How to Compare Fire Risk Assessment Quotes

Before comparing prices, check each fire risk assessment quotation against the issued tender pack.

The comparison should confirm that:

• The same properties and areas are included
• The required assessment type has been understood
• Existing documents will be reviewed
• Access requirements have been allowed for
• The same report and action-plan outputs are included
• The proposed completion timescales are achievable
• Optional and specialist services are identified separately

A quotation covering visible communal areas only cannot be compared directly with one that includes sample flats, roof spaces, service risers or intrusive inspection.

Where bidders have interpreted the requirement differently, clarify the scope before selecting a preferred provider. What Clients Should Include in a Fire Risk Assessment Tender Pack explains how building data, access requirements and deliverables should be defined before quotations are requested.

The first technical check is whether the proposed methodology matches the building and the required assessment.

Depending on the premises, the quotation should explain how the assessor will consider:

• Fire hazards and people at risk
• Escape routes and evacuation arrangements
• Fire alarm and emergency-lighting provisions
• Fire doors and visible compartmentation
• Firefighting equipment
• Management procedures and maintenance records
• Previous recommendations and outstanding actions
• Areas requiring further specialist investigation

The responsible person must ensure that the fire risk assessment is suitable and sufficient, maintain a written record and review it regularly. Appointing an external assessor does not remove those responsibilities, so the selection process should demonstrate suitable care rather than relying on price alone.

Further guidance is available through the GOV.UK guidance on workplace fire risk assessments.

A standard FRA does not automatically include detailed fire-door inspections, intrusive compartmentation surveys, fire alarm design or external-wall appraisals. If one bidder includes specialist surveys and another excludes them, the totals are not comparable.

Where the boundary between the services is unclear, Compartmentation Surveys Explained provides a useful cross-cluster reference for separating an FRA from a dedicated passive-fire inspection.

A company profile alone does not show who will attend the premises or whether that person has suitable experience.

The quotation or supporting submission should identify:

• The proposed assessor or assessment team
• Relevant qualifications and training
• Professional registrations or third-party certification
• Experience with similar buildings
• Continuing professional development
• Quality-assurance and report-review arrangements
• Escalation procedures for complex findings

Government guidance states that responsible persons should take reasonable steps to ensure that anyone completing or reviewing the assessment is competent. Records should also be retained showing the steps taken when selecting an assessor.

Relevant experience matters as much as broad fire safety knowledge. An assessor experienced mainly in small offices may not be the strongest choice for a high-rise residential portfolio, complex industrial premises or buildings occupied by vulnerable people.

How to Choose a Fire Risk Assessor provides a fuller method for reviewing competence, independence and premises-specific experience.

The cheapest quotation may include a basic report that is difficult to use across a commercial property portfolio.

Check whether each bidder will provide:

• A clear building and occupancy description
• The assessment methodology and limitations
• Significant findings with location references
• Photographic evidence where appropriate
• Consistent risk and priority definitions
• Practical recommendations
• Target completion periods
• A separate action-plan schedule
• An urgent-issues notification process
• A spreadsheet or data export where required

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 strengthened requirements to record fire risk assessments in full and maintain records of fire safety arrangements. The report should therefore support ongoing management rather than exist as an isolated PDF with no usable action structure.

Further details are set out in the GOV.UK guidance on Section 156 fire safety responsibilities.

For portfolio work, confirm whether every report will use the same structure and terminology. Consistent outputs make it easier to prioritise recommendations, combine property data and monitor completion.

A headline total can hide important commercial differences.

Review whether the fire risk assessment quotation includes:

• Travel and site attendance
• Review of existing reports and plans
• Appointment booking and site liaison
• Resident or tenant coordination
• Access equipment
• Return visits
• Aborted appointments
• Quality assurance
• Report amendments
• Progress meetings and management reports
• Data exports and portfolio summaries

Pay particular attention to exclusions written in pricing notes or covering emails. A bidder may exclude inaccessible areas, flat entrance doors, the review of existing actions or additional time where records are incomplete.

