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Fire Risk Assessments
Fire risk assessments and FRA action delivery for housing providers, hotels and commercial buildings in London, from survey to completed remedial works.
Each assessment ends with a clear, prioritised action plan rather than a list of problems. Because we also install and maintain fire alarms, emergency lighting and smoke control, we can price and carry out the remedial works too, so actions are closed out instead of being left on a report.
A fire risk assessment (FRA) is a legal requirement for almost every building other than a single private home. It looks at how a fire could start, how it could spread, who would be at risk and whether the precautions in place are good enough, then sets out what needs to be done and by when.
The assessment is only the start. Many of the actions in a typical FRA involve fire alarms, emergency lighting, smoke vents, fire doors, signage and firefighting equipment. That is where Fire Systems Ltd is different. We have worked in fire protection since 1992, and our own directly employed engineers install and maintain those systems every day, so we understand what an action really involves and can put it right.
For housing providers in London and the South East we have completed more than 6,000 FRA actions on a single 3,500-home portfolio, with full audit trails, alongside a steady monthly programme of actions for a national housing association. We know what assessors look for, and what it takes to close an action out properly.
Competent Assessment, Backed by Fire Systems Engineering
The law requires fire risk assessments to be carried out by someone competent, and since October 2023 the responsible person must record who completed the assessment. Our assessment work is led by staff holding fire risk assessment qualifications, supported by engineers certified under BAFE SP203-1 (fire alarms), SP203-4 (emergency lighting), SP207 (evacuation alert systems), SP101 (extinguishers) and IFC SDI 19 (smoke control).
Our Projects Manager, Milap Patel, holds fire risk assessment certification and SMSTS, and brings 16 years of experience delivering fire safety projects and remedial programmes. Our Technical Manager, Dax Patel, verifies the technical content of any remedial design.
We are certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and our competence records are held in Mango QMS, which stops anyone being allocated to work they are not qualified for.
The Law Behind Fire Risk Assessments
Fire risk assessment duties come from a handful of laws that have all been strengthened since the Grenfell Tower fire:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Article 9 requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of fire risk and keep it under review. It applies to workplaces, hotels, HMOs and the common parts of blocks of flats.
Fire Safety Act 2021. Confirms that, in multi-occupied residential buildings, the assessment must cover the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and the entrance doors to individual flats.
Building Safety Act 2022, section 156. Since 1 October 2023, every responsible person must record the full assessment and the name of the person or organisation who carried it out, and must only appoint an assessor who is competent.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Requires fire safety instructions and information on fire doors to be given to residents, quarterly checks of communal fire doors and annual checks of flat entrance doors in buildings over 11m, and extra duties in buildings of 18m and over.
Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc.) Regulations 2023. For buildings of 18m or seven storeys and above, the fire risk assessment feeds the building's Safety Case Report, managed by the Accountable Person.
Assessors commonly follow the PAS 79 methodology and the government and Local Government Association guides for purpose-built flats and specialised housing. A good assessment gives a clear risk rating, a review date and actions with owners and timescales, not a long list of observations.
Why Some Buildings Need a More Detailed Assessment
Every building needs a suitable and sufficient assessment, but the level of detail and how often it is reviewed depends on who is inside and how they would get out.
Hotels and guest accommodation: Guests are asleep, unfamiliar with the building and may not know where the exits are. The assessment has to test whether detection, alarm sounders, emergency lighting and staff procedures will wake people and get them out at night, when staffing is lowest.
Sheltered, supported and extra care housing: Residents may have limited mobility, hearing or sight, or rely on staff to help them evacuate. Many housing providers review these schemes every year, and the assessment must consider personal evacuation plans and communal kitchens, lounges and laundries.
High-rise and higher-risk buildings: Above 18m the fire risk assessment is part of a wider building safety regime, with monthly equipment checks, information for the fire service and a Safety Case for the Building Safety Regulator.
Converted houses and HMOs: Older conversions often have weaker compartmentation and a single escape route, so fire doors, detection and escape lighting matter even more.
Need a new assessment, or an action plan that has stalled? We will review your current assessment, visit the building and tell you plainly what needs doing first.
