Hawthorne Systems

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Hawthorne Systems Commercial CCTV, fire alarms, intruder alarms, access control and 24/7 monitoring across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. SSAIB certified, ISO 9001 & 14001.

Designed, installed and maintained properly, by people who answer the phone. We offer a complete security service from CCTV, Alarm Response, and Mobile Patrols, to Fire Alarm Installation and much more. We aim to find you cost-effective solutions that use the latest technology. This ensures you have the highest standard of cover for your premises. We work closely with police forces throughout the country and pursue a non-stop process in terms of reviewing and introducing up-to-date technology. We can service both small domestic installations and large industrial installations in the fire protection and security sectors. Our expert team can offer the most comprehensive plans to meet our client’s individual needs. We have planned and delivered security from single mobile patrols to large music festivals.

We see it everywhere. Offices, retail, warehouses, kitchens. The door's heavy, it's hot, people are carrying things. So ...
02/10/2026

We see it everywhere. Offices, retail, warehouses, kitchens. The door's heavy, it's hot, people are carrying things. So it gets wedged.

The problem? A fire door only works when it's shut. It's designed to hold back fire and smoke for 30 or 60 minutes, buying people time to get out. Wedged open, it's just a door.

The fix isn't a sternly worded sign. It's a hold-open device linked to the fire alarm: the door stays open all day, and the moment the alarm activates, it closes itself.

Everyone's happy. The door does its job. The extinguisher goes back to doing its.

📞 01603 425100

Alarm quotes love a grade. "Grade 2 system." "Grade 3 compliant." Very few people know what it means, and even fewer fee...
30/09/2026

Alarm quotes love a grade. "Grade 2 system." "Grade 3 compliant." Very few people know what it means, and even fewer feel able to ask.

So, briefly:

Intruder alarms are graded 1 to 4 under a European standard, based on how determined and skilled the intruder is expected to be.

Grade 1: Very low risk. Opportunist with little planning. Rarely installed.
Grade 2: Low to medium risk. Some knowledge and basic tools. Most homes and small commercial premises.
Grade 3: Medium to high risk. Skilled intruder with proper tools and knowledge of alarms. Most commercial and industrial sites, and often what insurers ask for.
Grade 4: Highest risk. Banks, data centres, places you'd expect a plan and a van.

Why it matters: your insurer may specify a grade. Fit the wrong one and a claim can get complicated.

If a quote mentions a grade and you're not sure it's the right one for your site or your policy, ask. We'll tell you straight, even if the answer is "you need less than you've been sold."

📞 01603 425100

28/09/2026

In Fawlty Towers, Basil tries to run a fire drill.

He sets off the wrong alarm. Nobody moves. He explains, at volume, that the burglar alarm is a different bell. The fire bell then goes off for real because Manuel's set the kitchen alight.

Broadcast in 1975. Still the most accurate depiction of a fire drill in a British workplace ever filmed.

The lesson buried in the chaos: people only respond to alarms they recognise and trust. If your system false alarms every windy Tuesday, or nobody knows what the different sounds mean, the drill becomes theatre.

Regular servicing sorts the false alarms. A proper drill sorts the people. We can help with the first one, and we've got opinions on the second.

📞 01603 425100

How long should we keep CCTV footage?One of the most common questions we get, and the honest answer is: it depends, but ...
25/09/2026

How long should we keep CCTV footage?

One of the most common questions we get, and the honest answer is: it depends, but not forever.

There’s no single legal number. UK data protection law says you keep footage only as long as you actually need it for the purpose you recorded it.
For most businesses that lands at around 30 days, which is long enough for an incident to come to light and be investigated.

Three things that matter more than the exact number:
1. Decide it, write it down, stick to it. “Whatever the box does by default” is not a policy.
2. Have a way to save specific footage when something happens, so it doesn’t get overwritten on day 31.
3. Make sure your signage is up and, if your cameras catch identifiable people, that you’re registered with the ICO. Most businesses running CCTV need to be.

If you’re not sure what your system is set to, or who can export footage, that’s a ten-minute conversation worth having.

📞 01603 425100

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin, 1735.Everybody knows this quote. Almost nobody kno...
23/09/2026

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin, 1735.

Everybody knows this quote. Almost nobody knows what it was about.

Franklin wrote it in a letter to a Philadelphia newspaper about fire. He’d seen how quickly fires spread through the city and was arguing for prevention: careful handling of hot coals, chimney sweeping, and organised fire brigades.

Nearly 300 years on, the tools have changed. The principle hasn’t.

Detection, maintenance and servicing cost an ounce. A fire, a break-in or a failed system when you need it most costs more.

📞 01603 425100

Four things you should know about fire:1. Fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. Remove one and it stops. Most fire safety is...
21/09/2026

Four things you should know about fire:

1. Fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. Remove one and it stops. Most fire safety is about winning that argument early.

2. Smoke is the bigger killer. Most fire deaths are from smoke, not burns, which is why detection beats extinguishers every time.

3. A small fire can double in size in under a minute. “It’s only a bin” doesn’t stay true for long.

4. Commercial fire alarms should be tested weekly, using a different call point each time, and logged.

Prevention matters before the emergency starts. Give us a call if your fire detection service is overdue.

📞 01603 425100

Night-time CCTV used to mean grainy grey footage and guesswork. Cameras like this one record in full colour in the dark....
16/09/2026

Night-time CCTV used to mean grainy grey footage and guesswork. Cameras like this one record in full colour in the dark. Clothing colour, vehicle colour, the details that actually identify someone rather than a vague shape wandering across your car park.

If your night footage still looks like a ghost hunt, the technology has moved on. Considerably.

📞 01603 425100

In Ocean’s Eleven, the crew spends two hours and eleven people beating a casino’s security.Fake vault. Looped camera foo...
14/09/2026

In Ocean’s Eleven, the crew spends two hours and eleven people beating a casino’s security.

Fake vault. Looped camera footage. A pickpocket. George Clooney’s cheekbones.

The reality is, most real break-ins take under ten minutes, involve one person and a screwdriver, and rely entirely on nobody watching.

You don’t need to outsmart a Hollywood heist crew. You need a system that’s actually working, recording, and being looked at.

Less glamorous than Vegas. Considerably more effective.

📞 01603 425100

Meet Gavro. Our newest recruit.Friday fact 👀 Fire investigation dogs can detect petrol down to one billionth of a teaspo...
11/09/2026

Meet Gavro. Our newest recruit.

Friday fact 👀 Fire investigation dogs can detect petrol down to one billionth of a teaspoon. After a fire, they search the debris to find where it started and whether it was deliberate.

One billionth. Of a teaspoon.

Gavro's current specialism: finding biscuits through a closed drawer.

Fire risks are best caught long before anyone needs a dog to investigate. That's where we come in. 💛

📞 01603 425100

This little red box might be the most important part of an alarm system you've never heard of.It's a signalling unit. Wh...
09/09/2026

This little red box might be the most important part of an alarm system you've never heard of.

It's a signalling unit. When your alarm activates, this is what tells the monitoring centre, over multiple communication paths, so the message always gets through.

Bells make noise. Signalling gets a response.

📞 01603 425100

Address

Unit 8 Alston Road, Hellesdon Business Park
Norwich
NR65DS

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Telephone

+441603361777

Website

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