Is Your Business Overdue a Fire Risk Assessment? Here Are the Signs You Cannot Ignore
Fire is one of the most destructive forces any business can face. In a matter of minutes, it can destroy equipment, obliterate records, put lives at serious risk, and bring an entire operation to a permanent halt.
Yet fire safety is something many business owners only think about after something has already gone wrong — and by then, it is far too late. If you are responsible for a commercial premises in the UK, recognising the signs your business needs a fire risk assessment asap is not just useful knowledge — it could be the difference between a near-miss and a catastrophe.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, the responsible person for any non-domestic premises has a legal duty to ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is in place and kept up to date. So how do you know when yours is overdue? These are the clearest warning signs — and what you should do about each one.
1. You Cannot Remember When Your Last Assessment Was Done
This is the most straightforward of all the signs your business needs a fire risk assessment asap. If you have to think hard about when your last assessment took place — or if you are not entirely sure one was ever formally carried out — that alone is cause for immediate action.
Many businesses commission a fire risk assessment when they first take on a building, then do not revisit it for years. The problem is that premises do not stay static. Staff numbers fluctuate, layouts are altered, new equipment is brought in, and building materials deteriorate over time.
An assessment that was accurate three years ago may bear very little resemblance to the risks present in your building today. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order requires that your fire risk assessment is reviewed regularly and updated whenever there is a significant change to your premises, the people who use it, or the risks involved.
There is no single fixed legal interval, but most fire safety professionals recommend a review at least every 12 months — and more frequently in higher-risk environments such as warehouses, care homes, or premises with large numbers of occupants.
If your last assessment is sitting in a filing cabinet gathering dust, it is not protecting you. A current, accurate assessment is both your legal obligation and your first practical line of defence.
2. Your Staff Perform Poorly During Fire Drills
UK law requires employers to conduct fire drills at appropriate intervals — for most businesses, at least once per year. But there is a significant difference between running a drill and running one that actually tests your emergency preparedness.
Watch your team carefully during your next drill. Do they know which exit to use? Do they move to the correct assembly point without prompting? Does anyone hesitate, look confused, or — most worryingly — ignore the alarm and carry on working?
These are not trivial concerns. If your staff cannot respond effectively during a controlled exercise, they are very unlikely to respond well during an actual emergency when smoke is present, visibility is low, and panic sets in.
Poor drill performance is one of the clearest signs your business needs a fire risk assessment asap, because a thorough assessment will evaluate your emergency procedures and identify exactly where the gaps are. A professional assessor will examine whether your escape routes are clearly signed, whether your assembly points are fit for purpose, whether your fire wardens are properly trained, and whether your staff have received adequate fire safety instruction.
What Good Fire Drill Performance Looks Like
- All staff evacuate promptly without waiting to be told twice
- Everyone knows their designated exit route and uses it
- Fire wardens account for all personnel at the assembly point
- No one re-enters the building until given the all-clear
- The entire evacuation is completed within a reasonable, pre-agreed time
If your last drill fell short of these markers, a fresh fire risk assessment — followed by updated training — should be your next step.
3. You Can Spot Hazards Without Even Looking Hard
Take a slow walk around your premises right now. What do you notice? Cardboard stacked near a heat source? Overloaded extension leads running under desks? Exposed wiring from a recent fit-out? Flammable cleaning products stored next to electrical equipment?
If hazards are visible at a glance, a systematic professional inspection will almost certainly uncover far more. Fire risk rarely comes from a single dramatic source — it is usually the accumulation of small, easily overlooked issues that create the conditions for a fire to start and spread rapidly.
Pay particular attention to the following common problem areas:
- Electrical equipment that appears worn, damaged, or has not been PAT tested within the recommended period
- Flammable materials — paper, packaging, solvents, cleaning chemicals — stored carelessly or in excessive quantities
- Heat-generating equipment left running overnight or positioned close to combustible items
- Areas undergoing renovation, where exposed wiring, temporary power arrangements, and dust can all introduce new ignition risks
- Blocked or obstructed escape routes, even temporarily, that would slow evacuation in an emergency
A qualified fire risk assessor will examine your premises methodically and provide clear, prioritised recommendations to reduce the likelihood of fire breaking out — and to limit the damage if one does.
The more hazards you can identify on your own walkthrough, the more urgently a professional assessment is needed. Visible problems are rarely the whole picture.
