We are increasingly asked whether a Responsible Person can use an AI tool, such as ChatGPT or Copilot, to write their own fire risk assessment. It is easy to see the appeal. You type in a description of your building and, within a minute or two, you have a document with headings, risk ratings and an action plan that looks very much like the real thing.
The short answer is no. A fire risk assessment is a legal duty under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the law expects it to be based on a careful inspection of the actual premises by someone with the right training and experience. An AI tool cannot visit your building, it cannot be held accountable for what it writes, and it often makes mistakes that are hard for a non-specialist to spot. There is, however, a useful job for AI in this process, which is helping you find and check the right fire risk assessment company. In this post we explain both.
What the law asks of a Responsible Person
Under Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order, the Responsible Person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks in their premises. In most workplaces, and in the common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs, that person is the employer, the owner, the landlord or the managing agent. Article 18 allows the Responsible Person to appoint a competent person to help, and describes competence as having sufficient training and experience or knowledge, along with other qualities, to do the work properly.
Since October 2023, changes made by Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 have added to these duties in England. Every Responsible Person must now record the fire risk assessment in full, whatever the size of the business, and record the name of the person or organisation who carried it out. Government guidance issued under the Order has also been given greater weight, so a court can use it to decide whether the duty has been met.
That requirement to name the assessor matters here. An AI chatbot has no training record, no professional indemnity insurance and no membership of a professional body. It cannot be questioned by an enforcement officer about how it reached its conclusions, and it cannot be asked back to the building when something changes.
An AI tool has never seen your building
A fire risk assessment is built on what the assessor finds on site. A competent assessor will walk every escape route, check how the fire doors close, look above ceilings and into service risers where they can, review the fire alarm and emergency lighting records, and talk to the people who use the building. Many of the most serious problems we find are ones the Responsible Person did not know about, such as:
- a fire door that no longer closes fully into its frame, or has damaged or missing seals
- gaps left around pipes and cables where contractors have passed through a fire-resisting wall
- combustible storage under a staircase or in a plant room
- a final exit that is locked, obstructed or fitted with the wrong type of release
- an alarm system that no longer covers the areas the building is now used for
An AI tool can only work with the information you give it. If you do not know that the wall above your suspended ceiling has been breached, you cannot tell the AI, and it has no way of finding out. The result is a document describing the building you think you have, which may be quite different from the building you actually have.
Confident, well presented and sometimes wrong
AI language tools are designed to produce text that reads well. They do not check their answers against your building or against the current law, and they can state incorrect information with complete confidence. In fire safety, this can mean references to withdrawn or superseded standards, guidance for one type of premises applied to another, such as office guidance used for an HMO, or Scottish rules presented as if they apply in England.
Because the document looks professional, these errors are difficult to spot unless you already have the knowledge the assessment was supposed to provide. A fire and rescue service inspecting officer will judge the assessment on its substance, and a neat layout will not help if the significant findings are missing or wrong.
Responsibility stays with youUsing AI does not move any legal responsibility away from the Responsible Person. If the assessment is not suitable and sufficient, you can face an enforcement notice, a prohibition notice or prosecution. Serious breaches of the Fire Safety Order can lead to an unlimited fine and, in the most serious cases, up to two years in prison. Insurers may also question cover if an assessment turns out to be inadequate after a fire.
What about firms that use software?
Many fire risk assessment companies, including ours, use software to record findings and produce reports efficiently. This is a different thing from asking an AI to write the assessment. The findings come from a competent assessor who has inspected the building, and that assessor checks and signs off the report and is named in it. The technology helps with the writing, while the judgement stays with a qualified person who can explain and stand behind every recommendation.
Where AI can help: finding the right company
Choosing a fire risk assessor can be difficult, because there is no single licence for the profession and many companies make similar claims on their websites. This is where AI tools are useful, as they can do much of the sifting for you. You could ask an AI tool to:
- list fire risk assessment companies that cover your town or postcode and have experience of your type of premises, such as care homes, HMOs or hotels
- explain the main third-party certification schemes and professional registers, such as BAFE SP205, Warringtonfire FRACS and the registers held by the Institution of Fire Engineers and the Institute of Fire Safety Managers
- draft a short set of questions to send to each company, so their quotes can be compared on the same basis
- summarise independent reviews of the companies on your shortlist
- compare two or three quotes and point out differences in what each one includes
Check what the AI tells youAI tools can produce out-of-date or invented details, including companies that have stopped trading or certifications they do not hold. Before you appoint anyone, check their certification or registration directly on the scheme or register website, and ask to see evidence of their qualifications and insurance.
Questions to ask before you appoint an assessor
Whether or not you use AI to build your shortlist, the final decision should rest on a few straightforward questions:
- Who will carry out the assessment, and what qualifications and experience do they hold for this type of building?
- Will they visit the premises, and roughly how long will they spend on site?
- Are they on a recognised register or certified under a third-party scheme?
- Do they hold professional indemnity insurance?
- Can they show you an example report with confidential details removed?
- Will the report set out clear, prioritised actions and a recommended review date?
A reputable company will be happy to answer all of these. The Fire Sector Federation's guide to choosing a competent fire risk assessor is also worth reading before you make a decision.
Need a fire risk assessment?
Our ABBE Level 3 and 4 qualified assessors carry out on-site fire risk assessments for businesses, landlords and managing agents across the North West, North Wales and the West Midlands. Every report names the assessor who carried it out and sets out clear, prioritised actions. If you would like a quote, please get in touch.
Get a quote Fire risk assessmentsThis article provides general guidance only and does not replace a fire risk assessment or professional advice specific to your premises. Legislation and guidance referred to apply in England unless otherwise stated.