Fire Risk Assessments
Advanced Overwatch carries out fire risk assessments for non-domestic premises across Northern Ireland.
If you are responsible for a non-domestic premises in Northern Ireland, fire safety law requires a suitable fire risk assessment. We carry them out on site and hand you a clear, prioritised action plan, not a pile of jargon. Assessments are carried out at any premises across Northern Ireland.
Thousands of premises secured since 2017
What this service covers
A structured, on-site assessment with findings you can act on.
On-site assessment
Escape routes, ignition sources, detection, signage, emergency lighting and management arrangements assessed in person.
Prioritised action plan
Findings ranked by risk with practical recommendations, so you know what to fix first and why.
Review & reassessment schedule
A documented review date and reassessment when your premises or its use changes.
How we carry out an assessment
Before the visit
Preparation. A fire risk assessment begins before the visit, with a request for plans, the previous assessment, service records and the occupancy pattern, so time on site is spent looking rather than gathering paperwork.
At your premises
On site. We walk the escape routes end to end and look at ignition sources and fuel, detection and warning, emergency lighting, signage, final exits, fire doors, storage of flammables, and the arrangements for anyone who would need help to leave.
People and procedures. We talk to the people who actually run the building about drills, training, the evacuation plan and how contractors are managed.
After the assessment
Report. Findings are written up as a significant findings record with an action plan ranked by risk and a review date.
Follow up. Where actions involve detection, emergency lighting, signage or servicing we quote separately.
Who carries the duty and which premises are covered
The duty falls on whoever has control of the premises. In most cases that is the employer. It can also be the occupier, the owner, a managing agent, a landlord for the common parts, or the organiser of an event in a temporary structure.
Non domestic premises covers far more than offices and factories: shops, workshops, warehouses, farm buildings used for work, hotels and guest houses, licensed premises, surgeries, care and residential settings, schools, community halls, churches, sports clubs, and the common areas of blocks of flats.
It matters most where people sleep, where the public are unfamiliar with the building, where mobility is limited, or where a process introduces a serious ignition source. If you cannot produce a current written assessment, or the one you hold predates a change of use or of tenant, it needs doing again.
The law, questions to ask and what happens next
In Northern Ireland the duty comes from Articles 25 and 26 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, with the detail set out in the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. Regulation 8 requires the specified information to be recorded where you employ five or more employees, where a licence is required for the premises, or where an alterations notice is in force. Regulation 3 requires it to be reviewed regularly, and again where there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. Regulation 10 covers fire safety arrangements and Regulation 16 covers maintenance of the equipment the assessment relies on. PAS 79-1 from BSI is a published methodology for premises other than housing.
Worth asking any assessor: what their competence is based on; whether the report separates significant findings from general advice; whether the action plan is ranked by risk; whether they will explain it to the people who run the building; and whether they are also selling the fixes.
Fire risk assessment questions
Is a fire risk assessment a legal requirement?
Yes, for virtually all non-domestic premises in Northern Ireland the responsible person must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Who is the responsible person?
Usually the employer, occupier or owner. If that is you, the duty to have an assessment carried out sits with you.
How often should it be reviewed?
Regularly, and always after significant changes to the premises, its use or its occupants. We set a review schedule as part of the assessment.
What do I get at the end?
A written assessment with a prioritised action plan, suitable for inspections, insurers and your own planning.
Can you also fix the issues you find?
Many of them, yes: detection, emergency lighting, signage and alarm servicing are all services we deliver, and we will quote separately and honestly for any works.
Do I legally have to have a fire risk assessment?
If you have control of non domestic premises in Northern Ireland then yes, a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is required. Whether the significant findings must be written down depends on the number of employees, on any licence and on any alterations notice. In practice a written record is what an inspector, an insurer and a tribunal will ask for, so we record every assessment.
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?
It has to be reviewed regularly, and again whenever there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change: an extension, a change of use, new tenants, new processes, altered escape routes, or a fire or near miss. We put a review date on every assessment so it never drifts.
How much does a fire risk assessment cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of the building, how many floors and escape routes there are, whether people sleep on the premises, and whether usable documentation exists. We look at that before quoting and give you a fixed quote after a free survey.
Ready to get started?
Book a fire risk assessment with Advanced Overwatch. We will survey the premises, talk to the people who run it and deliver the plan.
What happens next: book your assessment. We will survey the premises, talk to the people who run it and hand you a plan in plain English, with a fixed quote after a free survey for any works.
Related pages
Why choose Advanced Overwatch
Established in 2017 and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and ISO 45001, we work from our own base at Beresford House in Coleraine. Fire risk assessments are carried out on site by qualified staff, and the significant findings are recorded in writing with an action plan ranked by risk.