INFIRISK guides
Fire Safety Guides
Plain-English answers to the fire safety questions UK duty-holders, designers and landlords ask most. Built from the law and the official guidance, with sources on every page.
15 videos · 8 written guides
Showing all 23 guides. Pick a topic or audience, or search, to narrow them.
6:48Fire risk assessments explained: who needs one, what it covers, and what the law says
The Fire Safety Order in plain English: what a fire risk assessment is, who must have one, what it looks at, what to record, and what happens if it is missing.
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Pick the role closest to yours to see the guides written for it.
- Landlords and letting agentsAlarms, assessments and repair duties for rented homes.8 guides
- Block managers and housing providersFire doors, evacuation plans and the duties for blocks of flats.11 guides
- Business owners and responsible personsFire risk assessments, alarms, extinguishers and the Fire Safety Order.10 guides
- Designers and building controlApproved Document B: escape routes, stairs, compartmentation and smoke control.11 guides
- Contractors and installersThe standards behind alarms, lighting, doors, fire stopping and sprinklers.8 guides
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Fire Safety Law for Business
The Fire Safety Order for responsible persons: fire risk assessments, duties, records and enforcement.
- 3 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Awaab's Law and fire hazards: repair deadlines for social homes from November 2026
Which social homes Awaab's Law covers, what counts as a fire hazard, the emergency and significant hazard deadlines, and where the Fire Safety Order takes over.
5:54Video and guideE-bike and e-scooter battery fires: buying, charging and the warning signs
Thermal runaway in plain English, what makes a fire more likely, buying and charging safely, the warning signs, and the law for sellers and shared buildings.
- 6 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Fire extinguishers explained: types, colours, how many you need and servicing
What the law requires, the classes of fire, extinguisher types and colours, how many and where, kitchens, electrics and batteries, checks, servicing and training.
- 4 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 explained: every duty for blocks of flats
Which buildings and parts are covered, the three height tiers, and each duty: residents, fire door checks, signs, the information box, plans, external walls and monthly checks.
7:54Video and guideThe golden thread and safety case reports explained: duties for high-rise residential buildings
Which buildings are higher-risk, the three gateways a new one passes, who the accountable persons are, what the golden thread and the safety case report hold, building assessment certificates and enforcement.
- 3 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Residential PEEPs explained: evacuation plans for residents of blocks of flats
Which buildings the Residential PEEPs regulations cover, who counts as a relevant resident, the five steps, what goes to the fire service, and the building evacuation plan.
8:11Video and guideFire doors explained: ratings, self-closers and the legal checks
What fire door ratings mean, where Table C1 asks for fire doors, the parts that make one work, closers and signs, the legal checks in flats, and looking after them.
- 2 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
How Much Does a Fire Risk Assessment Cost?
Typical UK prices by building and assessment type, what drives the fee, and how to buy the right scope.
- 2 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Do I Need a Fire Risk Assessment?
Whether the law requires an assessment for your premises, who the responsible person is, and review timing.
Approved Document B Explained
The Building Regulations fire safety guidance for England, section by section, with worked diagrams.
5:25Video and guideSecond staircases in blocks of flats: the 18m rule in Approved Document B (2026)
The 2026 amendment to Approved Document B: when a second common stair is needed, how 18 metres is measured, the transitional arrangements, and evacuation lifts.
5:02Video and guideTravel distances in Approved Document B (Table 2.1) explained
How far is too far to escape a fire? The Table 2.1 limits for buildings other than dwellings, how they are measured, and how dead ends are checked.
9:38Video and guideFire alarm categories explained: BS 5839-1 L1 to L5, M, P1 and P2
What each BS 5839-1 fire alarm category covers, what changed in 2025, where call points go, how loud the alarm must be, and how to test and maintain a system.
5:46Video and guideLoft conversions and fire safety: escape routes, fire doors and alarms
Why a loft room changes the fire safety rules for the whole house, and what Approved Document B asks for: protected stairway, doors, windows and alarms.
