Type 2 Fire Risk Assessment Explained

A Type 2 FRA is commonly described as:

Common parts only, with destructive inspection.

The assessment considers the same broad fire-safety matters as a Type 1 FRA, including:

• Means of escape
• Fire doors
• Compartmentation
• Smoke control
• Fire detection and warning
• Firefighting facilities
• Testing and maintenance
• Fire-safety management
• Information provided to residents

The difference is that selected parts of the construction are opened so the assessor can examine features that would otherwise remain concealed.

Type 1–4 are industry classifications established through guidance for purpose-built blocks of flats. They are not four separate statutory categories created directly by legislation.

For the wider assessment process, legal responsibilities and action planning, see Fire Risk Assessments in the UK: The Complete Guide.

A Type 1 Fire Risk Assessment is non-destructive. It examines visible and reasonably accessible evidence without cutting into fixed walls, floors or ceilings.

A Type 2 assessment goes further by opening selected areas to investigate whether hidden construction provides the expected level of fire separation.

The distinction can be summarised as follows:

Type 2 should not be selected merely because it sounds more comprehensive. The additional intrusion, disruption and cost should answer a defined concern that cannot be resolved through non-destructive inspection.

A Type 2 assessment may be appropriate where existing evidence creates reasonable doubt about the integrity of the building’s structural fire protection.

Potential triggers include:

• Repeated or widespread visible fire-stopping defects
• Unrecorded alterations to service routes
• Poor workmanship discovered during previous works
• Conflicting construction drawings and site conditions
• Evidence that compartment walls do not continue through concealed voids
• Serious breaches around risers or service penetrations
• Fire or smoke spread inconsistent with the expected compartmentation
• Previous reports identifying unresolved hidden-construction concerns
• Major refurbishment completed without reliable fire-stopping records
• Construction details that cannot be verified visually

The recommendation should identify the evidence creating concern. A generic instruction to undertake a Type 2 FRA without explaining what is being investigated gives the client little basis for defining samples, comparing fees or judging whether the work has answered the original question.

The official purpose-built flats guidance states that Type 2 should not be recommended as a matter of course following every Type 1 assessment.

The intrusive element is normally carried out on a planned sampling basis.

Possible opening locations may include:

• Suspended or fixed ceiling areas
• Service risers
• Boxing around pipes and cables
• Wall and floor junctions
• Service penetrations
• Roof voids
• Duct and damper interfaces
• Construction separating flats from common parts
• Areas affected by previous refurbishment

The assessor should not open areas randomly. Samples should be selected to investigate identified risks, representative construction types or locations where defects are considered more likely.

A contractor will usually be required to create safe openings and reinstate them afterwards. The fire risk assessor may direct or observe the investigation, but should not be assumed to provide construction labour or permanent making good unless this is expressly included.

Official guidance recognises that checking separating construction may sometimes require access to a sample of flats. Because of the disruptive nature of the work, this may only be practical in vacant flats.

This does not turn the instruction into a Type 4 assessment automatically. The main objective of Type 2 remains investigation of the common-part and separating construction relevant to the common areas.

Destructive inspection should not begin until the risks associated with opening the building fabric have been considered.

The client should provide:

• The asbestos register and management plan
• Existing asbestos survey information
• Available construction drawings
• Information about concealed electrical or mechanical services
• Permits and isolation arrangements
• Site-specific safety requirements

The duty to manage asbestos applies to the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises. Where planned work could disturb building materials containing hidden asbestos, more intrusive asbestos information may be needed before the work starts.

The tender should identify who will review the asbestos information and who is responsible for arranging any additional survey, testing, isolation or specialist attendance.

The assessor and opening-up contractor should not be expected to proceed where the information is insufficient to open the selected area safely.

No. The two services may overlap, but they do not necessarily have the same objective or coverage.

A Type 2 FRA is a life-safety risk assessment that uses destructive sampling to investigate concerns affecting the common parts and separating construction.

A compartmentation survey focuses specifically on the condition and continuity of fire-resisting construction. Depending on the scope, it may inspect a much larger number of:

• Walls and floors
• Service penetrations
• Fire-stopping installations
• Cavity barriers
• Risers
• Roof voids
• Fire and smoke dampers

A Type 2 assessment may determine that defects exist and that a wider fire compartmentation survey is needed to map their extent and prepare a detailed remedial schedule.

Clients should avoid commissioning both services under unclear or overlapping scopes. The tender should explain whether the objective is to assess life risk, investigate a defined structural concern, quantify defects or prepare remedial works.

The report should make clear what was opened, what was found and what remains unverified.

It should record:

• The reason Type 2 investigation was commissioned
• Documents and previous findings reviewed
• The sampling methodology
• Every inspection location
• Areas that could not be opened
• Photographs before, during and after opening
• Construction details observed
• Confirmed defects
• Limitations of the sample
• Risk implications
• Recommendations for further investigation or remedial work
• Whether the findings may apply to similar uninspected areas

The report should distinguish between confirmed findings and reasonable inferences.

