Fire risk assessment checklist for small businesses
Every UK business needs a fire risk assessment — and the fastest way to make sure you've covered the ground is to work through it step by step. Here's a free checklist built on the government's five-step process.
This checklist is a prompt to help you cover the right ground — working through it is not, on its own, your recorded fire risk assessment. Use it alongside the GOV.UK fire safety guide for your type of premises, and record your findings and actions separately. For complex or higher-risk buildings (sleeping accommodation, care, heritage), use a competent assessor.
Step 1 — Identify the fire hazards
Sources of ignition
- Heaters, boilers, cooking equipment and hot processes
- Electrical equipment, worn cables, overloaded sockets and adaptors
- Naked flames, candles, and smoking areas
- Lithium-ion battery charging (e-bikes, e-scooters, tools)
- Hot work (welding, grinding) and arson risk (external waste, unsecured areas)
Sources of fuel
- Paper, packaging, card and general waste
- Textiles, furnishings, foam and plastics
- Flammable liquids, gases, aerosols and solvents
- Are ignition sources and fuel kept well apart?
Sources of oxygen
- Ventilation, air conditioning and any oxygen/oxidising cylinders
Step 2 — Identify the people at risk
- Employees, visitors, contractors and members of the public
- Lone workers, night workers and anyone unfamiliar with the layout
- Anyone who would need help to evacuate (mobility, sensory or cognitive needs)
- Anyone working close to a fire hazard
Step 3 — Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect
- Ignition sources and fuel reduced; good housekeeping in place
- Fire detection and warning fitted, working and tested
- Escape routes clear, wide enough, signed and adequately lit
- Final exit doors open easily from the inside without a key
- Emergency lighting works
- The right firefighting equipment, accessible and in-service
- Fire doors maintained and never propped open
- Fire safety signage present and visible
Step 4 — Record, plan, inform and train
- Findings recorded in writing (required if you have five or more staff, or a licence)
- An emergency plan for the premises
- Staff given fire safety training, and fire drills carried out and logged
- PEEPs in place for anyone who needs assistance to evacuate
- A logbook of tests, servicing, drills and training
Step 5 — Review
- Reviewed at least once a year
- Reviewed after any significant change — layout, occupancy, new equipment or processes
- Reviewed after any fire or near-miss
When to bring in a professional
A capable responsible person can assess simple, low-risk premises using this checklist and the GOV.UK guides. For anything complex or higher-risk — sleeping accommodation, care settings, tricky escape routes, heritage buildings — a competent fire risk assessor is the sensible (and safer) call. PAS 79 is the methodology the professionals follow.
Want the reasoning behind each step, not just the checklist? Read our full guide to fire risk assessment for small businesses.
Sharpen step one
Step 1 is hazard-spotting — and it's a trained eye, not a form. Hazard Hunt drills exactly that: walk a room, spot what's wrong, before it becomes a fire.
Play Hazard Hunt →This checklist is for learning and applies to England & Wales. It is a prompt, not a substitute for a recorded fire risk assessment or professional advice. Always work from current GOV.UK guidance; Scotland and Northern Ireland have equivalent regimes.