Fire Risk Assessments for Factories and Warehouses

In England and Wales, employers and other Responsible Persons controlling non-domestic premises must ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is completed and kept under review. The completed assessment and fire-safety arrangements must be recorded in full.

The government’s factories-and-warehouses guide covers large and small factories, manufacturing warehouses, storage warehouses and premises combining production and storage.

Where a site contains several occupiers, the landlord, employer, tenants and contractors may control different activities or precautions. Their arrangements must work together, particularly where they share escape routes, alarms, yards or firefighting facilities.

For the wider legal framework, see Fire Risk Assessment Legal Requirements Across the UK.

A suitable industrial fire risk assessment should consider:

• Manufacturing and storage activities
• Employees, visitors, drivers and contractors
• Ignition sources and combustible materials
• Dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres
• Fire detection, warning and emergency procedures
• Escape routes, exits and assembly arrangements
• Fire doors, compartmentation and smoke spread
• Sprinklers and other firefighting systems
• Shift patterns, lone working and maintenance
• Significant findings and required actions

The report should define the assessment boundaries, inaccessible areas, information reviewed and any specialist work required.

For the complete assessment process and legal responsibilities, see Fire Risk Assessments in the UK: The Complete Guide. The expected report contents are covered in What Should a Fire Risk Assessment Include?.

Factories may contain machinery, furnaces, extraction systems, hot surfaces, welding, cutting, paint processes and combustible waste. Warehouses can contain high fire loads, tall racking, packaging, charging areas and stock with very different fire behaviour.

The assessor should understand:

• What is manufactured, processed or stored
• Normal and maximum stock quantities
• How materials are arranged and separated
• Which processes create heat, sparks, dust or vapour
• How waste and spillages are controlled
• Whether machinery can be isolated safely
• How maintenance and breakdown work are managed

A report that simply lists extinguishers and exits without examining the work process is unlikely to provide a meaningful assessment of manufacturing premises. Official guidance requires the assessment to consider the activities taking place, the fire hazards created and the people who may be affected.

Where flammable liquids, gases, combustible dusts or other dangerous substances are present, the normal FRA may not be enough on its own.

The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 require employers to assess and control risks arising from fire, explosion and certain other dangerous properties. The assessment should consider the substances, the activities involving them and how people could be harmed.

Controls may include eliminating or reducing quantities, preventing releases, controlling ignition sources, providing ventilation, separating incompatible activities and identifying hazardous zones.

The fire risk assessor should establish whether a suitable DSEAR assessment exists and whether its findings affect evacuation, fire precautions or emergency arrangements. They should not claim to complete specialist hazardous-area classification without the required competence.

Industrial sites may contain employees, agency workers, maintenance teams, visiting engineers, delivery drivers and people working alone. Some may be unfamiliar with the layout or unable to hear a normal alarm because of machinery or hearing protection.

The assessment should consider the premises during:

• Peak production and staffing
• Night shifts
• Maintenance shutdowns
• Loading and dispatch periods
• Contractor works
• Reduced staffing or lone working

Large floor areas, long travel distances, mezzanines, conveyors, secure doors and external yards can complicate escape. Routes should remain available when stock is at its maximum and vehicles are loading.

Emergency arrangements should explain how machinery is left safely, who accounts for contractors and drivers, and how isolated workers receive a warning. The official factories-and-warehouses guide requires evacuation arrangements to reflect the people present, work activities and actual means of escape.

The warning system must be suitable for the noise, size and layout of the premises. Audible alarms may need to be supported by visual or other warning methods in high-noise areas. Shared sites should understand how tenant and landlord systems interact.

Fire-resisting construction can limit fire and smoke spread between production, storage, offices and escape routes. Altered conveyors, services and process equipment can create openings through compartments, while damaged doors or unsealed penetrations can undermine the intended protection.

A general FRA normally relies on visible and reasonably accessible evidence. Where hidden construction or widespread defects are suspected, see Fire Risk Assessment vs Compartmentation Survey.

