Fire Risk Assessments in IP33

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to non-domestic premises, to the common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs, and to anywhere people pay to stay. Holiday cottages, B&Bs and Airbnbs are all in scope. A single private home is not. Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service enforce it.

Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 has required the Responsible Person to record the assessment in full, record the fire safety arrangements, and name the person and organisation who carried it out. The old exemption below five employees is gone. Plenty of small operators still believe it applies.

Assessing fire risk is a different discipline from electrical work. It covers escape routes, fire doors, compartmentation, signage and evacuation strategy. We own the electrical half: ignition risk in the fixed wiring, detection and alarm, emergency lighting, and the remedial work an assessment puts on the action plan.

We carry assessments out ourselves rather than subcontract them, and we can price and do the electrical remedial work that comes out of one. That matters in practice, because an assessment that hands you a list and walks away leaves you finding someone else to act on it.