Fire Strategy & Fire Engineering Consultants — UK-wide

What It Is

The document every building should have

A fire strategy sets out how a building is designed to protect the people in it — means of escape, compartmentation, structural fire protection, detection and suppression, smoke control and firefighting provision — and the reasoning behind every choice.

It's how you demonstrate Building Regulations compliance for new buildings, changes of use and refurbishments — and for higher-risk buildings it's central to the Gateway 2 application.

Ours are grounded in operational fire and rescue experience: we know how buildings are designed to perform, and how fire actually behaves. That perspective produces strategies that are proportionate to build, practical to manage, and defensible in front of regulators.

Existing building with no strategy at all? That's common — and fixable. See retrospective fire strategies below.

What You Get

Fire engineering services

Fire strategy development — fire strategies and advice across all RIBA stages, for new build, changes of use and redevelopment of existing buildings.
Retrospective fire strategies — for existing buildings without one: a clear record of how your building is designed to perform in a fire, and how it should be managed day to day.
Fire statements — Planning Gateway One and London Plan Policy D12(A) fire statements.
Performance-based design — engineered solutions where prescriptive guidance is too restrictive or doesn't apply.
Design & peer review — independent review of fire strategies and fire engineering design by others.
RIBA Stage 5 inspections — verification of the works on site against the fire strategy. Getting installations right from the start, and closing out problems early, prevents expensive remediation later.
Golden thread & handover support — capturing and structuring fire safety information for occupation.

Related reading: for buildings in occupation, the strategy underpins the fire risk assessment. For higher-risk buildings, see Building Safety Regulator support.

Fire Strategy Questions

Fire strategy & engineering FAQs

What is a fire strategy, and when do I need one?+

A fire strategy is the document that sets out how a building is designed to protect people from fire — means of escape, compartmentation, structural protection, fire systems and firefighting provision — and the reasoning behind it. You need one to demonstrate Building Regulations compliance for new buildings, changes of use and significant refurbishments, and for higher-risk buildings it forms a core part of the Gateway 2 application.

What is a retrospective fire strategy?+

Many existing buildings have no documented fire strategy at all. A retrospective fire strategy records how the building as it stands is designed to perform in a fire, and how it should be managed day to day. It underpins the fire risk assessment, informs remediation decisions, and for higher-risk buildings supports the building safety case.

What is a fire statement (Planning Gateway One)?+

For planning applications involving high-rise residential buildings in England, a fire statement must accompany the application, setting out fire safety considerations at the planning stage. In London, Policy D12(A) of the London Plan applies similar requirements to most major developments. We prepare both.

What is performance-based fire engineering design?+

Where prescriptive guidance such as Approved Document B, BS 9999 or BS 9991 is too restrictive or doesn't fit the building, a performance-based approach demonstrates that the design achieves the required level of safety by engineering analysis. It's how complex, unusual or ambitious buildings get approved without compromising safety.

Why inspect the works on site at RIBA Stage 5?+

Because a fire strategy only protects people if it's actually built. Stage 5 inspection verifies the works against the strategy as they progress — catching problems while they're cheap to fix, and preventing the expensive remediation that comes from finding them at handover or years later.