Fire Safety - Fire Risk Assessment

The Fire Safety Order 2005 replaces previous fire safety legislation and requires all businesses to conduct a fire risk assessment and to put into place adequate fire prevention and evacuation procedures.

Any fire certificate issued under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 will cease to have any effect.  If a fire certificate has been issued in respect of your premises or the premises were built to recent building regulations, as long as you have made no material alterations and all the physical fire precautions have been properly maintained, then it is unlikely you will need to make any significant improvements to your existing physical fire protection arrangements to comply with the Order.  

However, everyone must carry out a fire risk assessment and keep it up to date to ensure that all the fire precautions in your premises remain current and adequate.

If you have previously carried out a fire risk assessment under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997,  as amended in 1999, and this assessment has been regularly reviewed then all you will need to do now is revise that assessment taking account of the wider scope of the new Fire Order.

If your premises are an HMO, flat or maisonette they will also be subject to the Housing Act 2004. Further information regarding the scope of the Housing Act can be found by contacting your local housing authority.

Fire Training - Fire Awareness in the Workplace - CD-ROM
Fire Training - Fire Warden & Fire Marshall Training - CD-ROM
Purchase a risk assessment
Contact us to conduct a risk assessment of your premises

Additional Reading:

Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Sleeping Accommodation

Fire Safety - Paying Guests

Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Offices and Shops

Fire Safety - Means of Escape for Disabled People


Additional Booklets on Fire Safety Risk Assessments are available from the Communities and Local Government Website

Quick Guides are not intended to be a full statement of the Law.
For a definition of "Employee" and "Employer"
Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive under the Open Government Licence