What is the difference between a fire door inspection and a fire risk assessment?

What a fire risk assessment is

Under article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person for non-domestic premises, and the common parts of blocks of flats, has to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks. The assessment identifies the general fire precautions needed and has to be kept up to date, and reviewed sooner if there is reason to think it is no longer valid or the building changes.

It looks at everything: ignition sources, escape routes, detection and alarms, emergency lighting, signage, extinguishers, how people would get out, and who is at risk. Fire doors come into it as one of the measures. The assessor will note whether doors are in place and look about right. Our guide on fire risk assessments explains the process.

What a fire door inspection is

An inspection takes each door in turn. The inspector closes it, measures the gaps around the leaf, checks the seals, hinges, closer, glazing, signage and ironmongery, and looks for damage, alterations and missing certification. The result is a report that lists each door, what was found and what needs doing, usually with photographs. See what a fire door inspector checks.

A fire risk assessor walks the whole building and cannot spend the time at every door. An inspector may notice other things, but is not assessing the building's risk.

Side by side

Why neither covers the other

An assessment that says the doors look fine is not an inspection. It will not have measured gaps or checked each closer. An inspection that finds every door in order is not an assessment either. It says nothing about alarms, escape routes, lighting, housekeeping or people.

We treat them as two separate services for that reason. Buying one does not tick the box for the other, and an auditor, insurer or enforcing authority may ask for both. Our page on a fire safety audit and a risk assessment shows the same kind of difference.

How they work together

Do the assessment first or at the same time, because it tells you which doors matter and how often to check them. The assessment sets the frequency, and the inspection gives the evidence that the doors are doing their job. When a door fails, the repair goes onto the assessment's action plan, and the next review picks it up. See how often fire doors need inspecting.

Sources

• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 9