Sprinklers or other suppression systems may be important to the site’s fire strategy, insurer requirements or business protection. Changes to storage height, commodity type or racking can affect whether the existing system remains suitable. Where specialist inspection or modification is needed, clients can use Fire Sprinkler Contractors.

Industrial fire safety depends heavily on management controls. The assessment should examine:

• Hot-work permits
• Contractor induction and supervision
• Housekeeping and waste removal
• Control of smoking and charging areas
• Inspection and maintenance records
• Isolation of alarms or suppression systems
• Procedures during shutdowns and breakdowns
• Staff training and drills

The FRA should be reviewed when processes, materials, racking, occupancy, layout or fire-safety systems change. It should also be reviewed after a fire, significant near miss or major remedial work. Article 9 requires review where an assessment may no longer be valid or where significant changes affect the premises.

For review frequency and triggers, see How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?.

A small workshop or straightforward warehouse may be assessed internally where the person has sufficient knowledge of fire safety and the activities taking place.

Professional assistance is more likely to be needed where the premises contain:

• Dangerous substances or explosive atmospheres
• High-bay or automated storage
• Complex manufacturing processes
• Large numbers of people or extensive floor areas
• Interconnected buildings or shared systems
• Significant compartmentation uncertainty
• Existing enforcement or insurer concerns

Knowing the process is valuable, but operational knowledge alone does not establish competence to assess escape, construction and fire-protection systems. See Can You Carry Out Your Own Fire Risk Assessment?.

England and Wales use the Fire Safety Order for relevant workplaces, alongside legislation such as DSEAR where dangerous substances are involved.

Scotland uses the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and related regulations. Current Scottish guidance covers existing industrial and other non-residential premises but recognises that specialist processes and high-hazard sites may require more specific expertise.

Northern Ireland has a separate statutory regime, and NIFRS publishes a dedicated factories-and-warehouses guide.

For a full comparison, see Fire Risk Assessment Legal Requirements Across the UK.

When comparing Fire Risk Assessment Companies, look for experience relevant to the actual processes, storage and hazards on the site.

Provide each company with:

• Site plans, floor areas and building use
• Occupancy and shift patterns
• Process descriptions
• Stock types and maximum quantities
• Dangerous-substance information
• Existing FRA, DSEAR assessment and action plan
• Alarm, suppression and maintenance records
• Known defects and access requirements

The quotation should identify the named assessor, site time, areas included, documents reviewed, report format and specialist exclusions.

For multi-site or formal appointments, see How Fire Risk Assessment Projects Are Tendered in the UK. The wider process is explained in How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works and Fire Protection Tenders in the UK: The Complete Guide.

Industrial recommendations should be clear enough to assign, prioritise and verify. The report should distinguish urgent precautions, management changes, specialist investigations and planned remedial work.

See Understanding a Fire Risk Assessment Action Plan for managing findings from assessment through to completion.

Manufacturers, warehouse operators, landlords and facilities teams can compare Fire Risk Assessment Companies with relevant industrial experience.

Fire risk assessors and consultancies can view Fire Risk Assessment Tenders for manufacturing, warehouse and industrial opportunities.

Does a warehouse need a fire risk assessment?

Yes, where it is a relevant workplace or non-domestic premises. The assessment must reflect the stock, layout, occupancy, equipment and operating conditions.

Is a DSEAR assessment part of the FRA?

The assessments overlap, but they are not identical. Where dangerous substances are present, a suitable DSEAR assessment may be required in addition to the general FRA.

Does the assessor need to inspect the racking?

The FRA should consider how racking affects fire load, escape, detection and suppression. It is not normally a structural racking inspection.

How often should an industrial FRA be reviewed?

It should be reviewed regularly and whenever processes, materials, storage, staffing, layout or fire precautions change.

Does an FRA include sprinkler testing?

No. The assessor may review records and consider whether suppression is appropriate, but detailed testing, servicing and design require competent specialist contractors.