AUGUST saw the publication of a new training framework for fire risk assessors to try to avoid another Grenfell Tower tragedy in which 72 people lost their lives, according to health and safety expert Andrew Wilkinson.
This means that landlords and owners of commercial properties and blocks of flats must ensure they employ a competent and highly qualified fire risk assessor. This professional must now show considerable competency including demonstrable technical knowledge, practical experience, and ethical conduct especially for those working in sensitive or high-stakes environments.
These professionals will be expected to have qualified at foundation, intermediate and then advanced levels – the latter expected in the most highrisk settings such a high rise buildings, schools, hospitals, care homes and ‘complex’ buildings.
Andrew Wilkinson of Secure Safety Solutions, based in Swindon, is currently undergoing training to becoming an Advanced assessor having already qualified at an intermediate level. He will complete his training by the end of this year.
“This formal clarity is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, the fire safety sector in the UK has undergone a period of painful reflection. The public inquiry exposed fundamental failures in how fire risk was understood, managed, and communicated from the use of combustible materials to the lack of clarity over who was responsible for protecting residents.
“This year marks a critical turning point. BS 8674:2025, expected to be published this month represents the final changes and what has been the biggest shift in fire legislation for many years.”
The impact will be that owners and landlords of large commercial premises or complex buildings with mixed residential use will have to ensure they employ a risk assessor who has proven Advanced level competence. Failure to do so could have far reaching consequences under HSE legislation. Enforcement action could be taken by a local fire service or local council and penalties can include substantial fines, imprisonment and a criminal record. Businesses can face legal action, closure as well as reputational damage.
For Andrew, who has run his own business for three years and was a health and safety specialist for 10 years before at Heathrow Airport, still sees fire risk assessments which are inadequate and wouldn’t meet the new legal requirements.
“I still see too many outdated assessments being used that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny today. Clients get in touch asking for a new fire risk assessment and will send over the previous one for reference.
“You open it and realise quickly: sections are missing, assessor qualifications aren’t listed, and the content includes generic control measures that don’t reflect the specific risks of the building.
“Most of the time, the client genuinely believed they were acting in good faith. Often, they had no idea the previous assessment wasn’t up to standard. But as soon as you start reviewing the documentation and walking the site, you notice the gaps areas of risk that had been overlooked, assumptions that had been made. And unfortunately, this isn’t rare. It happens in care homes, offices, high street shops places where people live and work
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which came into force in May 2022, added further duties especially for high-rise residential and mixed-use buildings. A designated ‘Responsible Person’ (business owner, board of trustees, premises owner) now has to provide building plans to the fire service, share external wall information, carry out regular inspections of lifts and firefighting equipment, and install secure information boxes which provide vital information for the fire service in an emergency situation.
“Too often, Grenfell is talked about in the past tense,” said Andrew, “but the lessons from that night are still shaping what good practice looks like today. What we learned is now woven into the standards and reforms coming into effect this year and next.
“Personally, I believe we need to keep pushing for higher standards not just because legislation demands it, but because morally and professionally, we know it’s the right thing to do. A fire risk assessment is not a document to file away. It’s a process designed to save lives.”
For more information visit Secure Saftey Solutions