Fire risk assessments explained: who needs one, what it covers, and what the law says

The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 is the main fire safety law for England. It asks the responsible person for premises to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. The government's guidance describes it as a methodical, structured examination of the risk from fire to the people in your premises.

Its objective is simple: to make sure everyone who could be affected is safe from fire. It considers three things. The fire hazards, meaning anything that could start a fire or help it grow.

The people who would be at risk. And whether the measures in place, to prevent fire and to protect people if one starts, are good enough. Everything else in fire safety is built on it.

Which buildings does it apply to? Almost all of them, apart from private homes. Every workplace: offices, shops, factories, warehouses, pubs, restaurants, hotels, care homes, schools and places of assembly.

Blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation too, for the common parts: the corridors, stairways, plant rooms and communal rooms, and, since the Fire Safety Act 2021, the building's structure, its external walls including balconies, and the doors between the flats and the common parts. The only thing outside the Order in a block of flats is the inside of each flat itself. A single private house or flat, lived in by its owner or tenant, is not covered at all.

Who is responsible? The Order calls them the responsible person, and it's a matter of law, not a title anyone chooses. In a workplace, it's the employer, where the premises are to any extent under their control.

Otherwise, it's whoever has control of the premises in connection with a business, such as an occupier or a managing agent, and for a vacant building, the owner. Often that's a company rather than an individual, and there can be more than one, for example a tenant and a landlord sharing a building. The responsible person can carry out the assessment themselves if they're competent, or appoint a fire risk assessor.

Either way, the legal liability stays with them, so the guidance says to take care that the assessor has sufficient training and experience, or knowledge and other qualities.

So what does an assessment actually look at? It starts with the hazards: the sources of ignition, such as electrical equipment, cooking, heating, smoking and arson, and the fuel they could meet, such as stored goods, waste, furnishings and combustible materials in escape routes. Then the people at risk: staff, visitors, contractors, anyone who sleeps on the premises, and anyone who would need help to get out.

Then the protection: are the escape routes and exits adequate and kept clear, do fire doors and compartmentation hold fire and smoke back, is there suitable detection and alarm, emergency lighting, signage, and extinguishers, and are they tested and maintained. And finally the management: procedures, training, drills, and plans for people who need assistance. The findings go into a record with an action plan.

Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act has tightened what must be recorded. The responsible person must now record the fire risk assessment in full, not just its significant findings, whatever the size of the business. They must record their fire safety arrangements: how fire safety is managed in the premises.

They must record the name of anyone they engaged to carry out or review the assessment. They must record their own name and a UK address, and share them with any other responsible persons in the building. They must cooperate with those other responsible persons.

And when they hand over, they must pass the fire safety information to whoever takes over. In buildings with two or more homes, residents must also be given fire safety information they can understand.

A fire risk assessment isn't a one-off. The Order requires it to be reviewed regularly, and whenever there's reason to think it's no longer valid, or there's been a significant change: to the building, to how it's used, to who is in it, or after a fire. The law doesn't set a fixed interval, but for small and simple premises an annual review is recognised as good practice.

A review doesn't always mean starting again. Often it means checking that the actions from the last assessment were done, and that nothing important has changed.

Enforcement normally sits with the local fire and rescue authority, whose inspectors can visit at any reasonable time and will audit after a fire or a complaint. An unsatisfactory inspection can bring advice, an informal notice, or a statutory notice requiring action, or prohibiting use of part of the building. Where a failure places people at risk of death or serious injury, the responsible person can be prosecuted.

On conviction in the Crown Court that means an unlimited fine, up to two years in prison, or both. And liability stays with the responsible person even where an assessor was used.