The Most Common Point of Confusion in Fire Safety

Fire strategy and fire risk assessment are the two most fundamental fire safety documents for any building. Yet they are frequently confused, conflated, or treated as interchangeable. They are not. They serve completely different purposes, are produced at different stages of a building's life, and are governed by different legislation and guidance.

What Is a Fire Strategy?

A fire strategy is a design document. It is produced during the design of a new or refurbished building and sets out how the building's design addresses fire safety — covering means of escape, compartmentation, structural fire protection, fire detection, suppression, smoke control and firefighting access. It is the primary submission document for planning authorities, building control bodies and the Building Safety Regulator.

A fire strategy is produced by a chartered fire engineer as part of the building design process, typically from RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design) onwards. It is a prospective document — it describes how the building will be designed and built to be safe.

What Is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a document produced for an occupied building — or one about to be occupied. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO 2005), the responsible person for any non-domestic premises must carry out or commission a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and review it regularly. The fire risk assessment identifies fire hazards, assesses the risk to people in and around the building, and records the measures taken to control those risks.

Unlike a fire strategy, a fire risk assessment is a retrospective document — it assesses the building as it is, not as it is being designed. It is also an ongoing obligation: fire risk assessments must be reviewed when there is a reason to suspect they are no longer valid, and at regular intervals regardless.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Purpose: Fire strategy = design; Fire risk assessment = compliance in occupation
• Stage: Fire strategy = design and construction; Fire risk assessment = occupation
• Legislation: Fire strategy = Building Regulations; Fire risk assessment = RRO 2005
• Who produces it: Fire strategy = chartered fire engineer; Fire risk assessment = competent fire risk assessor
• Review: Fire strategy reviewed at key design stages; Fire risk assessment reviewed annually or when circumstances change

Do You Need Both?

Yes — but at different times. Every occupied building that falls within the scope of the RRO 2005 requires a fire risk assessment. New build and refurbishment projects require a fire strategy during design and construction. For higher-risk buildings, both documents also feed into the building safety case required under the Building Safety Act 2022.