Julianna Forsyth
Senior Engagement Lead - Risk Consulting
Fire safety in the UK has changed significantly in recent years, and the legal expectations on duty holders are now clearer, broader, and more demanding. For business leaders, the message is simple: fire safety is no longer something to review occasionally or delegate loosely. It needs active ownership, accurate documentation, and competent people supporting it.
Recent reforms, including the Building Safety Act 2022, have strengthened the legal framework around life fire safety risk management, record keeping, cooperation between duty holders, and enforcement. In practice, that means every duty holder should know who is responsible, what has been risk assessed, what the findings of the life safety risk assessment has recorded, and what action is underway.
In this article, we break the key changes into practical steps business leaders can act on now.
1. Treat fire safety as a leadership issue
Fire safety should sit on the same agenda as workplace health and safety, business continuity, environmental risk management, and legal compliance. If a fire risk assessment is outdated, incomplete, inaccurate, or handled by someone without the right competence, the organisation is exposed.
As a leader, your job is to make sure:
- fire safety accountability, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and assigned
- assessments are current and properly recorded
- accurate building construction information is available and shared
- building strategy and fire systems information is available and shared
- the right people are involved in life fire safety risk management decisions
- remediation actions are resourced and tracked to completion
- if you outsource the work, you still own the outcome.
2. Understand the impact of the Building Safety Act 2022
The Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced in response to the Grenfell tragedy and the Hackitt Review, with the primary responsibility to overhaul building regulations and improve safety across all residential buildings, with strict rules applied to higher-risk residential buildings. The Act has driven fundamental reform of the building safety and building control system and has strengthened the expectations placed on those responsible for fire safety in high-risk residential buildings (i.e. 18 m in height or have at least 7 storeys, and at least two residential units).
For accountable persons, the most important implications are:
- clear accountability, competence, effective management of building work, robust evidence of compliance
- critical gateways to enhance safety standards and oversight of high-risk buildings
- golden-thread electronic information for the life cycle of the building, aligned to building regulations
- a legal imperative of competence
- stronger emphasis on cooperation between responsible parties
- wider expectations around recording fire safety information
- increased enforcement powers for regulators
- greater scrutiny of how fire risks are identified and controlled
The practical takeaway: fire safety records need to be robust, not informal. If something matters to fire safety, assume it should be documented. Life fire safety needs to be managed throughout the full life cycle of the building, to ensure compliance to building regulatory requirements.
3. Understand the impact of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
These regulations implement recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.
They apply to high-rise buildings, residential buildings with a storey over 11 meters in height and all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises.
These regulations require the responsible person to:
- provide residents with information relating to the importance of fire doors in fire safety
- Provide instructions to residents on fire evacuation strategy
- Undertake annual checks of flat entrance doors and quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts
- Provide the fire and rescue service with electronic building plans and details of external wall systems
- Install secure information boxes for hard copy plans
- Install wayfinding signage for firefighters
- Undertake monthly checks of firefighting lifts and other firefighting equipment
- Report defects of equipment to the fire and rescue service
4. Review your fire risk assessment now
Fire risk assessments are the foundation of compliance. The life fire safety compliance status assessment recent changes mean this is no longer a “tick-box” exercise.
Key points business leaders should know:
- all findings should be recorded — not just the ones judged “significant”
- the old five-employee threshold no longer provides a safe shortcut
- every employer should have a documented assessment, regardless of headcount
- assessments should be reviewed when building and processes change
- the assessor must be competent to assess the building aligned to complexity and associated risk
A good fire risk assessment should answer four questions:
- What could start a fire?
- What are the fire hazards?
- Who are the occupants especially at risk?
- What is the likelihood of fire ignition, fire development and fire spread?
- Are the means of fire detection and warning, and means of escape suitable and aligned to risk profile?
- Who could be harmed?
- What controls are already in place?
- What needs to change?
If your current assessment does not clearly answer those questions, it needs attention.
5. Make sure the right people are involved
The guidance refers to several roles that often get confused:
- Responsible Person: usually the employer or person in control of the workplace with fire safety duties.
- Accountable Person: A person who hold legal estate in possession in any part of the common parts or a person who does not hold legal estate in any part of the building, but who is under a repair obligation for common parts.
