Our statutory function

GFRS promotes and enforces fire safety standards in the built environment to protect the public from the dangers of fire. We enforce the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies to nearly all non-domestic premises as well as the parts of residential buildings used in common.

Our statutory responsibilities include:

  • Delivering proactive interventions through audits.
  • Providing fire safety advice and support to duty holders.
  • Investigating fire safety concerns and complaints.
  • Issuing formal enforcement notices where required.
  • Supporting building control bodies and local authorities.
  • Ensuring high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings comply with new national safety requirements.

We have invested in building a competent and resilient protection team, ensuring we have the right people, with the right skills, focusing on the areas of greatest risk. Our inspecting officers work to ensure that every premises they visit is safer when they leave, supporting businesses to comply while using enforcement powers proportionately and effectively where necessary.

Risk-based intervention programme

We target our protection activity where it will have the greatest impact on life safety.

Using NFCC methodology and our Community Fire Risk Management Information System (CFRMIS)-driven Community Risk Profile, we focus our inspection and enforcement activity on the premises that present the highest risk due to building complexity, occupancy profile, or historic compliance concerns. Our programme includes:

Our programme includes:

  • Proactive audits of highest-risk premises.
  • Reactive inspections following intelligence, complaints or incidents.
  • Graduated enforcement where required to secure compliance.
  • Risk Based Inspection Programme (RBIP) activity, integrating fire safety education, business engagement, prevention input and operational intelligence to provide a holistic risk-reduction approach.

This ensures our resources are directed where they will save the most lives and reduce the most harm.

GFRS Community Risk Management Plan 2026-2030