A defect found in one sample does not automatically prove that every similar location is defective. Equally, a satisfactory sample does not guarantee that all concealed construction throughout the block is compliant.

For further guidance on report quality, see What Should a Fire Risk Assessment Report Include?.

A Type 2 assessment requires more coordination than a standard non-destructive FRA.

Before attendance, confirm:

• Who chooses the sample locations
• Who approves destructive work
• Who provides the opening-up contractor
• Whether residents or tenants must be notified
• Whether access to vacant flats is available
• Who isolates electrical or mechanical services
• How dust, noise and debris will be controlled
• What standard of temporary and permanent reinstatement is required
• How fire-resisting construction will be restored
• What happens if serious defects are exposed

Any opening through fire-resisting construction should be left safe at the end of the work. The tender should not leave responsibility for temporary protection or permanent reinstatement unclear.

The client should also decide whether the assessment can continue beyond the original sample if unexpected findings are discovered. Additional work should require an agreed instruction and pricing mechanism.

See How to Prepare for a Fire Risk Assessment for the wider document and access checklist.

A Type 2 assessment requires experience beyond carrying out straightforward visual FRAs.

When comparing Fire Risk Assessment Companies, examine whether the named assessor can demonstrate:

• Experience of purpose-built residential blocks
• Knowledge of compartmentation and fire-stopping principles
• Experience designing intrusive sampling strategies
• Understanding of stay-put and simultaneous evacuation
• Ability to interpret drawings and previous surveys
• Experience working with opening-up contractors
• Clear reporting of limitations and inferred risk
• Appropriate professional indemnity insurance
• Independent technical-review arrangements

The contractor opening the construction must also be competent for the work they are undertaking. The assessment company’s quotation should state whether contractor coordination is included or remains the client’s responsibility.

See How to Choose a Fire Risk Assessor.

A structured Type 2 tender should include:

• Building address, height, storeys and number of flats
• Confirmation that the block is purpose-built
• Evacuation strategy
• Previous Type 1 FRA and supporting evidence
• The concerns justifying intrusive investigation
• Available plans and refurbishment records
• Proposed locations or basis for sample selection
• Areas included and excluded
• Asbestos and service information
• Resident and vacant-flat access arrangements
• Opening-up and making-good responsibilities
• Required photographs and location records
• Report format and action priorities
• Process for approving additional samples
• Named-assessor competence requirements
• Programme, pricing assumptions and VAT

Bidders should explain their proposed sampling methodology rather than simply state that they will complete a Type 2 FRA.

The likely fee will depend heavily on the number of openings, access, contractor attendance and reinstatement requirements. See Fire Risk Assessment Cost in the UK.

For a consistent tender process, use How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works. The wider procurement framework is covered in Fire Protection Tenders in the UK: The Complete Guide.

Common mistakes include:

• Commissioning Type 2 without evidence justifying intrusion
• Assuming an older building automatically requires destructive assessment
• Failing to define the question the samples must answer
• Using Type 2 terminology for unsuitable building types
• Omitting asbestos and concealed-service information
• Failing to appoint an opening-up contractor
• Leaving making good outside every party’s scope
• Comparing quotations based on different sample numbers
• Assuming a small sample proves the condition of the entire block
• Confusing a Type 2 FRA with a full compartmentation survey
• Failing to plan what happens if serious defects are discovered
• Tendering remedial work from findings that require wider investigation

A proportionate Type 2 commission begins with a defined concern and ends with evidence that helps the client decide whether further investigation, interim measures or remedial work is required.

For clients and managing organisations

Use Fire Risk Assessment Companies to compare providers with relevant residential and intrusive-assessment experience.

Give each bidder the same evidence, sampling objectives, access information and reinstatement requirements so their methods and prices can be compared fairly.

For fire risk assessors and consultancies

View Fire Risk Assessment Tenders for opportunities with defined premises information and inspection requirements.

A strong submission should explain why the proposed samples are appropriate, who will coordinate opening-up and how findings and limitations will be reported.

What is a Type 2 fire risk assessment?

It is an assessment of the common parts of a purpose-built block of flats that includes destructive inspection on a sampling basis. It is used to investigate suspected serious deficiencies in concealed structural fire protection.

Is a Type 2 FRA required for every old block of flats?

No. Building age alone is not normally sufficient justification. There should be evidence or a specific reason to suspect serious hidden deficiencies.

Does a Type 2 assessment include flats?

Its principal scope concerns the common parts and relevant separating construction. Limited access into sample flats may sometimes be required to inspect that construction, often where flats are vacant.

Who opens the walls or ceilings?

A suitable contractor will usually be needed to create the openings and make good afterwards. The tender must state whether the client or assessor is responsible for appointing and coordinating that contractor.

Is Type 2 the same as a compartmentation survey?

No. Type 2 is an overall fire risk assessment using targeted destructive samples. A compartmentation survey may inspect the fire-resisting construction more extensively and produce a detailed defect schedule.