How To Conduct A Fire Risk Assessment For Your Business

Ensuring fire safety in your business isn’t just good practice, it’s a legal requirement. A fire risk assessment helps identify potential hazards, assess who may be at risk, and put suitable measures in place to reduce the likelihood of fire and protect people if one occurs.

For businesses in Wales, a suitable and regularly reviewed fire risk assessment helps demonstrate that workplace fire risks are being managed in line with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and relevant Welsh fire safety guidance.

Whether you’re responsible for an office, warehouse, retail space, hospitality venue, healthcare setting, or industrial site, knowing how to conduct a fire risk assessment is essential for maintaining a safe and compliant workplace.

In this blog, we explain what a fire risk assessment is in more detail, why they matter for your business, and we provide expert knowledge on how to conduct a fire risk assessment in the workplace.

What is a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a structured review of your premises, processes, people, and fire safety arrangements. Its purpose is to identify potential fire hazards, assess the level of risk, and recommend actions that reduce the chance of a fire starting or spreading.

A proper assessment should look at:

• Sources of ignition – such as electrical equipment, heating systems, cooking equipment, machinery, or hot works
• Combustible materials – including packaging, paper, furniture, chemicals, waste, or stored goods
• People who may be at risk – including staff, visitors, contractors, customers, and vulnerable individuals
• Existing fire safety measures – such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, fire signage, fire doors, and escape routes
• Fire safety management processes – including fire safety training, maintenance, testing, evacuation procedures, and record-keeping

The findings should be documented clearly, with practical actions assigned where improvements are needed.

What do businesses need to know for fire risk assessments in Wales?

For businesses in Wales, fire risk assessments are a key part of meeting workplace fire safety responsibilities. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to Welsh workplaces and commercial premises, placing responsibility on the ‘Responsible Person’ to identify fire risks, take suitable precautions, and keep fire safety arrangements under review.

A fire risk assessment in Wales should consider the specific layout, use, occupancy, and hazards within the premises. This includes assessing ignition sources, combustible materials, escape routes, fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, staff training, and maintenance arrangements.

Whether you operate from an office, warehouse, retail unit, hospitality venue, healthcare setting, or industrial site, a professional fire risk assessment helps you understand where risks exist and what actions are needed to protect employees, visitors, and property.

For businesses with multiple sites, regular fire risk assessments can also help create consistency across your premises. This is particularly useful where buildings differ in size, use, occupancy, or fire safety systems.

How to conduct a fire risk assessment in the workplace

Conducting a thorough and comprehensive fire risk assessment in the workplace consists of five key steps, which are as follows:

Step 1: Identify potential fire hazards

The first step to conducting a fire risk assessment in the workplace is to identify anything that could start a fire, allow it to spread, or increase the level of risk within the building. This should involve a thorough inspection of your workplace, considering all areas, equipment, and processes.

You should also look for any potential sources of ignition and any combustible materials that could fuel a fire. Some common fire hazards in the workplace may include:

• Faulty or overloaded electrical equipment
• Cooking appliances and commercial kitchens
• Heating systems and portable heaters
• Flammable liquids, gases, or chemicals
• Waste materials and poor housekeeping
• Machinery and hot works
• Smoking areas or discarded smoking materials
• Stored combustible materials

Identifying fire risks in the workplace should also consider both day-to-day operations and less frequent activities, such as maintenance work, deliveries, cleaning processes, or temporary changes to the building.

Step 2: Identify people at risk

Once the fire hazards have been identified, the next step is to assess who could be affected if a fire occurred. Everyone in your workplace needs to be considered, so this may include:

• Employees
• Visitors
• Customers
• Contractors
• Tenants
• Members of the public
• People working alone
• People with reduced mobility
• Individuals unfamiliar with the building layout

The number of occupants and how people use the building at different times of the day should also be essential factors to consider. For example, a hotel, care setting, factory, or late-opening venue may have different fire safety needs compared with a standard office.

You should also consider whether Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) are required for individuals who may need additional support during an evacuation. For example, vulnerable individuals, such as people with disabilities, pregnant women, and those with mobility issues, may need additional assistance during an evacuation. Once identified, special considerations and provisions need to be put in place for their safe evacuation, which may involve adapting evacuation procedures or assigning a designated person to assist them.

As well as this, you should consider the layout of your workplace and the escape route. Everyone should be aware of fire procedures, including the location of fire exits, which means they need to be clearly marked, free of obstruction, and easily accessible.

Step 3: Implement protective measures

After identifying the hazards and potential people at risk, the next step to conducting a fire risk assessment in the workplace is to implement measures to help prevent and minimise fires. This will involve a two-pronged approach: creating a robust fire prevention plan and equipping your workplace with essential fire safety equipment. 

