Fire Risk Assessment: Unlock 5 Essential Steps for Full UK Compliance

Fire risk assessment is the starting point for fire safety compliance in the UK. It is also one of the most important practical safety tools you can implement-because it turns “fire safety” from general intentions into specific, documented control measures that actually match the risks in your building.

In this guide, we’ll explain what a fire risk assessment is, who must have one, what the law expects, which standards good quality assessments follow and what you should look for in a report. We’ll also explain how AL23 Safety approaches fire risk assessment so you get clear actions you can deliver (not a document written to reassure).

What is a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a structured, systematic examination of your premises to:

• Identify fire hazards
• Evaluate the risk to the people who occupy (and may be present in) the building
• Determine whether existing fire precautions are adequate and if not, what you must do to reduce risk to a reasonable level

In other words, it is not simply a list of fire safety equipment or a tick-box audit. A proper fire risk assessment considers the “story” of a fire in your specific environment:

• How a fire could start
• How it could grow and spread (including to escape routes)
• How people would be warned and how they would escape
• Whether the current measures are suitable for the real conditions on site
• Whether control measures are being maintained and managed properly

Why fire risk assessment is legally important

Fire risk assessment sits at the heart of fire safety management in England and Wales.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) - non-domestic premises

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.

This assessment must be carried out by a competent person and must be reviewed and updated if there are changes or when it is no longer valid.

The key expectation behind the RRO is “risk-based decision-making”: you must assess the risks and implement appropriate fire precautions.

Fire Safety Act 2021 - multi-occupied residential buildings

The Fire Safety Act 2021 extended fire safety responsibilities for multi-occupied residential buildings. In practice, this increased the scope of what must be considered-particularly around relevant structure and external walls and flat entrance doors.

This is important because residential buildings have different fire dynamics and occupant profiles compared to typical commercial premises and the controls must reflect those realities. A thorough fire risk assessment is therefore essential.

What a good fire risk assessment must include

A “suitable and sufficient” fire risk assessment should be thorough enough to enable you to understand and manage risk. That means it should cover the major elements of fire safety within your premises and produce a prioritised plan for action.

At AL23 Safety, our approach is structured around the principles set out in recognised industry benchmarks and supported by good practice.

The major risk elements usually covered in a fire risk assessment

While every building is different, most high-quality fire risk assessments consider:

• Fire hazards
• Ignition sources (e.g., electrical faults, hot works, cooking, smoking, arson risk)
• Dangerous substances (if present)
• Processes that can generate fuel load, heat or ignition risk
• People at risk
• Daytime vs out-of-hours occupancy
• Mobility, sensory impairment, staff familiarity with evacuation
• Dependency and vulnerability (especially relevant to care, healthcare and education)
• Means of escape
• Escape routes and signage
• Doors and compartmentation
• Number and suitability of exits
• Capacity and potential bottlenecks
• Fire detection and alarm arrangements
• Whether the system is appropriate and maintained
• Fire suppression arrangements
• Where sprinklers, extinguishers or other suppression methods are in place
• Management of fire safety
• Staff training, drills, policies, maintenance regimes
• Frequency of inspections and recording of competent person checks
• Structural fire protection
• Where relevant, including compartmentation, fire doors and any building design implications
• Monitoring and review
• What triggers reassessment
• How changes are captured (fit-outs, refurbishments, change of use, new risks)

Prioritised actions: the part that makes a fire risk assessment usable

A fire risk assessment must produce action. Otherwise, it is just information.

A good report clearly distinguishes between:

• Urgent actions required to reduce risk immediately
• Actions required in the short term
• Improvements that can be planned for longer-term management
• What is already satisfactory and can be maintained

Just as importantly, a usable report explains what needs to happen, why it matters and what the next step should be.

Which standards do high-quality fire risk assessments follow?

In the UK, different building types have different benchmark standards. Following recognised schemes helps ensure consistency, competence and quality assurance.

PAS 79-1:2020 (commercial and non-domestic)

PAS 79-1:2020 is an industry benchmark commonly used for commercial and non-domestic fire risk assessment. It supports structured decision-making and encourages a consistent approach to assessment quality.

BS 9792:2025 (residential)

BS 9792:2025 provides a benchmark framework for fire risk assessment in residential buildings. It recognises that residential premises have different characteristics, occupants and risk profiles.

AL23 Safety’s approach to fire risk assessment

At AL23 Safety, we focus on the practical application of fire safety compliance. We don’t believe in “reassurance reports”-we believe in clarity, defensible findings and actions you can deliver.

