Most older buildings never had one. Increasingly, someone will ask to see it.
A fire strategy is recommended for all new and existing complex buildings, and a shopping centre or large commercial building almost certainly qualifies. On an existing building, a retrospective fire strategy extends the remit of the statutory fire risk assessment and sets down what the building's fire safety is actually designed to achieve.
What we do
Stage 1. Planning.
A remote meeting to understand the property and identify the documentation needed, followed by a review of fire engineering reports, fire plans and door schedules. Most documentation must reach us before the site visit is booked, because the consultant verifies it on site. You receive a Fire Strategy Planning Summary Report confirming scope, the guidance being applied and anything still outstanding.
Stage 2. Site visit.
Inspection of all relevant areas in scope, verifying the documentation against the building as it actually stands.
Stage 3. Report.
The fire strategy itself.
Stage 4. Review.
Strongly recommended three to six months after publication, once any further documentation the report calls for has been located.
What you get
- Executive summary and principal fire safety features
- Report limitations and development description
- Goals, objectives and performance requirements, with the legislation and guidance applied
- Building population and occupancy capacities
- Means of warning and escape, covering alarm and detection and both horizontal and vertical escape
- Emergency lighting and escape signage
- Internal fire spread and structural fire protection: load bearing elements, compartment construction, fire doors, concealed spaces, and protection of openings and fire stopping
- External fire spread
- Fire service access and facilities
- Management strategy, conclusions and appendices
Why it matters
Solicitors, lenders and managing agents increasingly ask for a fire strategy during sales, leasing and refinancing. Building Control often requires one before approving alterations. Fire risk assessments and insurers frequently recommend one. And it is required for Building Safety Case Reports on higher-risk buildings. The document has quietly become a transaction gate as much as a safety one.
Why Vantify
Retrospective strategies for occupied buildings, plus bespoke fire design consultancy where clients are planning renovations or layout changes and need specific guidance.
Scope and limitations
A fire strategy visit is not a repeat of the fire risk assessment. It does not seek to identify specific fire safety hazards and corrective actions; it addresses broader fire safety management themes. Unlike a fire risk assessment, which covers life safety only, the strategy covers both life safety and property protection.
0203 337 3575
enquiries@vantify.com