Fire Risk Assessment significant findings: from report to action plan

What the law asks for

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises, keep it under regular review, and keep a written record of the assessment. The record captures the significant findings — the risks identified and the measures needed to address them.

The significant findings are, in practice, your action plan. Each one points to something that must be done: a fire door repaired, an escape route cleared, emergency lighting confirmed, alarm servicing evidenced.

Who is responsible

The duty falls on whoever has control of the premises — employers, managers, occupiers and owners. In multi-tenanted buildings, each unit's responsible person holds the duty for their own area, and the duty extends to the common parts of multi-occupied residential buildings.

A responsible person with sufficient knowledge may carry out the assessment themselves using official sector guidance; otherwise they must appoint a competent person. Either way, accountability stays with the responsible person — the assessor's report is the starting point, not the finish line.

Turning findings into tracked actions

The gap most teams fall into is between receiving the report and acting on it. A 40-page PDF gets filed; the actions get retyped into a spreadsheet that drifts away from the source finding and its evidence.

A defensible approach keeps each action tied to its finding:

• Finding — what the assessor identified, with the report page reference
• Priority — Immediate, High, Medium or Low
• Owner — who is accountable for closing it
• Due date — driven by priority
• Evidence — the proof required to close it (photo, certificate, sign-off)
• Status — open, in progress, closed with proof

When to review

The Fire Safety Order sets no fixed periodic interval. The assessment must be kept current and reviewed whenever circumstances change materially, after an incident, or when a new assessment is produced. That makes a live action tracker — rather than an annual scramble — the practical way to stay current.

PropertyActions is an admin and recordkeeping tool. This guide explains the duty and the records involved; it is not legal advice and does not replace a competent person carrying out the statutory assessment.