FRA FAQ
Fire risk assessment questions, answered properly.
Every answer below is written against the actual UK legal framework: the Fire Safety Order 2005, the Building Safety Act 2022 and BS 9792:2025. No hedging, no filler, and a link trail to the deeper page whenever one exists.
- 42 questions answered
- Grounded in FSO 2005 and BS 9792:2025
- Written for UK housing
Legal requirements
Is it required, and who carries the duty?
Is it a legal requirement to have a fire risk assessment?
What the Fire Safety Order 2005 requires and from whom.
Is a fire risk assessment a legal requirement in the UK?
How the duty works across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Is risk assessment a legal requirement?
The general health and safety duty, and where fire fits within it.
Do I need a fire risk assessment if there are no common parts?
Single dwellings, shared areas and where the legal line sits.
Who is legally responsible for a risk assessment?
Duty holders, responsible persons and what cannot be delegated.
Who is the responsible person in a fire risk assessment?
How to identify the responsible person in blocks and workplaces.
Who is responsible if a fire risk assessment is not suitable and sufficient?
Where liability lands when an assessment falls short.
Do I need a fire risk assessment to sell my flat?
What buyers, lenders and solicitors expect to see for the block.
Do I need a fire safety certificate?
Why fire certificates no longer exist and what replaced them.
Cost and commissioning
What it costs and how to get one done.
How much does a fire risk assessment cost in the UK?
What drives the price and the ranges you should expect.
How much does FRA cost?
The quick answer, by assessment type and building size.
How much should a fire risk assessment cost?
What a fair quote includes and the red flags of a cheap one.
Who pays for a fire risk assessment?
Responsible persons, service charges and leaseholder costs.
How to obtain a fire risk assessment?
Commissioning one properly, from brief to signed report.
How long does it take to get a fire risk assessment?
Lead times, time on site and report turnaround, honestly.
Can I get a free fire safety check?
What fire and rescue services offer free, and what they do not.
Doing it yourself
Competence, self-assessment and who can hold the pen.
Can I do a fire risk assessment myself?
When self-assessment is defensible and when it is not.
Can I carry out a fire risk assessment myself?
What carrying one out involves, step by step.
Can I do a risk assessment myself?
The general rule for any risk assessment, fire included.
Can I write my own risk assessment?
The written record duty and what the document must contain.
Can anybody write a risk assessment?
The competence bar the law expects of whoever writes it.
Who can do a fire risk assessment for flats?
Who is allowed to assess the common parts of a block.
What is the new British standard for fire risk assessors?
BS 8674 competence criteria and BS 9792 methodology, explained.
Who fills out the risk assessment form?
Who completes the document and who must approve it.
Method and steps
The five steps and what a good assessment contains.
What are the 5 steps of a fire risk assessment?
The five-step method every UK fire risk assessment follows.
What are the 5 steps of risk assessment?
The generic HSE five steps and how fire assessments map to them.
What are the five-five basic of risk assessment 5 points?
The five points behind this often-garbled search, answered straight.
What is the first principle fire risk assessment?
Why hazard identification and prevention come before everything.
What's the first step in risk assessment?
Hazard identification, and how to do it thoroughly.
What should a fire risk assessment include?
The contents of a suitable and sufficient FRA, section by section.
What are the 5 things a risk assessment should include?
The five contents every risk assessment record needs.
What are some examples of fire hazards?
Ignition sources, fuel and oxygen in real UK buildings.
What are common mistakes in risk assessments?
The failures assessors and enforcing authorities see most.
Frequency and review
How often assessments need doing again.
How often should a fire risk assessment be done?
The legal review trigger and the cycles UK housing runs.
How often do you need a fire risk assessment UK?
UK review expectations, annual practice and trigger events.
How often should risk assessments be done?
Review cycles for risk assessments generally, fire included.
Rules, types and thresholds
Mnemonics, assessment types and height rules.
What are the 4 P's of fire safety?
The teaching mnemonic, explained and put in its place.
What are the 5 principles of fire safety?
The principles trainers teach and the law behind them.
What are the 5 key elements of fire safety?
Prevention, detection, escape, containment and management.
What are the five fire safety rules?
The informal rules, and the statutory duties they simplify.
What is the 11 Metre rule?
What the 11 metre height threshold changes for a building.
What are the four types of fire risk assessment?
Type 1 to Type 4 FRAs and how to choose between them.
Turn answers into assessments.
FRA Flow is the BS 9792-native platform UK assessors use to capture evidence on site and issue reviewed, signed reports. Free tier, no card.