How Often Should A Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?

A fire risk assessment is only effective if it reflects the current condition, layout, and use of your building. As businesses change over time, so do their fire risks, which is why regular reviews are essential for maintaining safety and compliance.

Whether you manage a restaurant, hotel, or any other type of commercial property, understanding how often a fire risk assessment should be reviewed helps ensure your responsibilities are being met and your fire safety measures remain fit for purpose.

In this blog, we explain when a fire risk assessment review is needed, what the law says, and how to decide the right review frequency for your premises.

What does the law say about fire risk assessment reviews?

As stated by GOV.UK and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the ‘Responsible Person’ must ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out, kept up to date, and a written record is kept. The responsible person is usually the employer, building owner, landlord, occupier, or anyone with control of the premises.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to workplaces and the common parts of buildings containing two or more domestic premises in England and Wales. It places legal duties on those in control of premises to undertake and record a fire risk assessment and maintain appropriate fire precautions.

In practical terms, this means your fire risk assessment and subsequent reviews should be more than just a tick box exercise. It should reflect the current condition, layout, use, and risk level of your building.

What is the recommended fire risk assessment review frequency?

While there is no single fixed fire risk assessment frequency that applies to every premises, best practice recommends annual reviews should be undertaken for commercial buildings. More frequent reviews may be required where the risk level is higher, the property changes often, or vulnerable people are present.

Some key triggers for a fire risk assessment review include:

• After significant changes to the building
• After a fire incident or near miss
• When there is a change in occupancy or use
• When new risks are introduced

By reviewing your fire risk assessment at the right intervals and responding promptly to changes within your premises, you can ensure your fire safety measures remain effective, compliant, and aligned with the real risks your building presents.

Are there any high-risk sectors that require more frequent reviews?

The frequency of fire risk assessment reviews can vary depending on the sector, building type, occupancy, and level of risk. Some environments are more dynamic or complex than others, which means annual reviews may not always be enough.

Some common high-risk sectors that often require more frequent reviews include:

Restaurants and hospitality

Restaurants, cafés, bars, and commercial kitchens often involve open flames, cooking oils, grease build up, electrical equipment, and changing layouts. New menus, kitchen refurbishments, or equipment upgrades can all introduce additional risk, making regular fire risk assessment reviews in this particular sector essential.

Hotels and accommodation

Hotels have sleeping occupants, high guest turnover, complex layouts, and guests who may be unfamiliar with escape routes. A fire risk assessment review may be needed after refurbishment, changes to room use, new fire alarm systems, or changes in occupancy levels.

Facilities management

Facilities managers often oversee multiple sites, mixed use buildings, or premises with changing tenants. A consistent review programme helps ensure compliance is maintained across each property and that responsibilities are clearly documented.

Care homes and HMOs

Care homes and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) often involve vulnerable residents, shared escape routes, and 24 hour occupancy. Reviews may need to be more frequently where residents have mobility needs, staffing levels change, or the building layout is altered.

The more complex the premises, the more important it is to set a clear fire risk assessment review frequency that reflects real world risk.

Who can carry out a review of a fire risk assessment?

It’s strongly recommended that a fire risk assessment review is carried out by a competent person, like our assessors here at Pyrotec. This means someone with the knowledge, experience, and understanding needed to identify fire hazards, assess risks, and recommend appropriate safety measures.

This is especially important for commercial or high risk environments such as restaurants, hotels, hospitality venues, facilities management portfolios, care homes, HMOs, industrial sites, and buildings with complex layouts.

By appointing a professional assessor, they can provide:

• An independent review of current risks
• Clear identification of non compliances
• Practical recommendations and prioritised actions
• Documentation to support audits, inspections, and insurance requirements
• Ongoing support with future reviews and remedial works

Using a competent provider, like Pyrotec, helps ensure your assessment is suitable, sufficient, and aligned with current fire safety expectations.

Key signs it’s time to review your fire risk assessment

Even if your next scheduled review is not due yet, certain changes should trigger an immediate reassessment. Below are some key signs that your fire risk assessment is due a review.

Structural or layout changes

Any change to your building structure or internal layout can affect fire safety. This includes refurbishments, extensions, changes to room use, new partitions, altered escape routes, or blocked access points.

For example, if a restaurant changes its kitchen layout, a hotel renovates guest corridors, or a facilities manager reconfigures tenant spaces, your existing fire risk assessment may no longer reflect the actual risks.

New fire safety equipment installed

Installing new fire safety equipment is a good thing, but it can also change how your fire strategy operates. New fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire doors, fire extinguishers, or kitchen fire suppression systems should be reflected in your fire risk assessment.

The review should confirm whether the equipment is suitable, correctly positioned, properly maintained, and understood by staff.

Change in staff levels or shift patterns

Changes in staffing can affect evacuation procedures and fire response. This is especially important where lone working, night shifts, seasonal staff, or high staff turnover are involved.

Hotels, hospitality venues, and care settings should pay particular attention to whether enough trained staff are available at all times to support evacuation and emergency procedures.

Change in business operations or stored materials

If your business introduces new equipment, processes, stock, or materials, the fire risk may increase. Examples include new cooking appliances, increased stock storage, flammable cleaning products, new machinery, or changes to waste handling.

Your assessment should be reviewed to ensure these new risks are identified and properly controlled.

Feedback from fire drills or real incidents

Fire drills, false alarms, near misses, and real incidents can all reveal weaknesses in your fire safety arrangements. These might include slow evacuation times, unclear signage, blocked routes, staff confusion, or equipment issues.

Any lessons learned should be recorded and used to update your fire risk assessment and action plan.

Get in touch for help with your fire risk assessment review

Understanding how often a fire risk assessment should be reviewed is essential for keeping your premises safe, compliant, and prepared. While annual reviews are a strong baseline for many businesses, your actual fire risk assessment review frequency should reflect your building, sector, occupancy, and risk level.

At Pyrotec, we provide professional fire risk assessment reviews for businesses across a wide range of sectors, including restaurants, hotels, hospitality, facilities management, care homes, HMOs, and commercial premises. Our experienced assessors deliver clear reports, practical recommendations, and ongoing support to help you meet your legal obligations with confidence.

If you need help reviewing your current fire risk assessment, or you’re unsure whether your existing document is still suitable, get in touch with us today. We’re here to help you stay compliant, protect your people, and manage fire risk effectively.