Fire Safety Order Support

Practical support for your fire safety action plan

A fire risk assessment or property review may identify compartmentation defects, damaged fire doors or gaps in installation records. For a housing provider or managing agent, the next task is to define the work, arrange access, track progress and retain evidence of what has been completed.

Interseal UK supports that process through passive fire protection surveys, recommendations, remedial work and agreed project documentation. Our role is to help deliver the relevant elements of your action plan, working with the client and their fire safety advisers. A completed works package supports the wider management process; it does not transfer the responsible person's duties to the contractor.

Understanding the Fire Safety Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, often called the Fire Safety Order or RRO, applies in England and Wales. It covers most non-domestic premises and relevant parts of multi-occupied residential buildings. The duties applying to a particular building should be established by those responsible for it, with suitable professional advice where needed.

The government's fire safety guidance collection provides a starting point. Additional requirements, including the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, have their own scope. Those regulations apply in England and should not be presented as identical requirements across the UK.

Turn recommendations into a defined package

Begin with the current assessment, action plan, relevant drawings and previous survey findings. Identify the buildings and areas involved, the decisions already made and any questions still requiring design or specialist input. If information is incomplete, a targeted survey may be needed before remedial work can be priced.

Depending on the findings, the scope may involve:

• Fire compartment surveys to investigate agreed areas and record visible condition.
• Fire stopping to address service penetrations and joints in fire-resisting construction.
• Cavity and fire barrier systems within relevant concealed spaces.
• Fire door surveys, followed by suitable maintenance or replacement proposals.
• Project records linking the agreed works to identifiable building locations.

The client's appropriate advisers should consider priorities in the context of the building's fire risk assessment. The contract should make clear which work Interseal will undertake and which issues remain with other parties.

Plan delivery across occupied properties

A portfolio programme needs more than a list of repairs. Agree how sites will be grouped, how access will be arranged and who will coordinate residents and other contractors. Record assumptions about working hours, enabling works, service interfaces and any areas that require further investigation.

Our historical Fabrick Group case study documents surveys, reporting and remedial work across occupied housing. It also describes the importance of resident liaison and sequencing work around a building's operational needs. That practical experience provides a basis for discussing your own delivery constraints.

Specify the evidence before work starts

A useful handover is planned during scoping, while records can still be collected on site. Agree the location references, photographs, product information, installation details and inspection records required. Confirm any certification requirements and their applicability to the specific work, rather than assuming a generic statement covers the whole building.

The records should distinguish completed work, outstanding items, inaccessible areas and matters awaiting a decision. Keeping the same references from survey through quotation and completion helps the client reconcile the package and manage follow-up activity.

Fire safety record keeping extends beyond the contractor's handover. Government guidance on section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 explains requirements to record the full fire risk assessment and fire safety arrangements. Project evidence should be integrated into the client's wider records.

Discuss your next action

Send the relevant recommendations, site list and any supporting surveys. We can discuss what is sufficiently defined, where further information is needed and how to structure a proposal. Pricing depends on that scope, access, programme and documentation requirements.

Our Nottingham and Middlesbrough teams support the surrounding regions and wider portfolio enquiries. Use the quote preparation guide to gather the information for an initial discussion.