Emergency Callout
24/7 emergency response for broken shopfronts, failed shutters, and compromised entrances. We secure your premises, day or night, across the UK.
When a shopfront or security barrier fails outside of normal working hours — whether through vandalism, vehicle impact, attempted break-in, or mechanical failure — the consequences are immediate and serious. An open or unsecured premises is vulnerable to opportunistic theft, weather damage, and liability exposure. Every hour that passes without a secure boundary increases the risk and the potential loss.
Sigma Shop Fronts operates a 24/7 emergency callout service designed to get a qualified engineer to your premises as quickly as possible, make the site secure, and provide a clear assessment of the permanent repair or replacement required. We cover sites across the UK and maintain a network of regional engineers to minimise response times.
What Constitutes a Shopfront Emergency?
The most common emergency callout scenarios we attend are:
- **Smashed glazing** — whether from vandalism, attempted burglary, or accidental impact. Broken glass leaves the premises open and creates a significant public liability risk for passers-by. - **Roller shutter stuck open or failed to close** — a shutter that will not close at the end of trading leaves stock, equipment, and the entire interior of the premises exposed overnight. - **Vehicle impact damage** — a vehicle collision with a shopfront can displace the entire frame system, shatter multiple glazing panels, and in some cases affect the structural opening above. - **Burglary damage** — after a forced-entry event, the entry point used by the perpetrators must be secured before the premises can be left unattended. - **Failed door hardware** — a multi-point lock that jams shut (preventing staff from entering the premises in the morning) or a panic bar that fails to latch (preventing the premises from being secured at closing) both require urgent attendance. - **Fire damage to a door or shutter** — after a fire, the affected compartment boundary must be reinstated as quickly as possible to restore the building's passive fire protection.
Our Emergency Response Process
When you call our emergency line, you will be connected immediately to an operative who will take the details of the incident, confirm the address, and dispatch the nearest available engineer. We will provide an estimated arrival time and keep you informed of the engineer's progress.
On arrival, the engineer's first priority is to make the premises secure. This typically involves boarding up any broken glazing with heavy-duty plywood or polycarbonate sheet, secured with screws into the existing frame or into rawl-plugged fixings in the masonry reveal. For roller shutter failures, we carry a range of common replacement springs, motor components, and manual override tools to address the most frequent causes of shutter failure on site.
Once the premises is secure, the engineer provides a written assessment of the damage and what is required for permanent reinstatement, together with a clear indication of timescale and cost. We take a photographic record of all damage before boarding begins, which forms part of the insurance documentation.
Out-of-Hours Rates and Insurance
Emergency callout attendance is priced on a transparent basis: a fixed callout charge covering the first hour of attendance plus travel time within our standard response zones, and an hourly rate thereafter for materials and labour. We provide a call-out attendance report that includes the time of call, time of attendance, work carried out, materials used, and the engineer's assessment of permanent repair requirements. This report is formatted to meet the documentation requirements of most commercial property insurers.
We work directly with loss adjusters and claims handlers for major commercial property insurers, and our emergency documentation is structured to facilitate rapid claims authorisation for emergency board-up and temporary security measures.
Preventive Measures Following an Emergency
Following an emergency attendance, we will discuss with you whether any changes to the shopfront specification could reduce the risk of a recurrence. Options commonly considered include:
- Upgrading to laminated or security-rated glazing (PAS 24:2022) to provide greater resistance to smash-and-grab attack - Installing a roller shutter on a previously unprotected frontage - Specifying a monitoring-grade security grille in addition to the existing shopfront - Upgrading the locking hardware to a higher security rating
These upgrades can often be included within the permanent repair scope, and where they improve the security specification of the premises, insurers will sometimes contribute to the cost as part of the repair claim.
Emergency Callout — Frequently Asked Questions
We aim to have an engineer on site within two hours of the initial call for premises within major urban areas, and within three to four hours for rural or remote locations. Response times can vary depending on the volume of concurrent callouts and the engineer's location at the time of the call. We provide a confirmed estimated arrival time when we dispatch the engineer and update you if circumstances change.
Yes. Our emergency service pricing is transparent: there is a fixed callout charge that covers the first hour of attendance and travel within standard response zones. All work carried out beyond the first hour is charged at an hourly labour rate, and materials are charged at cost plus a handling margin. We provide a full breakdown on the attendance report, which forms the basis of any insurance claim for the emergency attendance.
Most commercial property insurance policies cover the cost of emergency board-up and temporary security measures following an insured event (vandalism, vehicle impact, burglary). The emergency attendance report we provide — including timestamped photographs of the damage and an itemised record of the work carried out — is specifically structured to facilitate insurance claim submission. We recommend notifying your insurer at the same time as you call us, as some policies require prompt notification.
Our primary focus is commercial premises — retail, hospitality, industrial, and multi-occupancy commercial buildings. We can provide emergency boarding for mixed-use buildings (e.g. a ground-floor retail unit with residential above) and for commercial elements of residential developments. For purely domestic boarding requirements, we recommend contacting a specialist domestic glazier or a general emergency property maintenance service.
Ready to Get Started?
Tell us about your emergency callout project and we will arrange a free site survey at a time that suits you.
- Free no-obligation survey
- Written quotation within 48 hours
- Nationwide installation teams