Fire Risk Assessments: Who Needs One and How to Find a Competent Assessor

If you run a business in the UK -- whether it is a flower shop on the high street, a care home, or a block of flats -- you almost certainly need a fire risk assessment. Yet many responsible persons remain unsure about their legal obligations, and even more struggle to find a genuinely competent assessor. This guide cuts through the confusion.

The Legal Requirement: It Applies to Almost Everyone

Before the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force in 2006, the old Fire Precautions (Workplace) Act only kicked in once you employed five or more people. Five was the magic number. If you had four employees, you could arguably sidestep the requirement altogether -- a grey area that left many premises unprotected.

That has fundamentally changed. Under the current Fire Safety Order, there is no minimum employee threshold. If you employ even one person and operate from a premises, you are required to have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment in place. The type of business does not matter.

For domestic rented properties, the communal escape route has fallen under fire safety law since the Order came into force. Many landlords are surprised to learn this is not a recent development -- it has been the case for nearly two decades. If you are a freeholder, leaseholder, or managing agent responsible for a communal area, a fire risk assessment of that escape route is a legal obligation.

Understanding the "Responsible Person"

The Fire Safety Order places duties on the "responsible person." A common mistake is naming a specific individual in this role. In practice, the responsible person is the business itself -- the limited company, the partnership, or the management company.

Within that organisation, individual people are then assigned specific duties: overseeing general safety, establishing fire policies, managing health and safety on site, and so on. Think of it as a family tree of responsibility, with the business entity at the top and named individuals carrying out defined roles underneath.

For domestic properties, the responsible person is typically the freeholder, leaseholder, or management company -- whoever has control over the communal parts of the building.

Why Competence Matters More Than Ever

The fire safety industry has undergone significant scrutiny in recent years. High-profile incidents exposed situations where individuals carrying out fire safety work may not have held the appropriate qualifications. This led to an industry-wide push for demonstrable competence -- a requirement that now appears consistently across the Fire Safety Order, the Building Safety Act, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

As a responsible person, you have a duty to appoint someone competent. But what does "competent" actually mean in the context of a fire risk assessor?

It means the assessor should hold:

- Recognised qualifications appropriate to the type of premises being assessed
- Professional registration with a recognised governing body
- Adequate professional indemnity and public liability insurance
- Ongoing CPD (Continuing Professional Development) to stay current with legislative changes
- Demonstrable experience in assessing premises of similar risk and complexity

Where to Find a Qualified Fire Risk Assessor

If you search online for fire risk assessors, you will find thousands of results. Not all of them will be equally qualified. Here are the most reliable routes to finding a competent professional:

The Fire Safety Sector Federation Register -- This is one of the most comprehensive resources available. It aggregates qualified, registered, and accredited fire risk assessors from multiple governing bodies across the country. You can search by area and compare assessors based on their qualifications and experience.

The Tiered Fire Risk Assessor Register (IFSM) -- Managed by the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, this register categorises assessors into three tiers based on the complexity of buildings they are qualified to assess:

- Tier 1 -- Low-risk buildings such as small shops, offices, or domestic properties with simple communal escape routes
- Tier 2 -- Low to medium-risk buildings including medical centres, care homes, and domestic properties generally below 11 metres in height
- Tier 3 -- High-risk and complex premises such as hospitals, high-rise residential buildings (18 metres and above), and buildings with sleeping risk

This tiered approach is particularly useful because it helps you match the assessor to your specific building type and risk level. A small retail unit does not need a Tier 3 specialist, and a high-rise residential block should not be assessed by someone whose experience is limited to simple commercial premises.

The Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) -- Another respected professional body with its own register of qualified members.

Practical Tips for Choosing Your Assessor

Once you have identified potential assessors through these registers, follow these steps before making your decision:

1. Have a conversation first. A good assessor will ask you questions before they even visit: What type of premises do you have? How many employees? What is the square meterage? What risks are present? If they are not asking these questions, that should concern you.

2. Ask to see sample reports. Any reputable assessor should be willing to share anonymised examples of their work. This lets you evaluate the depth and quality of their assessments before committing.

3. Check their insurance. Confirm they carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance. This protects both them and you if something goes wrong.

4. Verify their CPD. Fire safety legislation has changed significantly in recent years. An assessor whose knowledge stopped at the 2005 Order may not be aware of requirements introduced by subsequent legislation.

5. Be wary of rock-bottom prices. If someone is offering a fire risk assessment for an unusually low fee, question what you are actually getting. The cost of maintaining qualifications, accreditation, insurance, and professional memberships is substantial. An assessment priced well below the market rate is likely to deliver correspondingly less value -- potentially a template pulled from the internet with tick boxes and no real site-specific analysis.

The Bottom Line

A fire risk assessment is not a box-ticking exercise to satisfy a bureaucratic requirement. It is a legal document that identifies risks and hazards in your premises, and its findings carry real legal weight. Investing the time to find a competent, registered assessor who is properly qualified for your type of building is one of the most important fire safety decisions you will make.

The right assessor does not just find problems -- they help you understand them, prioritise them, and resolve them. That ongoing relationship between assessor and client is what turns a fire risk assessment from a document gathering dust in a drawer into a living tool that genuinely protects people and property.