Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle
If you own, manage, or control premises in Newcastle, you must manage fire risk in a structured and documented way. Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle sits at the centre of that duty. You need an assessment that identifies who is at risk, what could cause a fire, how fire and smoke could spread, and what general fire precautions you must provide and maintain. Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires you to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and keep it under review.
This in depth guide explains how Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle works in practice, what you receive when you appoint Anstey Horne, and how you use the findings to stay compliant and reduce real world risk. We focus on buildings across Newcastle, including city centre mixed use buildings, offices, retail units, industrial and logistics sites, education buildings, healthcare settings, and residential blocks with common parts.
Why Fire Risk Assessments matter for your building
Fire risk management is not a paper exercise. In Newcastle, enforcement activity continues to increase, with fire and rescue authorities focusing on documented compliance, competence of assessors, and evidence that actions identified in assessments are completed.
Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle gives you three clear outcomes.
First, you meet your legal duties under fire safety legislation. Second, you reduce the likelihood of fire and limit harm if a fire occurs. Third, you gain a clear and prioritised action plan that supports budget planning and risk based decision making.
You remain legally responsible for fire safety even if you appoint managing agents or contractors. A professional fire risk assessment provides you with defensible evidence that you understand your risks and have taken proportionate steps to control them.
Who needs Fire Risk Assessments
You must arrange Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle if you are the responsible person or dutyholder for almost any non domestic premises or residential building with common parts.
This includes employers, landlords, freeholders, managing agents, property management companies, and right to manage companies. It also includes those with shared control over premises, such as tenants in multi occupied buildings.
In Newcastle, common examples include office buildings, shops, restaurants, warehouses, factories, schools, colleges, HMOs, student accommodation, and blocks of flats with shared staircases and corridors.
If your building contains both commercial and residential uses, you need a coordinated approach. Non housing areas follow PAS 79 1, while residential common parts follow BS 9792.
What a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment means in practice
The law does not define suitable and sufficient in simple terms. In practice, Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle must do the following :
- Identification of fire hazards. This includes sources of ignition, fuel, and oxygen.
- Identification of people at risk. This includes employees, residents, visitors, and vulnerable occupants.
- Evaluation of existing fire precautions. This covers detection, warning, escape, compartmentation, and management.
- Establishes a clear action plan. Actions must be prioritised, proportionate, and assigned ownership and timescales.
A suitable and sufficient assessment reflects how the building is actually used, not how it was designed on paper. It considers management arrangements, maintenance regimes, and occupant behaviour. It avoids generic statements and focuses on building specific risks.
Our approach to Fire Risk Assessments
Anstey Horne delivers Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle using a structured, evidence led process. We tailor every assessment to the building, its use, and its occupants.
The project starts with a clear scope and confirm whether the assessment covers non housing premises under PAS 79-1 or residential common parts under BS 9792. We agree inspection extent, access requirements, and any known concerns such as historic alterations or previous enforcement.
We then carry out a site inspection. Our assessors review means of escape, fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting, signage, firefighting equipment, compartmentation, fire doors, smoke control systems, and facilities for fire and rescue service use. We also assess fire safety management, including testing records, training, and maintenance.
We do not rely on assumptions. Where we cannot confirm construction or fire stopping visually, we record limitations clearly and recommend proportionate follow up where justified.
Finally, we produce a clear written report. You receive a risk evaluation, a prioritised action plan, and practical recommendations that you can implement.
Fire Risk Assessments for non domestic premises
For offices, retail, industrial, and public buildings in Newcastle, Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle follows PAS 79 1. This provides a nine step methodology that aligns with UK fire safety legislation.
The assessment focuses on how people use the building day to day. For example, in offices we review escape route travel distances, fire alarm audibility, and fire door condition. In warehouses we focus on fire load, storage arrangements, and ignition sources from plant and machinery. In retail and hospitality settings we assess public escape routes, signage clarity, and staff training.
You receive an action plan that distinguishes between immediate life safety issues, short term improvements, and longer term upgrades. This allows you to prioritise spend without losing sight of compliance.
Fire Risk Assessments for residential buildings
For blocks of flats, HMOs, and other housing with common parts, Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle follows BS 9792. This standard replaced PAS 79 2 and sets the benchmark for housing fire risk assessments.
The assessment focuses on common parts only unless the agreed scope includes dwellings. We review compartmentation, fire doors to flats, escape stair protection, smoke ventilation, and fire safety management. We also consider the evacuation strategy, whether stay put or simultaneous evacuation, and whether it remains appropriate.