4. Your Fire Safety Equipment Has Not Been Properly Maintained
Your fire safety equipment — extinguishers, fire doors, emergency lighting, alarm systems, and fire blankets — must be inspected and maintained on a regular basis. This is not a recommendation; it is a legal requirement, and neglecting it puts both people and your business at risk.
A quick way to gauge your current position is to check the service labels on your fire extinguishers. British Standard BS 5306 recommends that portable fire extinguishers are serviced annually by a competent person. If the dates on yours are well out of range, that tells you something significant about the state of your wider fire safety arrangements.
Beyond extinguishers, work through this checklist:
- Fire doors — Are they closing fully and latching correctly? Are any wedged open, damaged, or fitted with inappropriate hardware?
- Emergency lighting — Is it tested regularly and confirmed to be functioning?
- Fire alarm system — Has it been serviced within the past 12 months by a competent contractor?
- Escape routes — Are all routes clear, unobstructed, and properly signed at all times?
- Fire blankets — Are they accessible, undamaged, and within date?
A professional fire risk assessment will review all of these as part of a thorough evaluation of your premises. If your equipment has been neglected — even partially — you need an assessment, and you need one promptly.
Fire Doors: A Frequently Overlooked Risk
Fire doors are one of the most critical — and most frequently compromised — elements of a building’s passive fire protection. A fire door that is wedged open, poorly fitted, or damaged can allow fire and smoke to spread through a building in minutes, cutting off escape routes and dramatically increasing casualties.
During a fire risk assessment, a competent assessor will check every fire door in your premises for integrity, correct operation, and appropriate signage. If yours have not been checked recently, this alone justifies commissioning an assessment without delay.
5. Your Building Is Old or Has Recently Changed
The age and physical condition of your building are significant factors in your overall fire risk profile. Older buildings — particularly those constructed before modern fire safety standards were introduced — may lack fire-resistant materials, adequate compartmentation between floors and rooms, or purpose-built escape routes that meet current expectations.
Structural deterioration can also introduce new risks over time: gaps in fire-stopping, compromised fire doors, and degraded materials that are far more combustible than they once were. If your building is showing its age, or if it has not been professionally assessed since major works were carried out, it warrants a fresh, thorough look.
Equally, if your premises have recently undergone renovation, refurbishment, or a change of use, your existing fire risk assessment may no longer reflect the actual risks present. Changes to layout, occupancy levels, or the materials used during construction can all alter your fire risk profile substantially — sometimes in ways that are not immediately obvious.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, a fire risk assessment must be reviewed following any significant change to a building. If work has been completed and your assessment has not been updated to reflect it, you may already be in breach of your legal duties as the responsible person.
Change of Use: A Specific Trigger for Reassessment
One scenario that is particularly easy to overlook is a change of use. If a space that was previously used for storage is now occupied by staff, or if a single-occupancy building has been converted to house multiple tenants, the fire risk profile changes dramatically.
A new assessment is not optional in these circumstances — it is legally required. Commissioning one promptly protects both your occupants and your legal position.
6. You Have Had a Near-Miss or a Previous Incident
If your premises have experienced a fire — even a small one that was quickly extinguished — or a near-miss such as an electrical fault, a small kitchen fire, or a smoke alarm activation that turned out to be a genuine hazard, that is an unambiguous sign your business needs a fire risk assessment asap.
Near-misses are not lucky escapes to be quietly forgotten. They are warnings that conditions in your building are capable of producing a fire. A professional assessment following any incident will identify the root cause, assess whether similar risks exist elsewhere in the premises, and provide recommendations to prevent recurrence.
Failing to act after a near-miss — particularly if it results in a subsequent fire — can have serious consequences in terms of both liability and enforcement action from the relevant fire and rescue authority.
What Happens If You Do Not Have a Valid Fire Risk Assessment?
The consequences of non-compliance with fire safety legislation are serious. The responsible person for non-domestic premises who fails to maintain a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment can face enforcement notices, prohibition orders, prosecution, and significant financial penalties.
For businesses with five or more employees, the significant findings of the fire risk assessment must be recorded in writing. This is not bureaucracy for its own sake — it creates an auditable record that demonstrates your commitment to fire safety and your compliance with the law.
Beyond the legal consequences, the human cost of a preventable fire is immeasurable. No business outcome justifies putting employees, visitors, or members of the public at risk through inadequate fire safety arrangements.
How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?
