Article · Fire Safety · 19 August 2026
Fire Risk Assessment: the Starting Point, and the Five Steps
The fire risk assessment is the starting point of the fire duty, and the starting point is the walk. The five steps are the same as the general risk assessment — identify, decide, evaluate, record, review — and the fire version is the fire triangle: the ignition source, the fuel, and the oxygen. This article is the fire risk assessment in working form: the starting point, the five steps, and the review.
The starting point: the walk, and the triangle
The fire risk assessment starts at the walk, and the walk is the starting point. The walk is the slow walk of the workplace with the fire triangle in mind: the ignition source (the heat, the spark, the flame, the electrical, the static), the fuel (the paper, the wood, the solvent, the packaging, the furniture), and the oxygen (the air, the ventilation, the oxidiser).
The triangle is the fire: the three, and the one removed is the fire not started. The walk is the one that finds the three, and the three are the hazard that is the assessed.
Step 1 — Identify the fire hazards
The first step is the identification of the fire hazards, and the hazard is the triangle. The ignition source is the heat, the spark, the flame, the electrical fault, the static, and the hot work. The fuel is the paper, the wood, the solvent, the packaging, and the furniture. The oxygen is the air, the ventilation, and the oxidiser.
The identification is the area by the area: the kitchen (the heat, the grease), the store (the paper, the solvent), the workshop (the hot work, the spark), and the office (the electrical, the furniture). The triangle is the hazard, and the hazard is the identified one.
Step 2 — Identify the people at risk
The second step is the identification of the people at risk, and the people are the one the fire finds. The employees are the work, the fuel, and the ignition. The visitors are the not-trained, and the not-known route. The vulnerable are the disabled, the elderly, and the child. The night shift is the few, and the few is the one that is not the full complement.
The people at risk are the one the escape is designed for: the route, the assembly, and the count. The vulnerable are the one the PPE and the warden are designed for. The people are the risk, and the risk is the assessed one.
Step 3 — Evaluate, and control the risk
The third step is the evaluation and the control, and the control is the removal of the triangle. The evaluate is the score: the likelihood (the ignition source, the fuel, the fire), the consequence (the person, the kill), and the matrix. The control is the removal: the ignition source removed (the hot work control, the electrical maintenance), the fuel reduced (the storage, the packaging), and the oxygen limited (the ventilation, the oxidiser).
The control that is the not-removed is the detection, the suppression, and the escape: the detection (the smoke, the heat, the alarm), the suppression (the extinguisher, the sprinkler), and the escape (the route, the lighting, the assembly). The control is the risk that is the reduced one, and the reduced is the acceptable one.
Step 4 — Record, and brief
The fourth step is the record and the brief, and the record is the document. The record is the FRA document: the ignition source, the fuel, the oxygen, the person, the score, the control, and the review date. The record is the line, and the line is the document that is the fire service and the inspector read.
The brief is the one that makes the record the alive: the crew brief, the induction, and the sign. The brief is the one that knows the route, the assembly, and the extinguisher. The record and the brief are the step, and the step is the documented one.
Step 5 — Review, and update
The fifth step is the review and the update, and the review is the alive. The review is the calendar: the annual, and the site practice. The update is the change: the new layout, the new process, the new fuel, the new ignition source, and the incident. The review that is the change is the one that keeps the FRA the current one.
The review is the step that makes the FRA the living document: the annual check, and the change trigger. The FRA that is the reviewed is the FRA that is the suitable and sufficient one — and the suitable and sufficient is the legal one.
Fire Risk Assessment Template (HSE): what goes on the form
The HSE fire risk assessment template runs the five steps on one form: the hazard (the ignition source, the fuel, the oxygen, by area), the people at risk (the worker, the visitor, the night shift, the disabled, the contractor), the evaluation and the control (the detection, the suppression, the escape, the lighting, the management), the record and the brief (the written assessment, the briefing to the crew), and the review and the update (the trigger, the date, the change). The form is the one in the Toolkit — the fire risk assessment tool — and the template that fails is the one where the review date is a year old and the hot work room is not on the map.
Which Step Is Part of a Fire Risk Assessment? (the Exam Answer)
The five steps, in order: identify the fire hazards, identify the people at risk, evaluate and control the risk, record and brief, and review and update. The exam distractor is the one that says "ignore the possible ignition sources" — the ignition source is the first step, not the ignored one. The fire risk assessment that is missing the ignition source is the assessment that fails the audit, and the one that is missing the review is the assessment that is a photograph, not a system.
Need the sign-off, not just the article?
The article is the preparation; the sign-off is the professional. For the statutory assessments, the audits, the ISO 45001 implementation and the training that comes with them, ask Muhammad Umer — 8+ years across Iraq, KSA and Pakistan, and the programme runs through umer-hse.pro. One message gets the written scope.
Common questions
Fire Risk Assessment — answered
What is a fire risk assessment?
The assessment of the fire risk at the workplace: identify the fire hazards (the ignition source, the fuel, the oxygen), identify the people at risk, evaluate and control the risk, record the findings, and review on the calendar and the change. The UK Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires it — the duty is the responsible person, and the assessment is the suitable and sufficient one.
Who needs to do a fire risk assessment?
The responsible person: the employer in the work premises, the building owner, or the person with control of the premises. The five or more employee workplace is the written one; the below-five is the mental one, the recorded. The fire risk assessment is the duty of the responsible person, and the duty is the RRO 2005.
What are the 5 steps of a fire risk assessment?
The five: identify the fire hazards (the ignition source, the fuel, the oxygen), identify the people at risk (the employee, the visitor, the vulnerable, the night shift), evaluate and control the risk (the removal of the triangle, the detection, the suppression, the escape), record and brief (the FRA document, the crew brief), and review and update (the annual, the change).
What is the fire triangle?
The three sides of the fire: the ignition source (the heat, the spark, the flame, the electrical, the static), the fuel (the paper, the wood, the solvent, the packaging), and the oxygen (the air, the ventilation, the oxidiser). The three together is the fire, and the one removed is the fire not started — the control is the removal of the side.
How often should the fire risk assessment be reviewed?
The annual minimum, and the change: the new layout, the new process, the new fuel, the new ignition source, and the incident. The review is the calendar and the change trigger, and the reviewed FRA is the suitable and sufficient one. The fire service reads the review date, and the review date is the current one.
What is the difference between a fire risk assessment and a general risk assessment?
The hazard and the triangle. The general risk assessment is the hazard of the work (the manual handling, the electrical, the chemical) on the 5-step. The fire risk assessment is the fire hazard (the ignition source, the fuel, the oxygen) on the same 5-step. The UK RRO 2005 makes the fire version the separate duty, and the separate duty is the separate document.
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Safety disclaimer
The articles on this blog are practical guidance, built to the UK baseline with the US equivalents named in the text. They do not replace a competent person assessment for high-risk work, a statutory assessment, or the advice of your insurer. Where a duty has legal force — the fire risk assessment, the risk assessment, the COSHH register — the responsible person owns it. Read the article as the preparation, and take the sign-off from the competent person.