Thorough Commercial Fire Risk Assessment Checklist for Facilities Managers

How to Kickstart a Fire Risk Assessment Without Overwhelm

Pinpointing your legal responsibilities under UK fire safety law

You’re responsible for people’s lives. That’s not an exaggeration. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, every commercial premises in the UK must have a “responsible person” who makes sure fire safety is handled properly.

That person is often you – the Facilities Manager.

So, let’s get real. If there’s a fire and someone’s hurt, or worse, and you haven’t done a proper commercial fire risk assessment, you could face serious legal trouble. Fines. Prosecution. Even prison.

But here’s the good news – fire safety compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming or confusing. Start by getting crystal clear on your responsibilities.

As the responsible person, you must:

• Carry out a commercial fire risk assessment
• Identify fire hazards and people at risk
• Remove or reduce those risks
• Put in place fire safety measures and procedures
• Keep records (if you employ five or more people)
• Review and update the assessment regularly

You’re not expected to do it all alone. But you are expected to make sure it gets done. That means knowing your legal duties and making sure your fire safety efforts are aligned with UK fire safety regulations. No shortcuts. No guesswork.

And yes, if you manage multiple sites or complex buildings, the stakes are even higher.

Start by reading the Fire Safety Order. It’s not bedtime reading, but understanding it will help you lead with confidence.

Need help? HSE, your local fire service, or a competent fire risk assessor can offer guidance. But remember – the responsibility still lands on your desk.

How to define the scope of your commercial fire risk assessment

The biggest mistake Facilities Managers make? Trying to do everything at once. You don’t need to boil the ocean. You need to define the scope.

Think of it this way: your fire risk assessment is like a project brief. What’s included? What’s not? Where are the boundaries?

The scope depends on the type of building, the size, the number of people, the layout, and the activities that take place inside. A 3-storey office block with 60 staff will have different risks than a warehouse with flammable stock or a retail space with high footfall.

Ask yourself:

• How many buildings or units are covered?
• What are the building uses (offices, storage, kitchens, workshops)?
• Who uses the building (staff, visitors, contractors, vulnerable people)?
• Are there any high-risk areas (plant rooms, server rooms, storage zones)?
• What are the working hours and occupancy patterns?

The scope also includes external factors. Smoking areas. Loading bays. Car parks. If it’s part of the site, it needs to be considered.

Don’t forget shared spaces in multi-occupied buildings. If you manage a building with multiple tenants, you may need to collaborate with other responsible persons. Fire safety responsibilities can overlap, and so should your assessments.

Once you’ve clearly defined the scope, write it down. This becomes your blueprint, your map. It tells you where to focus and what to prioritise. It also helps prove due diligence if an inspector ever knocks on your door.

Defining the scope early also helps you avoid duplicated effort later. You’ll save time, avoid confusion, and keep the assessment laser-focused.

Choosing the right fire safety checklist for your building type

You wouldn’t use a warehouse checklist for an office. Or a hotel checklist for a factory. Yet so many Facilities Managers grab the first generic fire safety checklist they find online and hope it fits.

This is where most fire safety efforts go off the rails.

The right fire safety checklist is tailored to your building type and aligned with HSE and government guidance. It covers the specific fire risks relevant to your premises. It’s thorough – but not bloated.

Here’s how to choose the right one:

Step 1: Match it to your building use
Is your space an office, shop, industrial site, school, or healthcare facility? Each type has different fire safety needs. Start with the GOV.UK guides for fire safety in commercial premises – they break down what’s needed by building type.

Step 2: Make sure it includes legal must-haves
A solid commercial fire risk assessment checklist should cover:

• Identification of fire hazards (sources of ignition, fuel, oxygen)
• Identification of people at risk (staff, visitors, contractors)
• Evaluation of risk (likelihood and consequences)
• Measures to remove or reduce risks
• Emergency routes and exits
• Fire detection and warning systems
• Firefighting equipment
• Maintenance of fire safety systems
• Training and drills
• Record keeping and review schedule

Step 3: Customise it
Even the best checklist needs tweaking. Add sections specific to your site. For example, if your building handles flammable liquids or has high voltage areas, make sure the checklist reflects that.

Step 4: Make it usable
A checklist no one uses is a checklist that fails. Choose or create one that’s clear, tick-box friendly, and easy to update. Digital checklists work great for multi-site managers. Paper checklists are fine, but only if they’re kept up to date and stored safely.

