New National Standard for Fire Risk Assessors Published

A new national standard, BS 8674:2025, has just been released by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to help improve fire safety in schools, workplaces, and public buildings across the UK.

This new Code of Practice sets out what skills, knowledge and experience a person must have to be considered a competent fire risk assessor – someone who evaluates how safe a building is from fire.

Why this matters to schools

Schools, like all public buildings, must regularly carry out fire risk assessments to keep pupils, staff and visitors safe. This new standard aims to ensure the people carrying out these assessments are properly qualified and capable of handling different levels of complexity – from simple school buildings to more complex campuses or multi-use facilities.

The vast majority of schools will fall into the Intermediate Level. All of Handsam's fire risk assessors are competent to at least this level of the new British Standard. If you would like to have a quotation for your fire risk assessment(s) please contact us via info@handsam.co.uk.

Three Levels of Competency

The standard introduces three clear levels of fire risk assessor:

• Foundation Level – For those new to the role, working on simple buildings like small offices or shops;

• Intermediate Level – For more experienced assessors, suitable for buildings with greater risk or more people, such as schools, public venues, or mid-rise buildings; and

• Advanced Level – For senior assessors working on complex or high-risk buildings, including hospitals, large campuses, or high-rise residential blocks.

What does this mean for education settings?

The BSI states this standard applies across all sectors, including education, healthcare, care homes, residential, and commercial buildings – essentially, any place where people live, work, or gather.

This means that schools, academies, and colleges should ensure the person or organisation conducting fire risk assessments is working to this new standard – and is competent for the level of risk and complexity of the school’s buildings.

Expert views

Dr Gavin Dunn, Chief Executive of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), welcomed the new standard:

“This is a vital step forward. It gives fire risk assessors and their clients – like schools – clarity on what good practice looks like. There’s no excuse not to act now.”

The standard also supports recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which called for stronger measures to ensure fire risk assessors are competent and independently verified.

The government has already announced plans to make this kind of accreditation mandatory by law – meaning schools and other organisations will soon be required to ensure their assessors meet this national benchmark.

Raising safety standards across the board

Alex Norris, Building Safety Minister, added:

“This new standard is an important step toward making buildings safer. It will help ensure tragedies like Grenfell are never repeated.”

Dennis Davis, Competence Director at the Fire Sector Confederation, said:

“BS 8674 gives schools, businesses, and public services confidence that fire safety is being managed by people who are properly qualified.”

A Fire Protection Association Report

CLICK THE LOGO FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE FPA