Keeping Your Fire Risk Assessment Current
An FRA must be reviewed regularly and whenever something significant changes: after a fire or near miss, a change of use, building works, new residents with additional needs, or new legislation. Many housing providers review higher-risk buildings, sheltered schemes and HMOs every year, and lower-risk buildings every two years.
When we review an assessment we:
Check what has changed in the building, its use and its occupants since the last assessment
Verify completed actions on site rather than relying on paperwork
Review service records for the fire alarm, emergency lighting, AOVs, dry risers and extinguishers
Re-rate the risk and update the action plan, with clear priorities and timescales
Because our engineers already service the fire safety systems in many of the buildings we assess, we can often confirm whether an action has really been closed out, with photos and certificates to prove it.
From action plan to completed works
An action plan is only useful if it gets done. This is the process we use to deliver FRA actions for our housing clients:
Monthly planning. We review upcoming actions with the client every month and agree priorities and completion dates according to severity.
Every action tracked. Each action is imported into our Infor ERP system with a unique job number and the assessor's full finding, so nothing is lost between the report and the site.
Fixed on the first visit where possible. Engineers receive the action on their handheld device. Where the work is below an agreed budget threshold they complete it straight away.
Quoted where it is bigger. Larger actions are surveyed and quoted for approval, so you keep control of spend.
Evidence on completion. Engineers close each action with a report, photographs and certificates, uploaded to the client's system or portal.
Live progress. Clients can see the status of every action, with dates and evidence, at any time.
On one London housing portfolio of around 3,500 homes and 78 higher-risk buildings we have completed more than 6,000 FRA actions with zero regulatory breaches. For a national housing association we complete around 40 FRA actions each month and have met 100% of the KPIs on that work.
“More than 6,000 fire risk assessment actions completed on one housing portfolio, with full audit trails and zero regulatory breaches.”
Fire Systems Ltd has delivered FRA actions for this London housing association since 2019, alongside planned servicing of its fire safety systems.
Case Study: Closing Out FRA Actions Across a 3,500-Home Portfolio
Since 2019 Fire Systems Ltd has maintained the fire safety systems for a London housing association with around 3,500 homes, including general needs blocks, sheltered and supported schemes and 78 higher-risk buildings. Alongside planned servicing, the client sends us the actions from its fire risk assessments through its risk management portal.
The challenge. Actions ranged from replacing detectors and emergency lights to new signage, fire alarm upgrades and remedial works in occupied buildings with vulnerable residents. Each one needed to be completed on time, with evidence the client could show to its board and the regulator.
Our approach. Every action is logged in our Infor ERP system against the property and asset, prioritised by risk and allocated to an engineer with the right competence. Small actions are completed on the first visit; larger ones are surveyed and quoted. Our resident liaison team arranges access around residents and scheme managers, and keeps no-access below 2%.
The results. More than 6,000 FRA actions completed with full audit trails, zero regulatory breaches, an average of 98% KPI performance and 100% achieved, recognised by the client.
Because the same team looks after the fire alarm, emergency lighting and smoke control, the actions are closed out by engineers who already know each building, and the evidence goes straight into the records the next assessor will review.
Fire Risk Assessment Questions We Are Often Asked
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?
The law does not set a fixed interval. It requires the assessment to be kept under review and updated when anything significant changes. Many housing providers review higher-risk buildings, sheltered schemes and HMOs every year and lower-risk buildings every two years.
Who can carry out a fire risk assessment?
Anyone who is competent, meaning they have the right knowledge, training and experience for the type of building. Since October 2023, the responsible person must record the name of the person or organisation that carried out the assessment.
Does a block of flats need a fire risk assessment?
Yes, for the common parts. Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force, the assessment for a multi-occupied residential building must also consider the structure, external walls, balconies and flat entrance doors.
What happens if a building does not have a suitable fire risk assessment?
The fire and rescue service can issue enforcement or prohibition notices, and serious failures can lead to prosecution. More importantly, the people in the building may not be protected.
Can you carry out the actions from our fire risk assessment?
Yes. Many actions involve fire alarms, emergency lighting, smoke vents, signage and firefighting equipment, which our engineers install and maintain every day. We have completed more than 6,000 FRA actions on one London housing portfolio, with photos and certificates for every one.
