A fire strategy is not always a standalone legal requirement, but the fire safety measures it sets out are often needed to demonstrate that a building meets its legal duties.

For new buildings, major refurbishments, extensions, or changes of use, the fire safety design must usually demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations. A fire strategy is commonly used to explain this, covering areas such as means of escape, fire compartmentation, fire doors, alarm systems, smoke control, emergency lighting, evacuation arrangements and firefighting access.

For existing occupied buildings, the Responsible Person has legal duties under fire safety legislation to manage fire risks and keep people safe. A fire strategy can support this by providing a clear record of how the building is intended to perform in the event of a fire and how the different fire safety measures work together.

In some cases, a fire strategy may be expected by Building Control, fire engineers, designers, insurers, landlords, managing agents or enforcing authorities, particularly for complex buildings or where original fire safety information is missing.

At Independent Fire Inspections, fire strategy drawings can help building owners and responsible persons understand the fire safety arrangements within their premises and maintain a clear visual record for compliance, management and future works.

A fire strategy should be reviewed whenever changes could affect the fire safety arrangements within a building. This may include refurbishments, layout changes, extensions, changes of use, alterations to escape routes, new fire doors, changes to compartmentation, or upgrades to alarm, smoke control or emergency lighting systems.

It should also be revisited if a fire risk assessment identifies concerns, if enforcement action has been taken, or if the original fire safety information is missing, outdated, or no longer reflects how the building is currently used.

For existing buildings, it is good practice to keep the fire strategy and fire strategy drawings under regular review as part of ongoing fire safety management. This helps the Responsible Person, building owner, managing agent or facilities team understand how the building is intended to perform in the event of a fire.

Our updated fire strategy drawings can provide a clear visual record of the current fire safety arrangements, helping support compliance, maintenance, refurbishment planning and future fire risk assessments.

At Independent Fire Inspections, we can help prepare clear fire strategy drawings that show the key fire safety arrangements within a building.

These drawings can include important features such as escape routes, fire doors, compartment lines, protected corridors, final exits, firefighting access, risers, alarm zones, emergency lighting and other relevant fire safety measures.

A written fire strategy and the supporting drawings are closely linked, but they are not always the same service. The written strategy explains how the building is intended to perform in the event of a fire, while the drawings provide a visual record of the fire safety measures in place.

Where a written fire strategy already exists, we can use it to help produce or update the accompanying drawings. Where information is missing or outdated, we can help identify what is currently in place and highlight areas that may require further review or specialist input.

Our fire strategy drawings are designed to support building owners, responsible persons, managing agents, designers and contractors with compliance, maintenance, refurbishment planning and ongoing fire safety management.