An effective fire prevention plan and fire safety plan will encompass a range of measures to minimise the risk of fire, such as: 

• Improving electrical safety and maintenance
• Keeping escape routes clear
• Installing or maintaining suitable fire alarms
• Providing the correct fire extinguishers
• Ensuring emergency lighting works correctly
• Maintaining fire doors and compartmentation
• Improving storage and housekeeping
• Training staff on fire safety procedures
• Reviewing evacuation routes and assembly points

It’s important to remember that protective measures should be proportionate to the level of risk in a workplace setting. For example, a small office may require a different fire safety setup to a warehouse, commercial kitchen, workshop, or multi-storey premises.

Taking preventative measures is key to minimising the risk of a fire, while protective measures come into play if a fire occurs, helping to contain and extinguish it.

Step 4: Record your findings and create an action plan

Documenting the findings of your workplace assessment and creating an action plan are crucial steps to conducting a fire risk assessment in the workplace. It demonstrates transparency, accountability, and preparedness, as well as it being crucial for compliance checks, insurance reviews, audits, and future inspections.

When recording your findings, you should clearly document the hazards identified, who may be at risk, the existing safety measures already in place, and any further action required. 

When putting together a well-defined action plan, it should include:

• What needs to be done
• Why the action is required
• Who is responsible
• The level of priority
• A target completion date
• Evidence once the action is complete

Your action plan should also outline evacuation routes, assembly points, and procedures for accounting for all individuals present. Evacuation procedures need to be easy to understand, and they should be displayed clearly throughout your building. It’s also wise to practise your emergency plan so that everyone is aware of the procedures, and that any issues are quickly identified and rectified.

For businesses in Wales, keeping clear fire safety records helps show that you’re taking your responsibilities seriously and maintaining a safer working environment.

Step 5: Regularly review and update your fire risk assessment

A fire risk assessment shouldn’t be treated as a one-off exercise. It should be reviewed regularly and updated whenever there are significant changes to your workplace. This ensures it remains relevant, effective, and compliant with fire safety legislation.

You’re fire risk assessment should be reviewed if:

• The building layout changes
• Occupancy levels increase
• New equipment or machinery is introduced
• Storage arrangements change
• A fire or near miss occurs
• Fire safety systems are upgraded
• Staff roles or working patterns change
• New hazards are introduced
• Your existing assessment is no longer accurate

By regularly reviewing your fire risk assessment, it helps identify whether previous actions have been completed and whether further improvements are needed. It also allows you to check whether your current preventative and protective measures continue to remain effective in the event of a fire.

What are some common fire risk assessment mistakes to avoid?

Many businesses understand the importance of fire safety but often make avoidable mistakes when carrying out or managing fire risk assessments in the workplace.

Some of the most common issues include:

• Treating the assessment as a one-time document
• Failing to review the assessment after building changes
• Not recording findings properly
• Ignoring small defects or recurring issues
• Overlooking vulnerable people or lone workers
• Failing to maintain fire alarms, fire extinguishers, or emergency lighting
• Allowing escape routes to become blocked
• Not providing staff with suitable fire safety training

Avoiding these mistakes helps ensure your fire risk assessment remains useful, accurate, and legally defensible.

When should you use a professional fire risk assessor?

When it comes to conducting a fire risk assessment, it’s strongly recommended that businesses use a professional assessor, like ours here at AFP Wales, especially when the premises are more complex or the risks are higher.

By appointing one of our fully qualified fire risk assessors, you’ll benefit from a clearer, more detailed view of your fire safety position and receive recommended practical steps to reduce risk. Our professional fire risk assessors also have extensive knowledge of fire safety legislation that will be applied during the assessment, meaning you can be sure you’re meeting your legal obligations and responsibilities.

If any of the following apply to your situation, you should seek expert help with your workplace fire risk assessment:

• Your premises is large, complex, or a multi-storey building
• You operate in a higher-risk sector
• You manage several buildings or sites
• You have vulnerable occupants or members of the public on site
• Your building has complex fire alarm, emergency lighting, or suppression systems
• You’ve received enforcement concerns or previous fire safety recommendations
• You’re unsure whether your current assessment is suitable and sufficient

Working with a competent fire risk assessor can help ensure your assessment reflects the relevant legal duties, your building layout, and the practical fire risks within your workplace.

Need help with your fire risk assessment?

As you can see, understanding how to conduct a fire risk assessment is crucial for the safety of your business, employees, and visitors. By identifying potential hazards, assessing fire risks in the workplace, implementing preventive measures, and ensuring regular reviews, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of a fire incident. 

At AFP Wales, we provide a huge range of fire safety services to businesses around Cardiff, Pontypridd, Newport, and across the UK thanks to the help of our partner brands and the backing of the LS Fire Group. Our team helps duty holders identify risks, understand their responsibilities, and take practical steps to improve fire safety.

We work with a wide range of commercial premises, including offices, warehouses, retail units, schools, healthcare environments, hospitality venues, industrial sites, and multi-site organisations.

If you need professional guidance on your fire risk assessment, or you’d like to learn more about how we can help conduct your assessment, get in touch with our experts today and book an appointment with us.