Fire safety for offices
& commercial premises.
Done properly, from £295.
If you employ anyone, or occupy any non-domestic premises, you are legally required to carry out and record a fire risk assessment. For most businesses, this is straightforward — but it still needs to be done properly, reviewed regularly, and carried out by someone who is actually qualified. We work with offices, retail premises, and commercial businesses across the North West from £295.
Who is the Responsible Person?
The legal duty falls on whoever has control of the premises — not just the owner.
The Responsible Person is the owner. You are accountable for fire safety in the whole building, including any common areas, even if tenants occupy parts of it.
As the occupying employer you are the Responsible Person for your part of the building. Your landlord is responsible for common areas — but you cannot rely on them for your own workspace.
Each employer is responsible for their own area. Where responsibilities overlap — shared corridors, shared exits — co-operation between Responsible Persons is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.
The building operator typically holds the assessment for the building. You remain responsible for your employees and should satisfy yourself that the assessment covers your area and is current.
The problems we
hear most often
Most businesses that come to us are not wilfully non-compliant — they have simply let fire safety drift. These are the three situations we see most often.
"We have an assessment but it was done by whoever was office manager at the time. I'm not sure it's valid."
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the assessment to be carried out by a "competent person." An assessment done by an untrained member of staff — however diligent — may not meet this standard. We carry out proper assessments that will stand up to scrutiny from a fire authority inspector or an insurer's loss adjuster.
"We've moved offices, refitted the space, or significantly grown our headcount. Nobody has reviewed the fire safety documentation."
A move, a significant refurbishment, or a major change in headcount are all material changes that require the fire risk assessment to be reviewed. The assessment on file for your old premises is not valid for your new one, and an assessment written for 20 people needs updating when you have 80. This is one of the most common compliance gaps we find.
"Our insurer has asked for a copy of our fire risk assessment as a condition of renewal and we don't have one."
Most commercial property and business interruption policies require a current fire risk assessment as a condition of cover. An insurer asking for documentation at renewal is an opportunity to get things in order — not a reason to panic. We can carry out assessments quickly and give you documentation that satisfies the insurer's requirements.
Shared buildings &
divided responsibility
Many commercial premises involve more than one Responsible Person. Understanding where your responsibility starts and ends — and where it overlaps with others — is something most businesses get wrong.
Office building with multiple tenants
Each tenant is responsible for their own demised area. The landlord — or a management company — is responsible for common areas: entrance lobbies, stairwells, corridors, plant rooms. Where the escape route from your office passes through a common area, you are dependent on the landlord's compliance being current. You should ask for a copy and check it covers the relevant areas. If it does not, or if it is outdated, you have a problem that is not yours to fix — but is yours to escalate.
Ground floor retail with offices above
Mixed-use buildings create layered responsibilities. The retailer is responsible for their trading area. The upstairs occupier is responsible for their workspace. If the only escape route from the upper floor passes through the ground floor, both Responsible Persons need to co-operate. A fire risk assessment for the upper floor alone — without acknowledging the dependency on the ground floor — is not suitable and sufficient. We identify these dependencies and flag them clearly.
Converted Victorian or Edwardian building
Many offices in Chester, Liverpool, and Manchester city centres occupy period buildings that were never designed as commercial premises. Compartmentation in these buildings is often inadequate — fire doors on escape routes that do not seal properly, service penetrations through fire walls, stairwells that open directly into working areas. These buildings require specific assessment rather than a template approach. We have assessed hundreds of converted period buildings across the North West.
Hybrid working & reduced occupancy
A common misconception is that a lower-occupancy office — because of hybrid working — presents less fire risk. In some respects the opposite is true. A largely empty building has less chance of early fire detection, less chance of rapid evacuation assistance, and a greater chance that fire doors are propped open or escape routes are informally blocked because the space is less actively managed. Your assessment should reflect how the building is actually used, not how it was designed to be used.
The "competent person" requirement
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires fire risk assessments to be carried out by a "competent person" — someone with sufficient training, experience, knowledge, and other qualities to enable them to properly implement the tasks required. There is no single prescribed qualification, but in practice a fire authority inspector will look for evidence of formal training and relevant experience. Tim Fletcher holds the ABBE Level 4 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment — the most widely recognised qualification in the sector — and has more than 30 years of practical fire industry experience.
Three services.
One point of contact.
Fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, and fire safety training — straightforward, properly done, with documentation your insurer and fire authority will accept.