- Nominated Person: someone assigned specific fire safety responsibilities.
- Competent Person: someone with the right training, experience, and knowledge to support fire safety work.
The key principle is competence. Fire safety decisions should not be left to someone simply because they are available. They should be handled by people who understand the building, the hazards, and the legal requirements.
For business leaders, a useful test is this: if challenged by a regulator or court, could you show that the person you appointed had the right competence for the task?
6. Use competent fire risk assessors
The British Standard BS 8674: 2025 sets out levels of competence for fire risk assessors. It outlines three broad levels:
- Foundation: suitable for simpler buildings and lower-risk situations
- Intermediate: for assessors with relevant qualifications and experience in more complex settings
- Advanced: for highly complex or high-risk buildings, such as healthcare settings or high-rise premises
The lesson for employers is straightforward: match the assessor to the risk.
A single storey office may not require the same level of expertise as a residential block, care setting, or multi-occupied complex building. If the building is complicated, the assessor should have a higher level of competence.
7. Pay special attention to residential and higher-risk buildings
Leaders need to consider changes in Approved Document B, the design and fire safety guidance for new buildings and refurbishments. Among the planned changes are:
- additional fire safety information requirements
- reduction in the trigger height for sprinklers to 11m storey height
- wayfinding signage for fire fighters > 11m storey height
- ban of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings
- secure information boxes for blocks of flats >11m storey height
- removal of national classes for reaction to fire and roofs
- introduction of new provisions for sprinklers in care homes
- sprinklers in new care homes
- two staircases in buildings over 18 meters
- updates to fire resistance classifications
- greater alignment with European standards
If your business owns, manages, occupies, or refurbishes residential property, these changes matter directly. Fire safety should be considered early in any refurbishment or design project, not left until the end.
What business leaders should do now
Here is a practical action plan.
Step 1: Confirm ownership
Identify who is accountable and responsible for fire safety across your sites and buildings. Make sure the duties are written down
Step 2: Check the assessment
Review every fire risk assessment for:
- date of last review
- completeness of recorded findings
- competence of the assessor
- action plan status
Step 3: Close the gaps
If hazards, defects, or control failures have been identified, track them to closure and keep accurate records. Do not rely on verbal assurances.
Step 4: Improve records
Keep clear records of:
- assessments
- remedial actions
- fire design strategy
- as-built plans
- fire systems (active and passive) specifications and commissioning
- competency records
- testing and inspection
- training
- evacuation arrangements
- communication with landlords, tenants, and contractors
Step 5: Test competence
Ask whether the people supporting fire safety can genuinely demonstrate the right qualifications, experience, and knowledge.
Step 6: Review buildings with higher risk
Give extra attention to multi-occupied premises, residential assets, care settings, and high-rise buildings.
Questions every leader should ask this month
- Do we hold accurate and up to date fire safety design, commissioning, inspection and testing information for active and passive fire systems?
- Are our systems compliant with legal requirements and British Standards?
- Has due diligence been completed on acquisition of a building?
- When was our last fire risk assessment?
- Has it been reviewed after any change in use, layout, occupancy, or refurbishment?
- Are all findings recorded?
- Who is accountable for fire safety in each building?
- Are our assessors demonstrably competent?
- Do we have a live action log for fire safety issues?
- Are we confident our records would stand up to regulatory scrutiny?
If you cannot answer these quickly, you likely have a compliance and self-governance gap.
The leadership mindset that works
Good fire safety is not about paperwork alone. It is about disciplined risk management throughout the lifecycle of the building.
The strongest organisations typically do three things well:
- they treat fire safety as business-critical
- they assign clear accountability
- they act quickly on known risks
That approach reduces legal exposure, protects people, and supports business resilience.
Conclusion
The UK fire safety landscape has moved toward greater accountability, stronger documentation, and higher expectations of competence. For business leaders, that means the bar has risen.
The best response is not to wait for a regulatory visit or a near miss. It is to review your current arrangements now. Confirm who is responsible, make sure assessments are competent, current, aligned to relevant British Standards and completed by competent life fire safety risk assessors. Close any gaps without delay.
Ensure your fire controls comply with UK fire safety legislation.
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