What is a Fire Risk Assessment intended to achieve?
A Fire Risk Assessment is one of the most important components of fire-safety management, but commissioning an assessment and filing the report away is not enough. Under the fire-safety framework applying to relevant premises in England, the Responsible Person must ensure that a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment is carried out and regularly reviewed.
The objective is to protect relevant persons from fire. A structured assessment normally involves five broad stages:
- Identify fire hazards.
- Identify people at risk.
- Evaluate, remove or reduce risks.
- Record findings, plan, inform, instruct and train.
- Review the assessment.
This framework is reflected in government guidance for workplaces.
Recording requirements have changed
Responsible Persons should be aware of an important post-2023 change. Under section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, the Fire Safety Order was amended so that Responsible Persons must record:
- The Fire Risk Assessment in full
- All findings
- Fire-safety arrangements
Where a fire-risk assessor is appointed, the Responsible Person should also record the assessor’s name and, where applicable, organisation. This strengthens accountability and makes effective documentation increasingly important.
When should an FRA be reviewed?
There is no universal rule saying that every Fire Risk Assessment automatically expires after exactly 12 months. However, it must be kept under review. A review may be particularly important following:
- Building alterations
- Changes of use
- Changes in occupancy
- New processes or equipment
- Changes affecting escape routes
- Fire incidents or near misses
- Significant fire-door defects
- Changes to staffing or working patterns
- Introduction of vulnerable occupants
- Changes in relevant fire precautions
The key question is not simply, “How old is the FRA?” but rather, “Does it remain suitable and sufficient for the premises as they exist now?”
The action plan matters as much as the assessment
An FRA may identify deficiencies concerning:
- Fire doors
- Emergency lighting
- Fire alarms
- Escape routes
- Training
- Fire drills
- Extinguishers
- Compartmentation
- Housekeeping
- Management procedures
Identifying a deficiency does not remove the risk. The Responsible Person needs an appropriate system for assigning, monitoring and closing actions. A useful action register should show: finding → priority → person responsible → target date → remedial action → evidence of completion → verification where appropriate.
The FRA should connect with other fire-safety systems
A Fire Risk Assessment should inform:
- Fire-safety training
- Fire Warden arrangements
- Fire Safety Management Plans
- Fire-door inspection programmes
- Emergency procedures
- Maintenance programmes
- Fire Safety Audits
Where the FRA identifies fire doors as important to protecting escape routes, an appropriate inspection and maintenance regime should follow. Where it identifies employees with specific evacuation roles, appropriate training should follow.
Competence matters
Government guidance recognises that Responsible Persons can conduct their own fire risk assessments where they are competent to do so. However, more complex premises or risks may require specialist assistance. Competence should be considered in relation to the specific premises and risks rather than simply assuming that possession of a generic checklist is sufficient.
A useful FRA should support decisions
The best Fire Risk Assessments do more than identify technical deficiencies. They should help the organisation understand:
- What matters most
- Why it matters
- What needs to change
- Who is responsible
- How urgently action is required
- When the assessment should be reviewed
Stanford Global Limited provides Fire Risk Assessment services intended to give clients clear, practical and evidence-based findings that can form the foundation of continuing fire-safety management.