Optional services should be priced separately. This allows the core FRA fee to be compared without confusing it with compartmentation surveys, fire-door inspections or other specialist services.

A low price has little value if the provider cannot complete the programme or maintain report quality.

Compare:

• The proposed mobilisation date
• The number of assessors allocated
• Weekly assessment capacity
• Report turnaround times
• Geographical coverage
• Arrangements for absence or staff changes
• Quality-review capacity
• Progress-reporting procedures

For example, a managing agent may request 50 assessments across offices, shops, residential blocks and industrial premises within eight weeks.

One company may propose two named assessors, staged report delivery and weekly progress reporting. Another may promise completion in four weeks without identifying the assessment team or explaining how reports will be reviewed.

The faster programme is not automatically stronger. The submission should demonstrate that the proposed resources can support the stated timescale.

A simple comparison matrix helps prevent the appointment being driven by headline price or the presentation style of the proposal.

Useful comparison headings include:

• Scope compliance
• Building-type experience
• Proposed personnel
• Assessment methodology
• Report quality
• Quality assurance
• Programme and capacity
• Assumptions and exclusions
• Total evaluated price

The criteria should reflect the issued requirement. They do not need to be overly complex, but every bidder should be assessed against the same factors.

How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works explains how a consistent scope, shared clarifications and controlled evaluation create a clearer commercial process.

Where a clarification materially changes the requirement, every bidder should receive the same updated information and the same opportunity to revise its quotation. Otherwise, the final submissions may still be based on different scopes.

Price remains important, but it should be considered alongside scope, competence, report usability and delivery risk.

A low quotation may reflect:

• Less time allowed on site
• Limited document review
• Junior or inexperienced assessors
• No independent report review
• Excluded travel or return visits
• Basic reporting
• Unrealistic delivery assumptions

A higher quotation may include work that would otherwise become an additional charge later.

Consider three quotations for a 20-building portfolio:

• Bidder A offers the lowest price but excludes existing-action reviews and portfolio data exports.
• Bidder B includes named assessors, quality review, a central action register and weekly progress updates.
• Bidder C includes a compartmentation survey that was not requested.

The correct comparison is not simply Bidder A against Bidder B against Bidder C on total price. Bidder C's specialist survey should be separated, while the remaining submissions should be normalised against the same required outputs.

Frequent mistakes include:

• Comparing totals before checking scope
• Assuming every provider uses the same FRA methodology
• Accepting unnamed assessor teams
• Treating qualifications as a substitute for relevant experience
• Ignoring report samples and action-plan formats
• Missing exclusions in covering emails
• Accepting unrealistic programmes
• Failing to clarify inconsistent assumptions
• Choosing on price without recording the reasons for appointment

Another common problem is requesting revised prices through separate email conversations. One bidder receives new property information while another remains priced against the original schedule.

A structured tender record keeps the current scope, clarifications and submissions together, making the final decision easier to compare, explain and audit.

Should the Lowest FRA Quote Be Accepted?

Not automatically. The lowest price should be checked against scope coverage, competence, proposed resources, exclusions and report quality.

Should Sample Reports Be Compared?

Yes. A sample can show whether findings are clearly located, priorities are understandable and actions can be managed after the assessment.

The sample should be reviewed for usability rather than appearance alone.

How Should Different Assumptions Be Handled?

Ask bidders to clarify or revise their submissions against one confirmed scope. Do not compare totals until material assumptions have been aligned.

Is Third-Party Certification Essential?

Not in every procurement. The required competence evidence should reflect the premises and level of risk.

Relevant qualifications, premises experience, quality controls and recognised certification may all form part of the assessment.

Need to Compare Available Assessors?

Use Fire Risk Assessment Companies to review providers by service, relevant experience and geographical coverage before deciding who should be invited to quote.

Ready to Run a Structured Quote Exercise?

Use Fire Risk Assessment Tenders to issue one property schedule, scope and pricing format so each assessor responds to the same commercial requirement.