Fire Risk Assessment in Buckinghamshire: Written for the Officer Who May Read It

Who enforces in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and it has a stated inspection approach.

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in its area. Its business safety team covers Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes is a separate local authority, but the fire service is shared.

The service says it runs a locally determined, risk-based inspection programme. Its stated targets include high-risk premises, premises with recent fires, premises with many false alarms, those with fire safety concerns, and premises picked through thematic reviews. It follows the Enforcement Management Model and the Regulators Code, and it offers a Business Engagement Framework with advice before formal action.

That means a fire risk assessment is not a filing exercise. If an officer calls, the assessment is the first document they ask for. We write ours so a stranger can follow it: what was seen, what is wrong, and what to do first.

Which council is which

Since April 2020, one council runs most of the county.

Buckinghamshire Council is a unitary authority. It handles housing, licensing and building control questions for towns including High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Amersham, Beaconsfield, Chesham and Marlow. Milton Keynes is its own authority.

We have pages for High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Amersham, Beaconsfield, Chesham, Marlow and Milton Keynes.

Shared houses and the council licence

An HMO licence from the council and a fire risk assessment are two different things.

Buckinghamshire Council's pages say a mandatory HMO licence is needed where five or more occupants form two or more households and use the property as their main home. The council says running a licensable HMO without a licence is an offence.

A licence does not replace a fire risk assessment. The common parts of a house in multiple occupation fall under the Fire Safety Order, and the responsible person must assess them. Our HMO fire safety guide for landlords and annual compliance checklist set out what to keep up.

What we assess

The building as it is on the day, not as the drawings say.

• Fire hazards, ignition sources and who is at risk
• Escape routes, travel distances, exit signs and emergency lighting
• Fire detection and alarm, and the weekly test and service record
• Fire doors and compartmentation, as far as they can be seen
• Fire fighting equipment
• Management: training, drills, who does what, and records

The report ends with an action plan ranked by priority, with the highest risks first. We note anything we could not see, such as hidden voids, so you know whether a fire stopping survey is worth doing next. See types of fire risk assessment if you are unsure which level you need.

Fire risk assessment and fire door inspection sit side by side

Neither replaces the other.

An assessment looks at the whole building and the way it is run. A fire door inspection goes door by door, with gap measurements and photos. If your assessment says doors need attention, the inspection finds out what is wrong. If you have only had an inspection, you still need the assessment.

Our own figures show why doors need their own check. 72% of doors on a first inspection need at least one repair (339 of 470 doors, 8 surveys).

Review and what happens if it fails

An assessment has a shelf life.

The Order requires the assessment to be kept under review, and it should be reviewed after a significant change. Our guide on how often to review a fire risk assessment explains the usual approach. If you have been handed a poor one, see what to do with a failed fire risk assessment. For help picking an assessor, see choosing a fire risk assessor.

The national page on fire risk assessments covers the service in full.

Sources

• Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service: our business safety team
• Buckinghamshire Council: guide to licensing HMOs
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)

Updated October 2026 by Sebastian Grabowski, DC Fire & Security, 2 Winsdon Court, Luton LU1 5LZ.