Why Fire Safety Must Be Considered Early in Design

Why Early Fire Safety Input Matters

Of all the decisions made on a building project, those made earliest have the greatest impact — and fire safety is no exception. The design decisions taken at RIBA Stage 2 and 3 determine the fundamental fire safety strategy for the entire building: how many staircases it will have, whether sprinklers are required, where the means of escape routes will run, and how the building will be compartmented. Getting these decisions right at the outset is far easier and cheaper than correcting them later.

Yet fire safety is consistently one of the last specialisms to be appointed on a building project. Architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical consultants, and planning consultants are typically in place long before a fire engineer is considered. By the time fire engineering input is sought, critical decisions have already been made — sometimes irreversibly so.

The Cost of Late Fire Engineering Appointment

The financial and programme consequences of late fire engineering input can be severe. Common examples include:

• Staircase configuration — a building designed with a single staircase that a fire engineer subsequently concludes requires two staircases. Adding a second staircase at Stage 4 requires significant plan reconfiguration, loss of saleable floor area, and potential redesign of the structural system.
• Travel distance failures — corridor layouts that exceed maximum travel distances to protected escape routes. Resolved at Stage 2 by adjusting the core position; resolved at Stage 4 by expensive plan reconfigurations or performance-based engineering justifications.
• Sprinkler requirements — for buildings where sprinklers trigger a cascade of code trade-offs (allowing increased travel distances, reduced compartmentation, etc.), late discovery that sprinklers are required can invalidate assumptions made throughout the design.
• External wall materials — selection of external wall systems that do not comply with regulation 7(2) for buildings over 18 metres. Identified at Stage 2, the architect selects an alternative cladding system at no cost. Identified at Stage 5, the cladding is already installed and must be replaced.

What a Fire Engineer Contributes at Each Early Stage

At RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design), the fire engineer establishes the fundamental fire safety strategy: escape route philosophy, compartmentation concept, evacuation strategy, and the principle decisions about sprinklers, smoke control, and firefighting facilities. These decisions directly inform the architect's planning and the structural engineer's design.

At RIBA Stage 3 (Spatial Coordination), the fire engineer develops the concept into a coordinated fire strategy, checks travel distances against the developing layout, and produces the fire statement or Gateway 1 document required for planning submission. Any fire safety issues with the planning layout are identified and resolved before planning permission is sought.

At RIBA Stage 4 (Technical Design), the fire engineer produces the full technical fire strategy for building control or Gateway 2 submission. With the fire safety strategy already established at Stage 2, this is a process of documenting and detailing an agreed approach — not discovering problems for the first time.

Fire Safety and the Gateway Process

For higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Act 2022's gateway process makes early fire engineering appointment not just advisable but practically essential. Gateway 1 requires a fire statement at planning stage. Gateway 2 requires comprehensive fire safety documentation before construction can commence. A project that has not had fire engineering input from the early design stages will struggle to assemble the required documentation at these gateways — and delays at Gateway 2 mean construction cannot start.

Integrating Fire Safety into the Design Team

The most effective approach is to treat the fire engineer as a core design team member from Stage 2, attending regular design team meetings, reviewing design information as it develops, and coordinating with the architect, structural engineer, and MEP consultants. Fire safety is not a standalone discipline — it intersects with every aspect of building design, and a fire engineer who is present at design team meetings will resolve issues before they become problems.