Step 5: Align with HSE fire safety guidance
Make sure the checklist aligns with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fire safety expectations. HSE-aligned templates ensure you’re not missing anything vital and help keep your assessment legally compliant.

Bonus tip: Don’t reinvent the wheel. If your organisation already has a fire safety checklist in use, review it for relevance and update it to match current regulations and building changes. Consistency across sites improves compliance.

The right fire safety checklist is more than a form. It’s your structure for taking control. It helps you see what’s there, what’s missing, and where to act. It creates repeatability, especially if you manage multiple sites.

Start with the checklist, and everything else gets easier. You’ll spot risks faster. You’ll stay compliant. And you’ll sleep better at night.

Remember: fire safety is not a ‘tick and forget’ task. It’s a system you build, improve, and keep alive. The checklist is your engine. Use it wisely.

How to Identify, Document and Prioritise Fire Hazards Like a Pro

Key areas where fire hazards hide in commercial buildings

Fire hazards are rarely obvious. They don’t come with blinking warning signs or red flags. Most of the time, they’re hiding in plain sight—waiting for the right (or wrong) moment to turn into a disaster.

Start with the places people ignore.

Electrical cupboards. Server rooms. Cleaning storage. These are the “out of sight, out of mind” zones that get skipped in fire risk assessments all the time. And they’re loaded with ignition sources.

Look at your lighting systems. Are there ageing fluorescent ballasts, overloaded sockets, or badly wired extensions? That’s a fire waiting to happen.

Then check your HVAC systems. Poor maintenance leads to dust build-up and motor overheating. Add a bit of paper or flammable material nearby, and you’ve got the perfect ignition mix.

Don’t overlook kitchens—especially in offices, schools, or hospitality spaces. Grease residue in extractor fans, electrical appliances left on overnight, and cluttered microwaves all rank high on the hazard scale.

Go deeper into storage areas. Cardboard boxes stacked near heaters. Flammable liquids not stored in fire-rated cabinets. Racking systems blocking fire exit routes.

And then there’s the real sleeper: bins. Internal waste bins, especially paper bins under desks or in corridors, are classic fuel sources. If they’re near sockets or radiators, the risk doubles.

Think vertically, too. Ceiling voids and underfloor spaces often contain cabling, insulation, and dust—none of which mix well with heat or sparks.

If your building has workshops, plant rooms, or labs, the hazard profile changes again. Gas cylinders. Welding equipment. Solvents. You need a different level of vigilance here—and different fire safety measures.

Walk the building like it’s your first day. Fresh eyes catch more. Bring someone from another department. They’ll spot things you overlook because you see them every day.

And always check the route to and from exits. Blocked fire doors, wedged open doors, or cluttered corridors turn a small fire into a mass evacuation nightmare.

Fire hazards aren’t just physical objects. They’re often about people and processes. Poor housekeeping. Untrained staff. Contractors smoking in the wrong place.

Your job isn’t just to find hazards. It’s to understand how they behave in your specific commercial premises. That’s how you stay ahead of the risk.

How to assess ignition sources, fuel loads, and people at risk

You don’t need to be a fire safety engineer to assess fire hazards. You need a clear framework, a sharp eye, and a solid understanding of your building.

Start with ignition sources. These are what start fires. Think electrical faults, open flames, hot surfaces, static discharge, overheated equipment, and cooking appliances.

Every commercial building has them. Your task is to list them by location. For example, “Portable heaters in meeting rooms,” “Overloaded sockets in marketing department,” or “Toaster in staff kitchen area.”

Next is fuel. This is what keeps the fire burning. Paper, cardboard, fabrics, packaging, furniture, curtains, flammable liquids, cleaning products, and waste.

Walk each zone of your building and ask: “What would catch fire here if something sparked?”

A good rule of thumb: if it can burn, it’s fuel. Even dust in the right conditions becomes a fuel load. Especially in manufacturing or warehouse settings.

Now layer in oxygen. Normally, this is just air. But if your building uses oxygen cylinders or has forced ventilation systems, the fire risk increases.

The third part of the equation is people. Who’s on site? Where are they during the day? Who’s there after hours? You need to consider office staff, warehouse workers, cleaners, contractors, and visitors.

