Do I need a fire risk assessment?

Yes, if you are the responsible person for non-domestic premises in England or Wales: an employer, owner, landlord or occupier of a business or other workplace, or anyone with control of it, such as a facilities manager. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires one and requires it to be kept under review.

Does a fire risk assessment have to be written down?

Yes. Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 requires every responsible person to record the whole fire risk assessment, whatever the size of the business. Before then only businesses with five or more employees, a licence or an alterations notice had to record the significant findings. If someone else carries out the assessment for you, their name, and their organisation's name, must be recorded too.

Can I do my own fire risk assessment?

Yes, for straightforward premises, using the government guide for your type of building. If you do not have the expertise or the time, you need to appoint a competent person to help. Your local fire and rescue authority can give advice but cannot carry out the assessment for you.

Is a fire risk assessment the same as a general risk assessment?

No. Your general risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations covers every hazard in the work, with fire as one row. The fire risk assessment is a separate document under the Fire Safety Order that looks at the building: what could start and feed a fire, how people would be warned and get out, and the plan for when they do.

How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?

Regularly, and whenever there is reason to think it is no longer valid: a change to the layout or use of the building, more people, new equipment or processes, or after a fire or near miss. Most businesses set a review date a year ahead.

Who enforces fire safety?

Your local fire and rescue authority inspects premises and can issue notices requiring changes. On construction sites HSE enforces fire safety. Failing to comply can lead to a fine or, in serious cases, prison.

Risk assessment

Fire risk assessment template

A fire risk assessment looks at what could start a fire in your premises, who would be at risk, and how they would be warned and get out. If you are responsible for a business or other non-domestic premises in England or Wales, the law requires one, written down in full. This template follows the five steps in the government guides, with a completed example for a small shop.

Free, no signup. Follows the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the government's fire safety risk assessment guides. There is no fire generator yet: fill in the PDF, or read the example first.

Last reviewed 20 October 2026

The five steps

The template has a section for each, in the order the government guides set out.

Step 1
Identify the fire hazards
What could start a fire (heaters, cooking, electrics, smoking, hot work, arson), what would burn (stock, packaging, waste, furniture, flammable liquids), and any extra oxygen.
Step 2
Identify people at risk
Everyone who could be in the premises, and especially anyone working alone, upstairs or out of the way, unfamiliar with the building, or who would need help to leave.
Step 3
Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks
Take away or reduce the hazards you can, then check the protection: how a fire is detected and everyone warned, escape routes and exits, emergency lighting and signs, firefighting equipment, and maintenance.
Step 4
Record, plan and train
Write the assessment down, prepare an emergency plan, and tell and train staff. Since 1 October 2023 the whole assessment must be recorded, whatever the size of the business.
Step 5
Review
Regularly, and whenever something changes: the layout, the use of the building, the number of people, or after a fire or near miss.

Completed fire risk assessment example

A two storey craft shop with a classroom upstairs used for evening classes. The business is fictional; the level of detail is what a small shop needs.

Fire risk assessment · FRA-001

Fern and Thread, haberdashery and craft shop

Address:: 7 Bridge Street, ground and first floor
Responsible person:: Ruth Fenwick, owner, 7 Bridge Street
Assessed by:: Ruth Fenwick, owner
Date:: 20 October 2026, review by 20 October 2027

The premises

Retail shop with a first floor stock room, staff room and a small workshop for sewing classes. Two storey mid terrace building. Ground floor sales area with the till and a rear door to the yard. One internal staircase to the first floor: stock room, staff room with kettle and microwave, toilet, and a classroom used for evening sewing classes of up to eight people. The flat above is separate, with its own entrance, and is not part of this assessment.

Four staff, usually two at a time. Up to 25 customers in the shop at busy times. Up to eight class members and one tutor on two evenings a week.

Step 1. Fire hazards

Sources of ignition

Electrical equipment: till, card terminal, lighting, the kettle and microwave in the staff room, and six sewing machines in the classroom
Extension leads and phone chargers in the staff room
Portable heater used in the stock room in winter
Arson: cardboard and packaging left in the rear yard

Sources of fuel

Fabric, wool and yarn on display and in stock: large amounts of easily burned material
Cardboard boxes and packaging from deliveries, held in the stock room until recycling day
Small quantities of fabric spray adhesive and craft glue in aerosol and tins
Paper records and display material

Sources of oxygen

Natural ventilation only. No oxygen cylinders or oxidising materials on the premises

Step 2. People at risk

Staff
Customers
Class members and the tutor in the evening
Delivery drivers in the rear yard

Especially at risk

Anyone in the first floor classroom or stock room: one staircase is the only way down
Class members, who do not know the building and are there after the shop has closed
A regular customer who uses a wheelchair, and anyone else who would need help on the stairs
A member of staff working alone when opening or closing

Step 3. Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks

Removing and reducing hazards

Cardboard is flattened and taken to the outside bin store every evening, not left in the yard or on the stairs
The portable heater has been replaced with a fixed wall heater with a thermostat and timer
Aerosols and glue are kept in a small metal cabinet in the stock room, away from the heater and the fuse board
Extension leads are not daisy chained, and the staff room kettle and microwave are on their own sockets
Stock is kept clear of light fittings and at least an arm's length from the fuse board

Detecting fire and raising the alarm

Mains powered interlinked smoke detectors on both floors and on the staircase, so a fire upstairs is heard downstairs
Manual call point by the front door and at the top of the stairs
Alarm tested weekly on Monday morning from a different call point each time, and the test written in the fire log

