Does a small business need a written fire risk assessment?

The duty applies to almost everyone

If you run a business with premises, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 almost certainly applies to you. It covers nearly all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, from cafes and shops to salons, gyms, offices and workshops.

The Order requires a fire risk assessment, and it puts a named Responsible Person in charge. In a small business that is usually the owner or employer, which means you. You are legally accountable for assessing the fire risk, putting precautions in place, and keeping them up to date.

What changed in 2023

For years, smaller businesses relied on a quirk: you only had to record the fire risk assessment if you had five or more employees. That changed.

Following the Fire Safety Act 2021, from 1 October 2023 the duty to record the fire risk assessment and your fire safety arrangements applies to all regulated premises, regardless of how many people you employ. A sole trader with a unit now has to have it in writing.

So “we did think about fire safety” is no longer enough. The assessment, and the arrangements that flow from it, have to exist on paper (or screen) and be available if the fire authority asks.

What you actually have to do

A fire risk assessment is a structured look at your premises that:

• identifies the fire hazards and who is at risk,
• evaluates and reduces the risk (escape routes, alarms, extinguishers, signage),
• records the significant findings and the actions you have taken, and
• is reviewed regularly and whenever something changes.

Alongside the assessment, you are expected to maintain your fire precautions, and to keep a record of the routine checks: weekly alarm tests, monthly emergency-lighting and extinguisher checks, fire-door inspections, and evacuation drills. A simple fire safety logbook is how the Responsible Person keeps all of that in one place and proves the precautions are being maintained, which is exactly what a fire authority inspector asks to see.

The cost of getting it wrong

This is not a paperwork nicety. The fire authority can serve enforcement and prohibition notices, and serious breaches of the Fire Safety Order are criminal offences that can carry unlimited fines and, in the worst cases, imprisonment. The written assessment and a maintained logbook are the difference between demonstrating control and having nothing to show.