Fire risk assessments
From £295 per assessmentA thorough, legally compliant assessment by a qualified assessor. Clear written report, prioritised action list, and ongoing support. Carried out by Tim Fletcher personally.
- Full premises walk-through including all escape routes
- Fire detection, alarm systems, and emergency lighting
- Written report with photographic evidence
- Prioritised actions — critical, significant, general
- Suitable for insurers, fire authority, and lease obligations
- Review service available for existing assessments
Fire door inspections
From £14 per doorFire doors on escape routes, between compartments, and on stairwells are critical to the safety strategy of any commercial building. We inspect every component and give you a clear record.
- Frame, leaf, intumescent seals, hinges & hardware
- Self-closing devices and cold smoke seals
- Corridor and stairwell door inspection
- Photographic evidence per door
- Prioritised remedial recommendations
Fire safety training
From £395 per sessionPractical, on-site training for your team. Delivered at your premises, tailored to your building layout and occupancy. Certificates issued to all attendees.
- Fire marshal and warden training
- Hands-on extinguisher use on a live fire
- Evacuation procedures and assembly point drills
- New starter fire safety induction content
- Certificates issued to all attendees
What the law
requires of you
The obligations are clear and they apply to every employer. Non-compliance is not treated lightly — the enforcement powers available to fire authorities are significant.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the primary legislation governing fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales. It applies to you if you employ anyone, if you have control of any premises that are not a single private dwelling, or if you are a landlord of commercial property.
The Order requires you to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, implement all measures identified by it, and keep a written record if you employ five or more people. You must also appoint a competent person to assist with fire safety duties — which in practice means ensuring your assessment was carried out by someone qualified to do it.
The fire authority has the power to issue improvement notices requiring remedial action within a specified timeframe, prohibition notices restricting use of the premises with immediate effect, and to initiate criminal prosecution resulting in unlimited fines or imprisonment. These powers are used — and the bar for using them is lower than many businesses assume.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Always appliesThe core legislation. Requires a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for all non-domestic premises. Failure to comply can result in unlimited fines, prohibition of premises, or imprisonment.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
From January 2023Introduced additional requirements to provide residents and employees with fire safety information, and to maintain records of all fire safety measures, checks, and actions taken.
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Always appliesImposes a general duty of care to employees and visitors. Fire safety failures that cause injury or death may lead to prosecution under HSWA in addition to the fire safety order.
Insurance policy obligations
Check your policyMost commercial property and business interruption policies require a current, competently produced fire risk assessment as a condition of cover. Failure to maintain one can give insurers grounds to decline a claim.
Experience you can
put in a report.
Tim founded Fletcher Risk Management to bring genuine expertise and personal accountability to fire safety consultancy in the North West. With more than 30 years in the fire industry and a client base spanning offices, retail, hospitality, and commercial premises of every type, he brings a level of experience that goes well beyond what most businesses actually need — which means you can be confident the assessment is right, not just adequate. When you book with Fletcher Risk, Tim carries out the work.
- ABBE Level 4 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment
- NEBOSH National General Certificate
- FPA Fire Safety Management Certificate
- Member — Institute of Fire Safety Managers
- Member — Fire Protection Association
Sam oversees operations and handles the coordination and scheduling that keeps things running efficiently. For businesses in multi-tenanted buildings or facing lease renewal obligations around fire safety, Sam's legal background is genuinely useful — he understands what the documentation needs to say and how it needs to be framed to satisfy a landlord, insurer, or solicitor.
- ABBE Level 4 Certificate in Fire Risk Assessment
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- 10+ years fire safety experience
"Without doubt one of the best and most professional businesses I have used for our Fire Risk Assessment. Tim Fletcher is a highly regarded professional in his field. The advice he gives is worth every penny." — Chris H. · Google Review ★★★★★
"Without doubt one of the best and most professional businesses I have used for our Fire Risk Assessment. Tim Fletcher is a highly regarded professional in his field. Don't take a chance — protect your staff, protect your building."
"Thorough, professional, and excellent value. The report was clear and the action points prioritised in a way that made it easy to know exactly what to tackle first. Would recommend without hesitation."
"Tim was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us honest advice rather than just telling us what we wanted to hear. The documentation is exactly what our insurer needed."
Straightforward.
Properly done.
Most office and commercial assessments are straightforward — the key is making sure they are done by the right person and kept up to date. Call us for an honest conversation about what you need.