Pay extra attention to vulnerable people. These include:

• People with mobility issues
• Hearing or vision impairments
• Temporary workers unfamiliar with the building
• Lone workers
• Visitors unfamiliar with evacuation procedures

Map where these people are located during the day. Are they near fire exits? Would they need help to evacuate? If so, you need to include Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in your fire safety procedures.

Once you’ve got your ignition sources, fuel loads, and people at risk mapped, cross-reference them. Where they overlap, that’s where your high-risk areas are.

For example: A cluttered electrical cupboard next to a corridor used frequently by visitors = high-risk.

Use photos. Documenting hazards visually helps with training, audits, and future reviews. It also gives you evidence if you need to explain why certain actions were taken.

And keep your documentation organised by zone or floor. That’s how you stay in control and avoid duplication.

If you’re managing a portfolio of buildings, standardise this process. Use the same terminology and structure across all your sites. It makes reporting easier and improves fire safety compliance.

Creating a risk matrix that helps you take action faster

A fire risk matrix is your decision-making tool. It helps you prioritise what to fix now, what to monitor, and what to plan for later.

Here’s the simple version: every hazard gets rated on two things — likelihood and potential harm.

Likelihood:

• Unlikely (1)
• Possible (2)
• Likely (3)

Potential harm:

• Minor injury (1)
• Serious injury (2)
• Fatality (3)

Multiply the two numbers together and you get a risk rating out of 9.

Example: an overloaded socket in a staff kitchen (Likely = 3) with the potential to cause a serious injury (2) = Risk Score 6.

Anything scoring 6 or above should be dealt with immediately. These are your “fix it now” hazards.

Scores of 4–5 are medium risk. Create a plan to reduce or remove them within a reasonable time frame.

Scores of 1–3 are low risk. Monitor these regularly, but don’t waste time panicking.

This matrix keeps you focused. It stops you from chasing every minor issue and directs your attention to the hazards that could shut your site down or harm people.

Make the matrix visual. Use a red-amber-green colour code. Red = high risk. Amber = moderate. Green = low.

Stick the matrix on your wall. Share it with your team. Use it in training. This isn’t some dusty compliance document—it’s a living tool to help you make better fire safety decisions.

And don’t forget to update it. Every time a hazard is removed, new equipment is installed, or building layout changes, revisit your matrix.

If you’re managing multiple sites, use the matrix to benchmark one site against another. A warehouse with frequent red scores needs more intervention than an office mostly in the green.

Build your risk matrix into your fire risk assessment template. (If you don’t have one yet, grab a HSE-aligned version from the commercial fire risk assessment hub.)

The goal is simple: move as many hazards from red to amber and amber to green as fast as you can—without disrupting operations or cutting corners.

Fire safety isn’t about eliminating all risk. That’s impossible. It’s about knowing where the risk lives, how likely it is to cause harm, and how fast you’re acting to reduce it.

That’s how Facilities Managers turn compliance into control.

How to Take Immediate Action and Stay Legally Compliant

How to record findings and prepare a compliant fire safety action plan

Every fire risk assessment needs a paper trail. Not just for audits, but so you can sleep at night knowing you’re covered. If a fire inspector shows up—or worse, there’s an incident—your documentation is your first line of defence.

Start with clarity. Use plain language. Ditch the jargon. You’re not writing a novel, you’re building a record that others will need to follow—maybe in a crisis.

At a bare minimum, your fire safety documentation should include:

• A summary of identified fire hazards
• The people at risk and why they’re at risk
• The measures taken to reduce or remove those risks
• The date of the assessment and when it will be reviewed
• The name of the person who carried out the assessment
• Any significant changes since the last assessment

If you employ five or more people, this documentation isn’t optional—it’s a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. But even if you’ve got fewer than five, keeping records is still smart.

Once your findings are recorded, the next move is creating an action plan. Think of this like a to-do list—but one that could save lives and your job.

Break it down into clear, actionable items. Each item should include:

• The specific hazard (e.g. “Overloaded socket in second-floor meeting room”)
• The risk rating (from your fire risk matrix)
• The recommended action (e.g. “Replace with safer power distribution unit”)
• The person responsible
• The deadline for completion
• The follow-up status

Make it trackable. Use a spreadsheet, a fire safety software platform, or even a shared document—whatever works for your team and site. Just make sure it’s accessible and regularly updated.

Here’s the key—don’t just record the risk. Record the fix. That’s what shows compliance. Evidence of action is what gets you through inspections and reduces liability when something goes wrong.

