Construction
Fire resistance, compartmentation, linings, façades and structural assumptions.
Building design and management guide
Fire strategy explained
A fire strategy explains how a building’s design, protection systems and management work together to achieve fire-safety objectives. It is broader than an occupied-building fire risk assessment, but the two should agree.
Connected-system diagram
A fire strategy coordinates the whole building
Construction, detection, escape and management must work as one system. A change to layout or use can affect several connected assumptions at once.
Detection and warning
Alarm objectives, coverage, cause-and-effect and interfaces.
Escape and evacuation
Occupancy, travel, capacity, protected routes and evacuation strategy.
Firefighting provisions
Access, facilities, information, water and operational interfaces.
Management
Staffing, maintenance, impairment controls, training and change control.
Scope note: The fire strategy and FRA have different roles: the strategy records the design and management logic; the FRA evaluates risk and whether precautions remain suitable in use.
Plain-English definition
What is a fire strategy?
A fire strategy is the coherent account of how fire safety is intended to work in a building. It typically joins together prevention, detection and warning, escape, compartmentation, smoke control, firefighting facilities, fire-service access and the management arrangements needed to support them.
There is no single statutory definition and no universal requirement for every building to possess a document titled “fire strategy”. The need and level of detail depend on the building, work being undertaken, approval route and complexity.
Triggers and scope
When is a fire strategy required or advisable?
A strategy is commonly produced for a new building, extension, material alteration, change of use or complex fire-engineered design. Building-control and design teams may require it to demonstrate how the proposals satisfy the functional requirements of the Building Regulations.
For relevant building work, Regulation 38 requires fire-safety information to be given to the responsible person by completion or occupation. Existing complex buildings can also benefit from a retrospective strategy where the original design basis is missing, fragmented or no longer matches the use.
- New construction or major refurbishment
- Change of use, occupancy profile or evacuation approach
- Complex, high-rise, mixed-use or fire-engineered buildings
- Alterations affecting escape, compartmentation, façades or fire systems
- Missing or contradictory design and handover information
Coordinated information
What should a useful fire strategy contain?
Scope should be tailored to the premises. A small conventional building may need a concise record; a complex building may need drawings, calculations, cause-and-effect information and specialist analysis.
Building and occupants
Use, height, layout, occupancy, vulnerable people and assumptions.
Escape strategy
Evacuation method, escape capacity, travel, exits, refuges and assistance.
Passive protection
Compartmentation, fire resistance, doors, cavity barriers and fire stopping.
Active systems
Alarm, emergency lighting, sprinklers, smoke control and system interactions.
Firefighting access
Access, shafts, lifts, risers, water supplies and information for responders.
Management
Testing, maintenance, staffing, impairments, emergency procedures and review.
Different jobs
Fire strategy vs fire risk assessment vs evacuation plan
These documents overlap but answer different questions. They should cross-reference one another rather than repeat conflicting assumptions.
| Document | Primary question | Typical focus |
|---|---|---|
| Fire strategy | How is the building intended to achieve fire safety? | Design principles, systems, evacuation and management working together |
| Fire risk assessment | What are the current risks and are precautions suitable? | Actual premises, people, hazards, controls, findings and actions |
| Emergency plan | What should people do if fire occurs? | Alarm response, evacuation roles, assistance, assembly and calling the fire service |
Commissioning support
How to commission and maintain a fire strategy
Choose competence appropriate to the building and the work. Confirm whether the appointment covers an outline strategy, developed design, retrospective review, fire-engineered analysis, drawings and liaison with building control.
Keep the approved information with the building record. Proposed changes should be checked against its assumptions, and the strategy, FRA and emergency plan should be reviewed together after material change.
- Define purpose, approval stage and deliverables
- Supply drawings, existing approvals, calculations and system information
- Record assumptions, limitations and departures from standard guidance
- Resolve interfaces between designers, contractors and building management
- Control revisions and hand over the current version to the responsible person
Related guidance and support
Continue with premises and local guidance
Choose the closest property guide, then use the relevant London or Surrey route when you are ready to compare local assessment support.
Frequently asked questions
Fire strategy explained FAQs
Is a fire strategy a legal requirement?
There is no general law requiring every premises to hold a document with that title. A strategy may be required through the building-control process, project brief or the complexity of the design, while Regulation 38 requires relevant fire-safety information to be handed over for relevant building work.
Can a fire risk assessor write a fire strategy?
Only if their competence covers the strategy’s scope. Complex design, smoke control, structural fire engineering or high-rise buildings may require a suitably qualified fire engineer and input from several disciplines.
Does a fire strategy replace an FRA?
No. The strategy describes intended design and operation; the FRA evaluates current risk in the occupied premises and identifies necessary action.
When should a fire strategy be reviewed?
Review it when the building, use, occupants, fire systems or evacuation arrangements change, when new information challenges an assumption, and as part of controlled refurbishment or fit-out work.
London and Surrey support
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Sources and limitations
Guidance reviewed 3 August 2026
This page provides general information for England. It is not legal advice or a building-specific assessment. Fire Safety Services is independent and is not affiliated with the Government, enforcing authorities, BAFE, NFRAR or IFSM.