BS 8674:2025 – A New Framework for Fire Risk Assessor Competence
The publication of BS 8674:2025 – Built Environment – Framework for Competence of Individual Fire Risk Assessors provides, for the first time, an industry-recognised framework to describe fire risk assessor competence. While its arrival is welcome and it will no doubt become influential in regulatory and legal contexts, it is important to recognise its limitations.
Competence in fire risk assessment has long been a difficult area. Clients regularly ask us: “How do we know if our fire risk assessor is competent?” The reality is that the answer is rarely simple.
What BS 8674:2025 Sets Out
The standard is a code of practice designed to define the knowledge, skills, and behaviours expected of individual fire risk assessors.
It applies to non-intrusive, visual fire risk assessments that rely on documentation and observation rather than destructive inspection.
It defines three levels of competence:
Foundation – assessors working on low-risk, simple premises
Intermediate – for moderately complex buildings
Advanced – for high-risk or complex premises such as high-rise residential, healthcare, or public venues
It aligns with wider competence frameworks such as BS 8670-1:2024 and sits alongside existing guidance (e.g. PAS 79, PAS 9980 for external walls).
Why This Matters – But With Caution
For a long time, there has been no single, industry-recognised standard for fire risk assessor competence. BS 8674:2025 begins to fill that gap and will almost certainly be referenced in procurement, audits, regulatory inspections, and legal proceedings.
However, it is not a guarantee of quality. Meeting the criteria of BS 8674:2025 does not automatically mean an assessor will produce a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment—which remains the legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In our own audits of fire risk assessments, the most challenging issue we encounter is assessor competence.
We have reviewed FRAs undertaken by assessors on recognised registers that still fell short of compliance.
Equally, we have seen assessors not listed on any register deliver work that was proportionate, practical, and legally robust.
This illustrates why frameworks and registers should be seen as tools for assurance, not absolute proof of competence.
Practical Application for Organisations
For housing providers, commercial landlords, education estates, transport operators, and others with fire safety duties, BS 8674:2025 can provide a useful reference point when:
Auditing the performance of third-party fire risk assessment providers
Benchmarking the work of in-house fire risk assessor teams
Drafting technical specifications and procurement requirements for new contracts
It would be wise for employers and Responsible Persons to integrate BS 8674:2025 into supplier and employment requirements as one layer of assurance, while recognising the need for independent checks on actual FRA quality.
What Our Director of Fire Safety Says
“BS 8674:2025 will almost certainly become a reference point in audits, contracts, and regulatory proceedings. But it is not a silver bullet. Competence in fire risk assessment remains nuanced—someone may meet the standard yet still produce a poor assessment. That’s why we treat frameworks like this as one tool among many when helping clients assure the quality of their FRAs. Ultimately, a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment depends on a combination of a robust quality management system, the assessor’s experience, and their capability—not just a tick-box framework.”
— Dan Jackson, BEng (Hons), CEng FIET, C.Build E FCABE, FFACQP, MIFireE MIFSM
Director of Fire Safety, New Terra Compliance Ltd
Conclusion
BS 8674:2025 is an important step in shaping the fire safety profession, but it should be treated as a framework, not a guarantee. For Responsible Persons, the real value lies in using it as part of a wider approach—auditing assessors, setting clear procurement requirements, and above all, ensuring fire risk assessments are suitable and sufficient for the risks at hand.
👉 If you’d like to discuss how BS 8674:2025 could be applied within your organisation, contact us today.
