How Often Should a Fire Strategy Be Reviewed?

A Fire Strategy Is Not a One-Off Document

A fire strategy is produced at a specific point in time to describe the fire safety design of a building as it was at that moment. Buildings change — they are refurbished, extended, altered, and managed differently over their lifetimes. A fire strategy that accurately described a building when it was first produced may no longer reflect reality if the building has been modified, if its occupancy has changed, or if fire safety standards have evolved significantly since the strategy was written.

Understanding when a fire strategy needs to be reviewed or updated is therefore an important part of fire safety management for any building owner, accountable person, or managing agent.

Triggers That Require an Immediate Review

A fire strategy should be reviewed immediately when any of the following occur:

• Significant structural alterations — any work that affects compartment walls, floors, fire doors, or structural fire protection elements requires a review of the fire strategy to confirm that the intended compartmentation is maintained
• Change of use — a change in the occupancy of the building or a significant part of it may change the applicable fire safety requirements and invalidate the assumptions in the existing fire strategy
• Extension or additional floors — adding floor area or height to a building can change the building classification, the required fire resistance periods, and the means of escape configuration
• Changes to fire safety systems — replacement or significant modification of the fire detection system, sprinkler system, smoke control system, or emergency lighting system requires the fire strategy to be updated to reflect the new provisions
• Building Safety Regulator requirements — for higher-risk buildings, the BSR can require a review and update of the fire strategy as part of the building safety case process or in response to a BSR direction
• Following a fire or near-miss — any fire or serious incident in a building should prompt a review of the fire strategy to assess whether it remains adequate and whether the incident has revealed any deficiencies

Periodic Review in the Absence of Changes

Where a building has not changed materially, a fire strategy does not require periodic review on a fixed calendar basis in the same way that a fire risk assessment does. The fire risk assessment — which addresses the operational management of fire risk in the occupied building — should be reviewed annually or when significant changes occur. The fire strategy — which addresses the physical design of the building — is reviewed when the design changes.

That said, for higher-risk buildings, it is good practice to review the fire strategy periodically — typically every five years — to confirm that it remains consistent with the building as occupied, that no undocumented changes have been made that affect the fire safety provisions, and that the strategy remains adequate in light of any changes to applicable standards or guidance.

When a New Fire Strategy Is Required Rather Than a Review

A review of an existing fire strategy updates and confirms the existing document. In some circumstances, a new fire strategy is required rather than a review:

• Where no original fire strategy exists and one is needed for a building safety case or other purpose — in this case, a retrospective fire strategy is required
• Where the existing fire strategy is so out of date or so inconsistent with the current building that updating it is impractical
• Where the building has been so extensively altered that the original strategy no longer provides a useful baseline