, e-skateboards or similar, "unless the battery has been removed and is not being stored in the Unit"; or "more than ten (10) laptops, tablet computers, children’s toys or other similar items containing built-in batteries" (clause 20). Anything stored with a built-in battery must be "free from visible physical defect or fault", "not stacked and … stored allowing air circulation" (clause 20.1). Our e-bike and battery guide explains the rules;
• we may refuse goods, or ask you to remove them, if in our opinion storing them "creates a risk to the safety of any person or property" (clause 27).

Our terms don't name vapes, e-cigarettes or lighters; clause 18 bars "gas" and clause 20 limits battery items, so ask us before you store them.

For businesses: records, stock and your insurer

For business records, our document guide says that where fireproof storage is a regulatory requirement for your profession, "a specialist vault or managed records service with accredited fireproof storage is the right route."

If your insurer asks what fire protection the site has, ask us to confirm it for that site, and whether we can describe it in writing for your insurer. The table quotes our pages; it isn't a certificate.

Our terms exclude all liability for "loss or damage to Your business, if any, including consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption" (clause 30). Our contents protection page doesn't say whether it covers business stock or equipment; ask us, or check that your business policy extends to goods in storage.

If you're storing appliances or packaged food stock, check the prohibited goods answer or ask us first.

Storing a relative's belongings or an estate

If you're holding a parent's things or an estate's contents, our executor guide suggests keeping documents you might need urgently, "such as the original will, insurance policies or bank correspondence," outside the unit: "A fireproof box at home or a solicitor's safe is better for those." Irreplaceable photographs, papers and artworks are worth the same thought. Our terms also say you must not store "items which are unique in nature and/or where the value to You cannot be assessed on a financial basis" (clause 18; see prohibited goods), so ask us before you store an irreplaceable item, such as a one-off painting. The belongings must be insured whoever owns them. Under the heading "Items Prohibited from Storage at Wigwam Self Storage", our contents protection page lists "High-value items requiring specialized storage", so ask us before you store paintings or antiques. Our guide to how much contents cover you need explains how to work out a replacement value.

If there's a fire at your site

Our terms say:

• we may enter your unit and break the lock if reasonably necessary: without prior notice in an emergency, telling you as soon as practicable afterwards, or when we're obliged to by law, including by the Fire Services (clause 17);
• goods are stored at your own risk. We exclude liability for loss or damage to goods unless it results from our negligence or breach of contract, and even then our liability is limited to £100 in total. We also exclude all liability for "loss or damage to Your business, if any, including consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption" (clause 30);
• we're not treated as in breach, or liable, for loss or damage caused by events beyond our reasonable control, and the terms list fire among them (clause 35);
• you must compensate us for "all claims, liabilities, demands, damages, costs and expenses … incurred by Us or third parties" resulting from "Your use of the Unit (including but not limited to the ownership or storage of Goods in the Unit, the Goods themselves …)" (clause 32). Clause 20.2 applies this to any breach of the battery rules;
• if goods are severely damaged by fire, flood or a similar event, we may dispose of them without your prior approval, but we'll send you written notice within 7 days of assessing them (Right to sell or dispose of goods, clause 10).

Insurance is therefore a condition: your goods must be insured for their full replacement value the whole time (clause 31), through our contents protection or your own policy. Our contents protection lists "Fire, lightning, explosion" among what it covers. Our contents protection page doesn't say whether it covers a loss caused by an item the terms prohibit; ask us. If you need to claim, see how to make a claim on storage insurance.

Questions to ask us before you book

Get a price online, or find a site on our locations list. If fire protection decides it, call 0800 2545585 and ask:

• what fire detection is fitted at the site (especially one not in the table, or a container);
• whether it's linked to a monitoring centre or the fire service;
• whether there are sprinklers, fire extinguishers or fire-rated doors.

Related questions

• Do you have CCTV?
• Does every Wigwam unit have its own alarm?
• How much contents cover do I need for storage?