Fire safety guide · England

How to manage and close fire risk assessment actions

A fire risk assessment should lead to changes where it finds inadequate precautions. Give each significant finding a clear action, owner, risk-based timescale and interim measure where needed; verify the fix works, retain evidence, update the fire safety record and review the assessment if the change affects its conclusions.

This guide is scoped to England under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005; apply nation-specific guidance for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. “Closed” should mean more than an invoice paid or a row marked green. It should mean a competent person has checked that the action addresses the original concern in the relevant part of the premises and that the arrangement can be maintained. GOV.UK: guide for people with fire-safety duties; GOV.UK: five-step FRA checklist.

Convert a finding into a usable action

Copy the finding’s meaning, not just its title. Distinguish the finding from the solution: “fire door does not self-close” is the observed problem; “replace closer” is one proposed remedy. Write the action so it can be verified. “Improve compartmentation” is too vague to close, while “arrange competent survey and repair of identified penetrations in the first-floor service riser, then obtain location-specific completion evidence and update the fire strategy record” has a testable outcome. Link the action to its source, whether the FRA version and paragraph, a photograph, a location plan or a specialist report.

Prioritise by risk, not by ease or cost alone

An assessor may recommend a timescale; the Responsible Person should review it against people exposed, potential severity, likelihood of ignition, escape conditions, vulnerability and building use. GOV.UK says significant findings must be actioned within the designated period. It does not create one blanket annual deadline for every defect. Two “medium” findings may have very different consequences in a lightly occupied office versus a venue where people sleep. Account for dependencies such as survey, specification, funding and access, and, if permanent work will take time, identify the interim precautions and who checks them.

Interim controls deserve their own owner

An interim control must be appropriate to the actual risk and kept under review. Record its start date, responsible person, checks and end condition. Do not imply a temporary measure automatically compensates for any failed fire-protection system; if the situation cannot be made sufficiently safe, restrict or stop the affected use and seek specialist advice. Brief the people who rely on the interim measure. A changed escape arrangement must be understood, not just filed.

Give ownership to someone who can act, then commission with the finding attached

“Facilities team” may be too broad. Name a person or role with authority to obtain a quote, commission work, coordinate access and escalate a missed date. Separate action ownership from technical verification. Give the contractor enough detail to address the original issue, including location, photographs, scope, constraints and relevant fire information; check the quote covers the identified defects including access and making good. Construction or maintenance work can itself change fire risk, through hot work, a temporary opening in compartmentation or a disabled alarm zone, so coordinate controls during the works.

Verify completion against the original risk

The first question is whether the work occurred; the more important one is whether the finding is resolved. Compare the completed condition with the source FRA and any agreed specification, checking the exact location and adjacent effects. A fire door that closes when pushed by hand may still fail to self-close in normal use. Choose evidence that answers the particular finding, such as dated photographs, an installation or service record, a test result, a revised emergency procedure, a training record or a specialist completion report. Keep a separate outcome for partial completion: if five of seven doors were fixed, do not close the original action without accounting for the remaining two.

Update the FRA and related fire records

An FRA is not frozen at the date it was written. GOV.UK says it must be reviewed regularly and when there is reason to think it is no longer valid or a significant change occurs, and the current England five-step checklist says to record review dates. Update the emergency plan, drawings, maintenance records and staff information where the fix affects them, and keep versions so an inspector or future manager can see the original finding, actions, interim measures, deadline changes, evidence and closure decision. The goal is a maintained fire-safety system in the actual building, not a zero-open-actions dashboard achieved by archiving difficult rows.

Note on older guidance: the current GOV.UK England guidance says a completed FRA must be recorded; some older sector guides still contain former thresholds based on the number of employees, so check current law and guidance before applying them.

FAQs

Is an FRA complete when the assessor sends the report?

The report identifies findings and recommended measures. The Responsible Person must act on significant findings and maintain suitable fire precautions. A finished report with open, unmanaged actions is not the end of the risk-management process.

How quickly must actions be completed?

There is no one deadline for all findings in the general guidance. Use the risk, the assessor's designated period, people affected and any immediate danger to set and meet a justified timescale, with suitable interim arrangements where work takes time.

Does every completed action require a new full FRA?

Not necessarily. GOV.UK says review does not always mean a completely new assessment. Record what changed and seek a suitable review when the premises, people, processes or precautions make the earlier assessment potentially invalid; a competent assessor can advise on the extent.

Can software close fire-safety findings automatically?

Software can organise an action plan, assign owners, hold evidence and show overdue work. It cannot verify that a door closes, an alarm is effective or a penetration was repaired correctly. A person must check site facts and the physical fix.

Where Complys fits

Complys can generate an FRA with a prioritised action plan and hold that plan as the starting record for named owners, evidence and follow-up. It cannot verify that a door closes, an alarm is effective or a penetration was repaired correctly. A competent person must check the site facts and the physical fix.

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