What Does a Fire Strategy Consultant Do?

A fire strategy consultant — more accurately described as a chartered fire engineer providing fire strategy consultancy — is the specialist responsible for fire safety engineering during the design and construction of a building. Their role is distinct from a fire risk assessor (who assesses occupied buildings) and from fire safety product installers (who install detection, suppression and other systems).

The Fire Strategy Consultant's Role at Each RIBA Stage

RIBA Stage 1 — Preparation and Briefing

At RIBA Stage 1, the fire strategy consultant reviews the project brief, the site constraints and the concept proposals to identify fire engineering risks and opportunities. The brief sets the direction for the whole project — and fire engineering constraints that are understood at Stage 1 can be designed out of the scheme rather than designed around later.

RIBA Stage 2 — Concept Design

Stage 2 is the most valuable stage for fire engineering input. The escape route strategy, the compartmentation approach, the facade specification and the structural fire protection concept all need to be established at Stage 2. A fire strategy consultant who is involved at this stage can ensure that the concept design is based on a coherent and buildable fire engineering approach.

RIBA Stage 3 — Spatial Coordination

At Stage 3, the fire strategy consultant produces or refines the fire strategy report, coordinating with the structural engineer on structural fire protection, with the M&E engineer on fire detection, suppression and smoke control, and with the architect on compartmentation details and fire door specifications.

RIBA Stage 4 — Technical Design

At Stage 4, the fire strategy is developed to the level of detail required for the building control submission. The consultant responds to queries from the building control body, reviews revised design information, and confirms when the fire strategy has been satisfied. For higher-risk buildings, the Stage 4 fire strategy forms the basis of the Gateway 2 submission to the Building Safety Regulator.

Why Early Appointment Matters

The fire strategy consultant adds the most value at Stages 1 and 2, when the fundamental design decisions that determine fire safety outcomes are being made. Appointed at Stage 4 or later, the consultant is often managing the consequences of earlier design decisions rather than shaping them — a much more constrained and expensive position.