What happens during a fire risk assessment, step by step

During the visit: what gets flagged immediately

Competent assessors do not wait for the written report to raise anything genuinely dangerous. If a fire door is wedged open on an escape route, an alarm panel shows an unrectified fault, or a final exit is chained shut, expect to be told there and then, verbally, so it can be fixed the same day rather than sitting unaddressed for 48 hours while the report is written.

• Fire doors wedged, chained or propped open on an escape route
• Alarm panel showing an unrectified fault at the time of the visit
• Final exits locked, chained or otherwise not immediately openable
• Combustible material stored directly against an escape route or ignition source
• Emergency lighting completely non-functional along a key route

After the visit: the written report

The assessor works up their site notes and photographs into a structured report, generally following the PAS 79-1 format: a summary of the building and occupancy, the significant findings, a risk rating, and a prioritised action plan with recommended timescales for each item — immediate, short-term, medium-term. A same-day or 24-hour turnaround is realistic for most residential blocks; larger or Type 4 assessments with destructive inspection take longer to write up.

• Executive summary and overall risk rating
• Building description and occupancy characteristics
• Significant findings, referenced to photographs
• Prioritised action plan with target timescales
• Assessor's name, qualifications and NFRAR registration

After the report: what you are expected to do

The report is not the end point — it is the start of the action plan. The responsible person is expected to work through the findings against the recommended timescales, keep dated evidence of completion, and be ready to show this record at the next assessment or to an enforcement officer if asked. A good assessor will remain available to explain findings to residents, insurers or contractors quoting for remedial work.

How the process differs for larger or more complex buildings

For a larger block, an estate with multiple cores, or a building requiring a Type 3 or 4 assessment, the process above is broadly the same but stretched: the scoping call is longer and often involves reviewing drawings or previous reports in advance, the site visit may need to be split across more than one day, and the report itself is longer and more heavily cross-referenced to photographic evidence given the scale of what has been surveyed. Managing agents responsible for several buildings often find it more efficient to schedule these as a programme across a portfolio rather than booking each block reactively as its anniversary comes round.

What tends to slow the process down

The most common causes of delay are entirely avoidable: no one available with keys to plant rooms or riser cupboards, communal areas so cluttered that the assessor has to spend time simply clearing a path to see what they are assessing, and no one present who can answer basic questions about maintenance records. None of these need to happen if access and a knowledgeable contact are arranged in advance.

• No keyholder available for plant rooms, riser cupboards or the roof
• Communal areas so cluttered the assessor must clear a path before assessing
• No maintenance records available on site or by phone during the visit
• Concierge or building staff unaware a visit is scheduled
• Locked flats sampled for internal inspection with no resident or keyholder present

How the visit differs for an HMO versus a commercial premises

The core method is identical across property types, but what an assessor spends most of their time on shifts noticeably depending on use. In a licensed HMO, expect particular attention on individual room fire doors, means of escape from upper floors given typically higher occupant density per square metre, kitchen and cooking arrangements shared between unrelated occupants, and whether the alarm system category matches the specific LD grading appropriate to the layout. In a commercial premises such as a shop, office or restaurant, the emphasis shifts towards staff fire safety training records, means of escape for members of the public who do not know the building, and — in food or hospitality premises — the interaction between kitchen extraction, fire suppression and general fire precautions. A managing agent responsible for a mixed portfolio should expect the visit length and the report's areas of focus to vary accordingly, rather than assuming a one-size approach applies everywhere.

• HMOs: individual room fire doors, escape route capacity, alarm category appropriate to occupant numbers
• HMOs: shared kitchen and cooking arrangements, and management of communal ignition sources
• Commercial: staff fire safety training records and evacuation drill evidence
• Commercial: means of escape designed for members of the public unfamiliar with the layout
• Hospitality and food premises: interaction between kitchen extraction, suppression systems and general precautions

What good communication from the assessor looks like

Beyond the physical inspection, the quality of an assessment is often reflected in how clearly the assessor communicates during and after the visit. A competent assessor explains what they are looking at as they go if asked, rather than working in silence and disappearing with a clipboard of notes no one else can interpret. They are willing to talk through a finding's severity and reasoning in plain language rather than only citing a clause number, and they remain contactable afterwards if a managing agent, resident or contractor has a follow-up question about what a specific finding actually requires. This matters practically because the assessment's value is realised through the action plan being understood and acted on, not simply through the document existing.