Fire Strategy Plan

A fire strategy plan is a complex document specifically tailored to a building, reviewing all aspects of the building’s fire safety features, including management arrangements in place to ensure it is fit for use for the end user of the premises or intended purpose group.

Approved documents are used predominantly as guidance for achieving the requirements of the Building Regulations for new residential and commercial buildings. However, they are not lawfully enforced, unlike the Building Regulations. Alternatively, associated approaches may be used such as that described in BS 9999, or a fire engineered approach in developing a fire strategy for a premises.

A fire strategy plan looks at the building as a whole, taking into account how the building is constructed, the compartmentation strategy and means of escape. As mentioned above, they are created at the design stage and dictate how it is constructed, the materials used, and how it should be used by its inhabitants. In this way it is a more proactive document than a fire risk assessment. 

A fire risk assessment is carried out once a building is constructed and is in use. It is done on a regular basis and looks at any potential fire hazards in the building and what should be done to put them right. As a result, a fire risk assessment is more reactive to fire safety issues and does not look at how the building is constructed, the materials used etc. 

Where a building is erected or extended, or has undergone a material change of use, Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations requires that a package of fire safety information must be assembled and given to the responsible person of the premises.

A fire strategy is commonly used as a means for collating and providing that information – albeit in many circumstances such information is sadly not provided. More enlightened building owners, given the recommendations made in the post Grenfell, Hackitt Review, are now commissioning retrospective strategies to address this lack of information.