Comprehensive, photographic reporting

Our fire risk assessment includes photographic evidence and clear observations. This matters because it:

• Supports transparency and accountability
• Helps you and your teams understand exactly what we found
• Makes it easier to plan remedial works
• Helps demonstrate diligence during audits or inspections

Clear, prioritised action plans

Every report is built around actions you can use immediately. We prioritise based on risk, ensuring that you’re not spending time and money on low-impact changes while leaving higher risks unaddressed.

Industry assurance: BAFE SP205 with SSAIB third-party certification

AL23 Safety is a BAFE SP205 Registered Organisation, independently third-party certificated by SSAIB.

Assessments completed under this certification are issued with a Certificate of Compliance to BAFE SP205, providing independently verified assurance of competence and quality management systems.

In plain terms: it is a credible standard of quality that supports confidence internally and defensibility externally for every fire risk assessment we deliver.

Who do fire risk assessments apply to?

Fire risk assessment is required across a wide range of premises. In practice, the “who” depends on the type of building and occupancy but examples include:

• Commercial offices and business parks
• Retail premises and shopping centres
• Residential blocks and HMOs
• Healthcare facilities and care homes
• Educational establishments
• Industrial units and warehouses
• Hotels and hospitality venues
• Places of worship
• Licensed premises
• Construction sites
• Any other premises where people are present and risk must be managed

If your building sits outside “typical” categories, that is not a problem. Fire risk assessment is risk-based-it should be tailored to your premises, not forced into a generic template.

How often should you review a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment is not a “set-and-forget” document. It must be reviewed and updated if:

• You change something that affects fire risk (e.g., refurbishment, new equipment, change of use)
• The occupancy changes significantly
• There are maintenance failures or defects that impact safety
• There are incidents, near misses or system failures
• You receive new guidance, regulatory updates or identify gaps during internal checks

Even if nothing appears to have changed, it should still be reviewed at sensible intervals as part of your management system.

Common mistakes organisations make with fire risk assessment

Many organisations don’t have a fire risk assessment problem-they have a delivery problem. Typical pitfalls include:

• Using an outdated or generic assessment that no longer matches the building
• Treating the document as the end product, rather than the plan for action
• Ignoring urgent findings or delaying actions without risk justification
• Failing to maintain fire safety systems and management arrangements
• Not involving competent people in inspection and ongoing controls
• Poor alignment between compartmentation, fire door management and evacuation arrangements

AL23 Safety’s role is to identify the gaps clearly, prioritise what matters and support practical compliance-whether that’s a one-off fire risk assessment or retained safety management.

Why choose AL23 Safety for your fire risk assessment?

Choosing a fire risk assessment provider is about more than writing a report. You’re choosing the competence, consistency and practicality behind the advice.

Here’s what AL23 Safety brings together under one roof:

• Practical, compliance-focused fire risk assessment delivery
• Benchmark-led assessment quality: PAS 79-1:2020 and BS 9792:2025
• BAFE SP205 Registered Organisation with SSAIB third-party certificated assurance
• Clear, prioritised actions and photographic evidence
• Joined-up thinking across health and safety, fire safety and (where needed) fire engineering for complex scenarios

If you’re managing multiple sites or you need a provider that can help you move from “findings” to “fixed and evidenced,” that integrated capability makes a real difference.

Next steps: what you should do now

If you’re unsure whether your fire risk assessment is suitable and sufficient-or if you simply need a defensible update-start with your current position:

• Check the date and scope of your existing assessment
• Review actions you said you’d complete-what’s done, what’s delayed and what’s still missing
• Confirm your fire safety systems are maintained and your management processes are in place
• Identify upcoming changes to the building (refurb, fit-out, new processes, occupancy changes)

Then seek a competent, benchmark-led fire risk assessment that produces clear, prioritised actions.

To discuss your building and get clarity on what’s required, visit our services.

Conclusion

A fire risk assessment is more than a document-it is a structured way to understand fire risk in your premises and take action to reduce that risk to a reasonable level.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and with additional scope introduced by the Fire Safety Act 2021 for multi-occupied residential buildings, having a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment by a competent person is a legal necessity and a practical safety priority.

At AL23 Safety, we deliver fire risk assessment aligned to recognised standards, with clear action plans and independently verified quality assurance under BAFE SP205 (third-party certificated by SSAIB). That means you get the truth about your building’s fire safety position-and a route to putting it right.