Fire Risk Assessments for Offices and Commercial Buildings: What You Need to Know

When people think about fire risk assessments, they often think of rental properties and HMOs. But the legal obligation extends far beyond residential landlords. If you are responsible for an office, retail unit, warehouse, or any other commercial premises, fire safety law applies to you — and the consequences of getting it wrong can be severe.

The Legal Requirement for Offices and Commercial Buildings

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO 2005) applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. That includes:

• Offices and business premises
• Retail shops and showrooms
• Warehouses and industrial units
• Shared commercial buildings and business centres
• Restaurants, cafes, and hospitality venues
• Places of worship and community buildings
• Educational and healthcare facilities

Under the RRO 2005, the responsible person — typically the employer, building owner, or occupier — must:

1. Carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment
2. Identify people at risk, including employees, visitors, and contractors
3. Take reasonable steps to eliminate or reduce fire risks
4. Put in place appropriate fire safety measures — detection, escape routes, signage, extinguishers
5. Record the findings if the business employs five or more people
6. Review the assessment regularly or whenever significant changes occur

This is not a one-off exercise. Fire safety is an ongoing responsibility, and your assessment must remain current and relevant to the actual risks in your building.

What Happens if You Do Not Comply?

The local fire and rescue authority has the power to inspect your premises and take enforcement action if your fire safety arrangements are found to be inadequate. This can include:

• Improvement notices — requiring you to address specific issues within a set timeframe
• Prohibition notices — restricting or stopping the use of all or part of your premises
• Prosecution — which can result in unlimited fines or, in serious cases, imprisonment

Beyond the legal consequences, an inadequate fire risk assessment puts your employees, customers, and visitors at real risk.

The Critical Role of Fire Doors

One of the most important — and most frequently overlooked — elements of fire safety in any building is the fire door.

Fire doors are a form of passive fire protection. Unlike active systems such as sprinklers or alarms, they work without any intervention: when closed, they create a barrier that resists the spread of fire and smoke for a specified period, typically 30 minutes (FD30) or 60 minutes (FD60).

This containment buys critical time — time for occupants to evacuate, time for the fire service to respond, and time to limit the damage to the rest of the building.

What Makes a Fire Door Effective?

A fire door is only as good as its installation and maintenance. For a fire door to perform as intended, all of the following must be in order:

• The door itself must be a certified fire-rated door — not a standard internal door
• Intumescent seals around the edges must be intact and undamaged — these expand in heat to seal the gap between door and frame
• Smoke seals must be present and in good condition to prevent smoke ingress
• Self-closing mechanisms must function correctly — the door must close fully and latch every time
• Hinges and hardware must be fire-rated and properly fitted
• Glazing, if present, must be fire-rated glass
• The door must not be propped open — a wedged-open fire door provides no protection whatsoever

Fire Doors Under the Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 specifically extended fire safety obligations for multi-occupied residential buildings to include flat entrance doors — recognising that these doors are the primary barrier between a fire in one flat and the common escape routes used by all residents.

For offices and commercial buildings, fire doors must be included in your fire risk assessment and inspected as part of your ongoing fire safety management.

How Often Should Fire Doors Be Inspected?

There is no single fixed legal interval, but the general guidance is:

• High-traffic doors (used many times a day) — inspect every one to three months
• Low-traffic doors — inspect every six months
• All fire doors — a full formal inspection at least annually

Any door that shows signs of damage, wear, or poor closing should be taken out of service or repaired immediately.

We Cover Offices and Commercial Premises

At MS Fire Safety, we carry out fire risk assessments for a wide range of premises — not just residential properties. Whether you run a small office, a retail unit, or a multi-tenanted commercial building, we can help you understand your obligations and ensure your fire safety arrangements are compliant.

Our assessments are carried out by a FireQual Level 3 qualified assessor and include a thorough review of your fire doors, escape routes, detection systems, and overall fire safety management.

Get in touch today to arrange your assessment or to discuss your requirements.