Don’t file it away and forget it. Build reviewing your fire safety action plan into your monthly or quarterly ops check-ins. If something’s still sitting on the “to-do” list after 30 days, it needs escalation.

And remember—if you make changes to the building (new layout, new equipment, change in occupancy), update the plan. Fire risk isn’t static, and neither should your action plan be.

Assigning fire safety responsibilities to the right team members

If everything’s your job, nothing gets done. Fire safety isn’t a solo act—it’s a team sport. And the law agrees. You’re the responsible person, but you’re allowed (and encouraged) to delegate.

Start by identifying your fire safety roles. These typically include:

• Fire wardens or marshals
• Equipment checkers (extinguishers, alarms, emergency lighting)
• Evacuation coordinators
• Training leads
• Maintenance contacts for fire systems

You don’t need an army. You need people who are competent, available, and accountable.

Fire wardens are your frontline during evacuations. They check their zones, guide people out, and report back. Choose staff who are calm under pressure and know the building layout inside out. Train them well and refresh that training annually.

Assign someone to do routine checks on extinguishers, fire doors, and exit routes. These shouldn’t be once-a-year tasks. If a fire door’s wedged open or an extinguisher’s been tampered with, you want to know now—not after the fact.

Nominate a fire safety point of contact in each department or floor. They don’t need to be experts, but they do need to raise the flag if something’s off. Spotted an exposed wire near a heater? That’s their job to report.

Crucially, document who’s responsible for what. Put names next to each task in your fire safety action plan. Include email addresses and phone numbers. Keep the list current.

If someone leaves, update the list immediately. There’s nothing worse than realising your fire warden left three months ago and no one noticed.

Make it official. Add fire safety roles into job descriptions. Include responsibilities in onboarding for new hires. Fire safety isn’t a bolt-on—it’s part of running a safe, legal workplace.

And don’t forget contractors and third parties. If they’re on your premises, you need to know they understand your fire safety procedures. Induction briefings aren’t just for show—they’re a legal and safety essential.

You might run the whole facility, but if people don’t know what to do in a fire, the system breaks down fast. Clear roles. Clear accountability. That’s how you create a culture of fire safety that sticks.

How to schedule regular reviews that keep your fire risk assessment up to date

A fire risk assessment isn’t a one-and-done job. Buildings evolve. Teams change. New hazards appear. If you’re not reviewing regularly, your compliance slips—and fast.

So, how often should you review your commercial fire risk assessment? The law doesn’t give a fixed date, but it does say you must review it “regularly” and “when circumstances change.”

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Set a formal review every 12 months
• Trigger an immediate review if there’s a significant change, such as:
• Building layout alterations
• A change in business use (e.g. office to retail)
• Introduction of new equipment or processes
• Increase in staff numbers or occupancy patterns
• Fire or near-miss incident
• New legislation or updated fire safety regulations

Twelve months is your baseline. But if your site is high-risk—like a warehouse with flammable stock or a workshop with welding gear—consider a 6-month cycle.

Make it predictable. Build the review into your operational calendar. Tie it to other compliance checks or health and safety audits. That way, it doesn’t fall through the cracks when things get busy.

During the review, don’t just skim the paperwork. Walk the building. Talk to the people. Has anything changed? Are fire exits still clear? Are extinguishers still in place and functional? Have any new hazards cropped up?

Update your risk matrix. Revisit your fire safety action plan. Review staff training logs. Check if your fire wardens are still in place and trained.

Keep version control on your documents. Each review should have a date, the name of the reviewer, and a log of what was updated. This is what inspectors want to see—a living, breathing fire safety system that evolves with your site.

If you manage multiple buildings, standardise the review schedule across the portfolio. Use shared templates. Run internal audits. Fire safety doesn’t scale unless the review process does.

And don’t forget communication. After the review, share key updates with your team. If the fire drill procedure changed or a new hazard was added, everyone needs to know.

The real risk isn’t just fire—it’s stagnation. It’s thinking “we did a fire risk assessment last year, so we’re good.” You’re not. Not unless you’re reviewing, updating, and acting. That’s how you stay compliant. That’s how you stay in control.

For more information and support with your commercial fire risk assessments, fire safety compliance, and legally-sound fire safety action plans, head to https://acornhealthandsafety.co.uk/what-we-do/fire-risk-assessments/.