A fire risk assessment is a legal duty before it is anything else. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places it on the responsible person for the premises, and it must be suitable, sufficient and kept up to date. No app changes that. What an app can change is how completely the assessor records the walk-round and how quickly a clear, actionable report reaches the person who has to act on it.
Guide · Fire safety
Fire risk assessment survey app.
How UK assessors record a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, often to the PAS 79 method, and produce a clean, defensible report from the building rather than the office.
14-day free trial. No card required.
The point
The law names a person, not an app.
Under the Fire Safety Order the responsible person must ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out and kept up to date. Software cannot make an assessment suitable. A competent assessor does that. What software does is make the assessment easier to complete correctly on site and produce as a clean, actionable report.
The framework
The Order, the method, the record.
The Order
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The duty. The responsible person must assess fire risk and act on it. Applies to most non-domestic premises in England and Wales.
The methodPAS 79
A widely used fire risk assessment methodology. Not the only route, but a recognised structure many assessors follow.
The recordSignificant findings
The assessment must record significant findings and an action plan. That written record is what enforcers and insurers ask to see.
On site
Walk the building, log the findings.
Quickler asks the assessment's questions in a WhatsApp chat as the assessor walks the premises. Fire doors, escape routes, detection, signage, housekeeping: each finding and photo lands in the right field. The action plan builds as significant findings are recorded, so the report is largely written by the time the walk-round ends.
Run fire risk assessments on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
The assessment arrives as a WhatsApp conversation on the phone the assessor already carries. The responsible person receives a clean PDF and web record with the action plan set out clearly.
The short version
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a fire risk assessment for most non-domestic premises in England and Wales.
- The duty sits with the responsible person, who must ensure the assessment is suitable and sufficient and act on its findings.
- PAS 79 is a widely used methodology, but it is not the only valid route and it is not law itself.
- The assessment must record significant findings and an action plan; that written record is what enforcers and insurers want to see.
- Capturing findings on site with photos produces a stronger, more defensible record than writing up later.
- Software does not make an assessment valid. A competent assessor does. Quickler produces the report, not the professional judgement.
The duty
What the Fire Safety Order requires
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the principal fire safety legislation for non-domestic premises in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent regimes. The Order places a duty on the responsible person, usually the employer, owner or occupier, to carry out and maintain a fire risk assessment and to put in place appropriate fire precautions.
The assessment must identify the fire hazards, the people at risk, and the measures needed to remove or reduce that risk. Where five or more people are employed, or a licence or alteration notice is in force, the significant findings must be recorded. Enforcement sits with the local fire and rescue authority, and failings can lead to enforcement notices or prosecution. This is a legal summary, not legal advice; check the current requirements for your premises and nation.
The method
PAS 79 and the assessment structure
PAS 79 is a publicly available specification setting out a methodology for fire risk assessment. Many competent assessors follow it because it gives a recognised, defensible structure: gather building and occupancy information, identify hazards and people at risk, evaluate the existing fire safety measures, and reach a judgement on the remaining risk with an action plan to address it.
PAS 79 is not the law, and it is not the only acceptable approach. The Order requires a suitable and sufficient assessment; it does not mandate a specific methodology. But a structured method matters because it stops the assessor skipping a hazard or an occupant group under time pressure. Quickler's fire risk workflow can be built to follow a PAS 79 shaped structure, prompting for each stage in turn so the walk-round is systematic.
The output
Significant findings and the action plan
The real product of a fire risk assessment is not a tick-box sheet, it is the record of significant findings and the action plan that follows from them. A significant finding is a hazard or shortfall that materially affects fire safety: a wedged fire door, a blocked escape route, missing or unmaintained detection, combustible storage in a stairwell. Each needs recording clearly, with a priority and a responsible owner, so the responsible person knows what to fix and by when.
This is where on-site capture pays off. A finding photographed and described at the fire door is unambiguous. The same finding recalled at the office risks vagueness that helps nobody. Quickler builds the action plan as the assessor records each significant finding on the walk-round, and presents it in the report as a clear, prioritised list the responsible person can act on and evidence back to their insurer or enforcing authority.
Honest note
The app is not the assessment
Software does not make a fire risk assessment suitable and sufficient. A competent assessor does, working to the Fire Safety Order and, where they choose, PAS 79 or an equivalent method. Quickler does not replace that competence, it does not certify anything, and it is not a replica of a specific insurer's or scheme's proprietary form. It is a general reporting engine.
What it gives you is a defensible, photo-backed, timestamped record with a structured significant-findings and action-plan format, produced on site. For most fire risk assessors and field teams that is the practical win. This is a general summary of the framework and general reporting software, not legal advice; the responsible person and the assessor must satisfy themselves that the assessment meets the current legal requirements. Ask us if a specific format requirement affects your work.
Questions, answered
What law requires a fire risk assessment in the UK?
In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a fire risk assessment for most non-domestic premises. The duty sits with the responsible person, usually the employer, owner or occupier, who must ensure the assessment is suitable and sufficient and act on its findings. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent fire safety regimes.
What is PAS 79?
PAS 79 is a publicly available specification setting out a widely used methodology for fire risk assessment. It gives a recognised, defensible structure covering building information, hazards, people at risk, existing measures and an action plan. It is not the law and it is not the only acceptable approach; the Fire Safety Order requires a suitable and sufficient assessment without mandating one method.
Does a fire risk assessment have to be written down?
The significant findings of a fire risk assessment must be recorded where five or more people are employed, or where a licence or alteration notice applies. In practice, most premises benefit from a written record of significant findings and an action plan, because that is what enforcing authorities and insurers ask to see. This is a general summary, not legal advice for your specific premises.
Can I use Quickler for fire risk assessments?
Yes. Quickler delivers the assessment as a WhatsApp conversation, and its workflow can be built to follow a PAS 79 shaped structure. The assessor answers each question with text, a voice note or a photo, and the completed report generates as a clean PDF and web record with a prioritised action plan. There is no app to install.
Does Quickler make my fire risk assessment legally valid?
No. A competent assessor working to the Fire Safety Order makes the assessment suitable and sufficient. Quickler produces the report and the action plan; it does not certify the assessment or replace professional judgement, and it is general reporting software, not legal advice.