Fire strategy reports for new builds, conversions and existing buildings
We prepare fire strategy reports for architects, developers and building owners. Each strategy sets out how your building will warn, protect and evacuate the people inside it, written to the right guidance for its use and ready to support your Building Control application.
- Prepared from your drawings
- Ready in 2 to 3 weeks
- Independent advice
What is a fire strategy?
A fire strategy is a combined report and set of plans that defines the whole approach to fire safety for a building. We assume a fire could start anywhere, then work through how everyone inside would be warned and get out safely, and how the building itself is protected.
- Warning and detection: will people get early enough warning from the fire alarm?
- Means of escape: are travel distances, exit widths and protected routes within safe limits for the number of people?
- Fire spread: where fire resisting walls, doors and compartments are needed, and what surface and external wall performance is allowed.
- Fire service access: can firefighters reach the building and use their equipment quickly?
- Management: what the people running the building need to manage fire safety once it is occupied.
Four common reasons to get a fire strategy
Most clients come to us for Building Control, but a fire strategy can also save money and solve problems in buildings that are already open.
Building Control approval
Most new builds, extensions, conversions and changes of use need a fire strategy. Single family homes are generally exempt, but even small HMOs and all commercial premises need one.
Avoid unnecessary remedial work
A fire risk assessor has to treat every signed fire door as a fire door. A fire strategy looks at the whole building and can confirm which doors and walls genuinely need to be fire resisting.
Increase occupancy numbers
Venues are limited by how many people can evacuate safely. A different calculation method, or small changes to the alarm or exit routes, can often raise that limit.
The golden thread
The strategy is a core part of the record showing how a building was designed and should be run safely, and of the information handed over under Regulation 38.
Spend on the fire doors that actually matter
We often see organisations pay for a fire risk assessment, then a compartmentation survey, then a fire door survey, and then tens of thousands of pounds of remedial work. Nobody stopped to ask whether each wall or door needed to be fire resisting in the first place.
A fire strategy can answer that question, because it considers the building as a whole. Sometimes large areas need neither fire doors nor fire resisting walls. With a single fire door costing £500 to £1,000 to repair or replace, a strategy is often the more cost-effective first step if you are facing work on several doors.
Already have a fire risk assessment with a long list of door and compartmentation actions? Send it to us and we will tell you whether a fire strategy could help.
From drawings to a finished fire strategy
Send your drawings
A scaled building plan is normally all we need. For existing buildings where room uses are unclear, we can visit the site.
Quote and scope
We confirm the guidance that applies to your building and agree a price before any work starts.
Strategy prepared
We prepare the report and marked-up plans, usually within 2 to 3 weeks depending on the size of the building.
Use it and keep it
The strategy supports your Building Control application, forms part of your Regulation 38 information and becomes the basis for future fire risk assessments.
The right standard for your building
Every fire strategy follows the same structure, but the rules depend on how the building is used and how complex it is.
- Approved Document B Volume 1 and BS 9991Houses, flats and other residential buildings, with BS 9991 used for more complex schemes.
- Approved Document B Volume 2 and BS 9999Offices, shops, hotels, hostels, venues, industrial and storage buildings, places of worship and car parks.
- Building Bulletin 100Nurseries, schools, academies, sixth form and further education colleges, and universities.
- HTM 05-02 FirecodeHospitals, outpatient buildings, specialist clinics and doctors' surgeries.
For higher-risk residential buildings under the Building Safety Act, the fire strategy forms part of the Gateway 2 application to the Building Safety Regulator, so it needs to be in place before building control approval.
How the two documents work together
If a fire strategy is the plan for how a building should be built and used, the fire risk assessment is its regular service. The assessment checks that everything is still as the strategy intended.
The fire strategy is the foundation for the fire risk assessment, and the assessment should be consistent with it rather than contradict it. Most occupied buildings need both, and we can provide both.
Fire strategy guides
More detail on the questions we are asked most often.
Fire strategy questions
Can I create a fire strategy myself?
Not really. You need to be seen as trained, experienced or otherwise knowledgeable about fire safety, and we see Building Control dismiss fire strategies simply because they were not prepared by a fire safety specialist, for example when an architect has written them.
Is a fire strategy report a legal requirement?
Apart from Building Control, nobody will usually force you to have one. The problem comes if there is a fire and it is decided you should have had one because of the number of people, the size of the building or its complexity. Not having one can be seen as not taking fire safety seriously.
At what stage of a project should I get a fire strategy?
At the same time as you appoint your architect, because the design or layout may need to change to deal with fire safety. Appointing us early also gives us the chance to offer options that can save you money.
How long does a fire strategy report take?
Typically 2 to 3 weeks, depending on our workload and the size of the building.
What information do you need from me?
Normally just a scaled building plan. For some existing buildings where it is not clear what certain rooms are used for, we can carry out a site visit.
What is Regulation 38?
Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations 2010 requires fire safety information about the building to be handed to the responsible person when building work is completed, so they can manage the building safely. The fire strategy is a key part of that information.
Get a quote for your fire strategy
Send us your drawings and a short description of the project, and we will confirm the scope and price before any work starts.