Escape routes and exits

Two exits on the ground floor: the front door and the rear door to the yard, both openable from inside without a key while anyone is in the building
The staircase is kept completely clear of stock, boxes and furniture
The fire door at the bottom of the staircase is self closing and is not wedged open
The rear yard gate opens onto the lane and is unlocked during opening hours and classes

Emergency lighting and signs

Emergency lighting on the staircase and over both exits
Fire exit signs above both doors and at the top of the stairs
Fire action notice by the till and in the classroom

Firefighting equipment

Water extinguisher by the front door and on the first floor landing for fabric and paper
CO2 extinguisher by the fuse board for electrical fires
Fire blanket in the staff room
Staff are told to use an extinguisher only on a small fire with a clear way out behind them, and to leave otherwise

Maintenance and testing

Fire alarm and emergency lighting serviced by a competent contractor every six months
Extinguishers serviced every year
Emergency lighting checked monthly by a short test and written in the fire log
Fixed electrical installation inspected; certificate on file

Step 4. Record, plan, inform and train

Emergency plan

On hearing the alarm, everyone leaves by the nearest exit. Staff on the ground floor direct customers out of the front door
The tutor leads the class down the stairs and out of the rear door, and counts them out
Assembly point: across the road outside the library, clear of the shop front
The member of staff in charge calls 999 once outside and tells the fire service whether anyone is unaccounted for
Anyone who would need help to get down the stairs has a personal evacuation plan agreed with them before they use the first floor. Until that plan is in place, their class or visit is held on the ground floor. The plan does not rely on the fire service to get them out
Nobody goes back in until the fire service says it is safe

Information and training

Every member of staff is shown the alarm, call points, exits, extinguishers and assembly point on their first day, and signs the fire log
The tutor gives the class a fire briefing at the start of each new course
A fire drill is held once a year in shop hours and once a year during a class, and written in the fire log

Step 5. Review

Once a year, by the review date
If the layout changes, for example the classroom is moved or the stock room is extended
If the evening classes grow beyond eight people or new activities start
After any fire, false alarm with a cause found, or near miss
If the fire service or an insurer raises anything

Action plan

Action	Who	By
Agree a personal emergency evacuation plan with the regular customer who uses a wheelchair, for visits to the first floor classroom	Ruth Fenwick	15 November 2026
Fit a self closing device to the classroom door and check it closes fully	Ruth Fenwick	30 November 2026
Hold the first evening fire drill with a class and time the evacuation	Class tutor	10 December 2026

This document is a starting point. The employer must check it against the actual workplace, the product safety data sheet and current HSE guidance before relying on it. It is not an HSE approved document.

Who has to do it

The duty falls on the responsible person. That is the employer, the owner, the landlord, the occupier, or anyone else with control of the premises, such as a facilities manager or managing agent. Where several people share control of a building, for example a landlord and the tenants, each has duties for the parts they control and must work together.

The responsible person must carry out the assessment and review it regularly, tell staff about the risks found, put in place and maintain the fire safety measures, plan for an emergency, and give staff information, instruction and training.

What must be written down

Since 1 October 2023 every responsible person must record the whole fire risk assessment, whatever the size of the business, and record their fire safety arrangements. Before that, only businesses with five or more employees, a licence or an alterations notice had to write down the significant findings. If someone carries out or reviews the assessment for you, record their name and, where relevant, their organisation. The template has a line for each.

Doing it yourself, or getting help

For straightforward premises such as a small shop or office you can do it yourself, using the government guide for your type of building. If you do not have the expertise or the time, appoint a competent person to help. The local fire and rescue authority can advise, but cannot carry out the assessment for you.

The government publishes a guide for each type of premises. Use the one that matches yours:

Construction sites follow HSE guidance instead, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety law: see non-domestic fire safety in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.

Fire in your general risk assessment

Your general risk assessment still has a row for fire, and its first control is that this fire risk assessment exists and its actions are in hand. The risk assessment generator includes that row; the completed examples show how it reads for office work, commercial kitchen and hairdressing salon.

Sources

Checked 20 October 2026.

Common questions

Do I need a fire risk assessment?: Yes, if you are the responsible person for non-domestic premises in England or Wales: an employer, owner, landlord or occupier of a business or other workplace, or anyone with control of it, such as a facilities manager. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires one and requires it to be kept under review.
Does a fire risk assessment have to be written down?: Yes. Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 requires every responsible person to record the whole fire risk assessment, whatever the size of the business. Before then only businesses with five or more employees, a licence or an alterations notice had to record the significant findings. If someone else carries out the assessment for you, their name, and their organisation's name, must be recorded too.
Can I do my own fire risk assessment?: Yes, for straightforward premises, using the government guide for your type of building. If you do not have the expertise or the time, you need to appoint a competent person to help. Your local fire and rescue authority can give advice but cannot carry out the assessment for you.
Is a fire risk assessment the same as a general risk assessment?: No. Your general risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations covers every hazard in the work, with fire as one row. The fire risk assessment is a separate document under the Fire Safety Order that looks at the building: what could start and feed a fire, how people would be warned and get out, and the plan for when they do.
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?: Regularly, and whenever there is reason to think it is no longer valid: a change to the layout or use of the building, more people, new equipment or processes, or after a fire or near miss. Most businesses set a review date a year ahead.
Who enforces fire safety?: Your local fire and rescue authority inspects premises and can issue notices requiring changes. On construction sites HSE enforces fire safety. Failing to comply can lead to a fine or, in serious cases, prison.