There is no single statutory interval written into UK law for routine reviews, but the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order is clear that assessments must be kept up to date. In practice, this means reviewing your assessment:
- At least annually as a matter of good practice
- Following any significant structural or layout changes to the premises
- After any change in the number or nature of occupants
- Following a fire, near-miss, or any incident that revealed a gap in your arrangements
- When new processes, equipment, or materials are introduced that alter the risk profile
- When the responsible person changes
Higher-risk premises — care homes, warehouses, buildings with complex layouts, or those with vulnerable occupants — should review more frequently than once a year. If you are uncertain what interval is appropriate for your specific premises, a qualified assessor can advise you directly.
Who Can Carry Out a Fire Risk Assessment?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order requires that the responsible person either carries out the fire risk assessment themselves, if they are competent to do so, or appoints a competent person to do it for them. In practice, for most commercial premises, appointing a qualified professional is the only realistic route to a robust, defensible assessment.
A competent assessor will have relevant training, experience, and knowledge of fire safety legislation and the specific risks associated with your type of premises. They will produce a written report that identifies hazards, evaluates risks, sets out the control measures already in place, and provides a prioritised action plan.
DIY assessments carried out by untrained staff rarely meet the standard required by law — and if a fire occurs and an inadequate assessment is scrutinised by investigators or a court, the consequences for the responsible person can be severe.
Fire Risk Assessments Across the UK: Where We Work
Supernova provides professional fire risk assessments for commercial premises across the United Kingdom. Whether you are managing a multi-tenanted office block, a retail unit, an industrial facility, or a care home, our qualified assessors will carry out a thorough, site-specific evaluation and provide you with a clear action plan.
We work extensively across major cities and regions throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. If you are also managing asbestos compliance obligations alongside your fire safety duties, our teams can support both requirements under one roof — removing the need to coordinate multiple contractors.
For clients in the capital, our asbestos survey London service operates across all London boroughs, covering commercial, industrial, and residential properties of all sizes. In the North West, our asbestos survey Manchester team handles everything from small retail units to large industrial complexes. And across the Midlands, our asbestos survey Birmingham service supports property managers and business owners with both asbestos and fire safety compliance.
Wherever your premises are located, Supernova can provide the professional support you need to meet your legal obligations and protect the people who use your building.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my business legally requires a fire risk assessment?
If you are responsible for a non-domestic premises in the UK — including commercial offices, retail units, industrial facilities, warehouses, care homes, and shared residential buildings — the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order places a legal duty on you to ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is in place. This applies regardless of the size of your business or the number of people on site.
What are the most common signs your business needs a fire risk assessment asap?
The most common triggers include: not being able to recall when your last assessment was carried out; visible fire hazards on a basic walkthrough; poorly maintained fire safety equipment; staff who perform inadequately during fire drills; recent building works, refurbishment, or a change of use; and any previous fire incident or near-miss on the premises. Any one of these warrants immediate action.
Can I carry out a fire risk assessment myself?
The law requires the assessment to be carried out by a competent person. If you have the relevant training, knowledge, and experience to assess the specific risks in your premises, you may do so yourself. However, for most commercial premises, appointing a qualified professional is the appropriate route. An inadequate self-assessment that fails to identify significant risks provides no legal protection and could have serious consequences if a fire occurs.
How long does a fire risk assessment take?
The duration depends on the size, complexity, and risk profile of your premises. A straightforward small office may be assessed in a few hours, while a large industrial site or multi-storey building with complex layout and high occupancy may require a full day or more. Your assessor will be able to give you a realistic timeframe once they understand the nature of your premises.
What happens after a fire risk assessment is completed?
Your assessor will produce a written report setting out the hazards identified, the risks they present, the control measures already in place, and a prioritised list of recommended actions. For businesses with five or more employees, this written record is a legal requirement. You will then need to implement the recommended actions within appropriate timescales — your assessor will advise on which are urgent and which can be addressed over a longer period. The assessment should then be reviewed at regular intervals or whenever significant changes occur.
Get Your Fire Risk Assessment Booked Today
If you have recognised any of the signs your business needs a fire risk assessment asap in this post, do not delay. Every day without a current, accurate assessment is a day your business is exposed to legal risk, financial liability, and — most critically — the risk of harm to the people in your building.
Supernova’s qualified assessors are available nationwide. Call us today on 020 4586 0680 or visit asbestos-surveys.org.uk to request a quote or find out more about how we can support your fire safety compliance.