Where buildings fall within scope of the Fire Safety England Regulations 2022 and the Fire Safety Residential Evacuation Plans England Regulations 2025, we align our assessment with those duties. This includes consideration of person centred fire risk assessments and building emergency evacuation plans where applicable.
Common Newcastle property types and specific risks
Newcastle includes a wide range of building types, each with distinct fire risks.
City centre mixed use buildings often suffer from unclear responsibility between commercial and residential areas. Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle clarifies dutyholder roles and ensures consistent fire safety measures across the building.
Student accommodation presents high occupant turnover and varied levels of fire safety awareness. We focus on management controls, signage clarity, and robustness of fire detection and alarm systems.
Older industrial buildings often include unprotected steel, historic alterations, and increased fire load. We assess whether existing measures remain proportionate and identify pragmatic improvements.
Residential blocks built or refurbished in different eras often show inconsistent fire stopping and door standards. Our assessments highlight where targeted surveys or remedial works provide the greatest risk reduction.
Reviewing and updating Fire Risk Assessments
Fire risk assessment is not a one off task. You must review it regularly and when significant change occurs.
Triggers for review include alterations to the building, changes in occupancy or use, fire incidents or near misses, and updates to legislation or guidance. Even without change, most buildings require review at least annually.
Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle includes a clear review recommendation. We also offer ongoing support to help you manage actions and plan future reviews.
Competence and independence
The competence of the assessor matters. Enforcement authorities increasingly scrutinise who carried out the assessment and whether they had appropriate knowledge and experience.
Anstey Horne provides Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle through competent professionals with experience across residential and non residential buildings. We maintain independence from maintenance contractors, which ensures our advice remains impartial and risk focused.
What you receive from Fire Risk Assessments in Newcastle
You receive a clear written report tailored to your building. The report includes a description of the premises, identification of hazards and people at risk, evaluation of fire precautions, and a structured action plan.
Actions are prioritised by risk. We explain why each action matters and what outcome it achieves. This helps you brief contractors, justify budgets, and demonstrate compliance to enforcing authorities.
Why choose Anstey Horne for Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle
You benefit from a consultancy approach rather than a checklist service. We understand buildings, legislation, and how fire safety interacts with asset management.
We work with managing agents, landlords, developers, and occupiers across the UK. In Newcastle, we bring local knowledge together with national technical standards.
Our aim is simple. We help you understand your risks, meet your duties, and make proportionate decisions that improve safety.
FAQs - Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle
Who is responsible for Fire Risk Assessments
The responsible person or dutyholder must arrange the assessment. This is usually the employer, landlord, freeholder, or managing agent, depending on who controls the premises.
How often do I need a Fire Risk Assessments
You must keep the assessment under review. Most buildings require review at least annually, or sooner if significant change occurs.
Do Fire Risk Assessments include fire door inspections.
A fire risk assessment includes a visual inspection of fire doors. Where condition or performance cannot be confirmed, we may recommend a separate detailed fire door survey.
Do residential buildings in Newcastle need Fire Risk Assessments.
Yes. Residential buildings with common parts require an assessment of those areas. Private dwellings themselves are excluded, but flat entrance doors and compartmentation form part of the assessment.
Is a Fire Risk Assessment a legal requirement.
Yes. Fire safety legislation requires a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for almost all non domestic premises and residential common parts.
Can you help implement actions identified in Fire Risk Assessments
We remain independent from contractors but can support you by explaining actions, prioritising works, and reviewing proposals.
Conclusion
Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle provides the foundation for effective fire safety management. It helps you meet legal duties, protect people, and manage buildings responsibly. When carried out properly, it gives you clarity rather than confusion.
If you need Fire Risk Assessments Newcastle delivered by experienced professionals with a practical understanding of buildings, Anstey Horne can help. We provide clear advice, proportionate recommendations, and assessments you can rely on.
Need help with a Fire Risk Assessment?
Anstey Horne’s expert team of fire safety professionals are here to assist with legally compliant fire risk assessments, retrospective fire strategies, and FRAEW appraisals for commercial and residential buildings across the UK. Whether you manage a single block or a national portfolio, we can help you stay safe and compliant.
Get in touch with us today to arrange a no-obligation consultation - please call 020 4534 3130.
If you would rather we called you instead, please fill in our Contact form and we will be in touch.
For further information on all aspects of this service see the collection of articles in our blog.
To commission a Fire Risk Assessment please call 020 4534 3130.
For further information on Fire Risk Assessment, Retrospective Fire Strategies, FRAEWs or advice in respect of your obligations as a building owner, developer or manager, please contact :
Sarah Taylor
Business Support Manager
Building Surveying
London