7:08Video and guideEscape stairs in Approved Document B Volume 2, Section 3, explained
When one stair is enough, how wide stairs must be, how phased evacuation changes the sums, and how stairs and refuges are protected.
9:54Video and guideEmergency lighting explained: where it's needed, how much light, and testing
What emergency lighting is, when the law requires it, where Approved Document B expects it, the 2025 edition of BS 5266-1, light levels, siting, duration and testing.
8:52Video and guideFire stopping and cavity barriers explained: Approved Document B Sections 9 and 10
Why they matter, the difference between them, where cavity barriers go and how they are built, sealing pipes, cables and ducts, materials, and keeping compartmentation intact.
- 5 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Smoke control in blocks of flats explained: vents, shafts and maintenance
Why smoke reaches the corridor, layouts and travel distances, natural vents, smoke shafts, the stair vent and triggers, small blocks, mechanical systems and maintenance.
8:48Video and guideSprinklers in flats and care homes: Approved Document B and BS 9251 explained
How residential sprinklers work, the 11 metre rule for flats, sprinklers in every new care home, the four BS 9251 categories, which rooms they cover, and maintenance.
- 8:11Video and guide
Fire doors explained: ratings, self-closers and the legal checks
What fire door ratings mean, where Table C1 asks for fire doors, the parts that make one work, closers and signs, the legal checks in flats, and looking after them.
Landlord Fire Safety
What landlords in England must fit, check and record in a rented home.
4:41Video and guideBS 5839-6 explained for landlords: smoke alarm rules for rented homes in England
The legal minimum for landlords in England, what the BS 5839-6 grades and categories mean, and what to aim for in a rented home.
- 3 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Awaab's Law and fire hazards: repair deadlines for social homes from November 2026
Which social homes Awaab's Law covers, what counts as a fire hazard, the emergency and significant hazard deadlines, and where the Fire Safety Order takes over.
- 5:54Video and guide
E-bike and e-scooter battery fires: buying, charging and the warning signs
Thermal runaway in plain English, what makes a fire more likely, buying and charging safely, the warning signs, and the law for sellers and shared buildings.
7:41Video and guideHousing fire risk assessments explained: BS 9792:2025 for flats and HMOs
The code of practice that replaced PAS 79-2: what it covers, its nine steps, the four types of assessment, competence, and how often to review an assessment.
British Standards Explained
Overviews of the British Standards behind UK fire safety, in our own words. The standards themselves are published by BSI.
- 4:41Video and guide
BS 5839-6 explained for landlords: smoke alarm rules for rented homes in England
The legal minimum for landlords in England, what the BS 5839-6 grades and categories mean, and what to aim for in a rented home.
- 9:38Video and guide
Fire alarm categories explained: BS 5839-1 L1 to L5, M, P1 and P2
What each BS 5839-1 fire alarm category covers, what changed in 2025, where call points go, how loud the alarm must be, and how to test and maintain a system.
- 9:54Video and guide
Emergency lighting explained: where it's needed, how much light, and testing
What emergency lighting is, when the law requires it, where Approved Document B expects it, the 2025 edition of BS 5266-1, light levels, siting, duration and testing.
- 6 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
Fire extinguishers explained: types, colours, how many you need and servicing
What the law requires, the classes of fire, extinguisher types and colours, how many and where, kitchens, electrics and batteries, checks, servicing and training.
- 7:41Video and guide
Housing fire risk assessments explained: BS 9792:2025 for flats and HMOs
The code of practice that replaced PAS 79-2: what it covers, its nine steps, the four types of assessment, competence, and how often to review an assessment.
- 8:48Video and guide
Sprinklers in flats and care homes: Approved Document B and BS 9251 explained
How residential sprinklers work, the 11 metre rule for flats, sprinklers in every new care home, the four BS 9251 categories, which rooms they cover, and maintenance.
- 2 min readINFIRISK guideWritten guide
How Often Should a Fire Alarm Be Serviced?
The BS 5839-1 testing and servicing schedule for UK commercial premises, and who can carry it out.
Lessons from Past Incidents
Major fires and what they changed: how each one started and spread, the investigation that followed, and the lessons for today.
