What Is a Fire Risk Assessment & How Is It Done?

Fire safety isn’t something you can leave to guesswork. The good news is that a fire risk assessment helps you take a closer look at the real risks in your building and design fire protection strategies that actually fit the way your facility operates.

That’s where a fire risk assessment comes into play. Read on to explore what a fire risk assessment is, why it’s important, how it’s conducted, and when you need one.

What Is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a structured process used to evaluate the likelihood and consequences of fire in a building or facility. This involves:

• Identifying potential fire hazards
• Understanding who and what might be at risk
• Assessing the adequacy of current fire protection measures
• Uncovering any gaps in safety or compliance.

The overall goal is to reduce the likelihood of a fire occurring and to minimize harm if one does occur.

Fire protection engineers can assist facility owners by using a fire risk assessment to go beyond the assumptions of the code and develop tailored fire protection strategies that reflect the actual risks present in a specific facility or operation. By identifying the specific hazards and unique challenges of a facility and comparing them to prescriptive code requirements, a fire risk assessment helps determine whether alternative fire protection solutions can meet or exceed the code's intent without compromising safety, effectiveness, and operational continuity.

In some cases, fire risk assessments are explicitly required by code, such as for mass notification systems or high-risk occupancies. More often, they serve as the foundation for performance-based designs or alternative means and methods approaches. These applications enable informed, evidence-based decisions that align with regulatory intent while better reflecting real-world conditions.

Types of Fire Risk Assessments

NFPA 551, Guide for the Evaluation of Fire Risk Assessments, identifies five broad types of fire risk assessments:

1. Qualitative Assessment: Offers a high-level review based on experience and judgment, often used for smaller or low-risk buildings.
2. Semi-Qualitative Assessment: Uses rankings or scoring systems to compare and prioritize risks.
3. Quantitative Assessment: Applies numerical data and modeling to estimate risk likelihood and severity with greater precision based on historical data and statistics.
4. Semi-Quantitative Assessment: Combines qualitative insights with simplified numerical scales.
5. Cost-Benefit Assessment: Evaluates whether the cost of mitigation strategies is justified by the reduction in risk.

The type of assessment selected depends on the complexity of the facility, the stakes involved, and what’s needed to support an alternative approach or meet code requirements.

Who Is Responsible for Conducting a Fire Risk Assessment?

Fire risk assessments are never conducted in isolation. They’re collaborative, team-based efforts that rely on input from a wide range of stakeholders. According to NFPA 551, stakeholders can include:

• Building owners and operators
• Tenants and occupants
• Employees and contractors
• Fire protection engineers or consultants
• Insurance representatives
• Local fire officials and emergency responders
• Design and construction teams
• Neighbors or community members in certain scenarios

Each party involved in a fire risk assessment brings unique insights and critical information to the table. While a licensed fire protection engineer typically leads the process and delivers the final analysis, their role is ultimately that of a facilitator, gathering high-quality input from those who best understand the facility, its operations, and hazards.

The accuracy and effectiveness of the resulting fire protection strategies depend heavily on factors such as occupancy data, operational workflows, insurance requirements, and local emergency response capabilities. Together, this collective knowledge forms the foundation for practical, risk-informed solutions.

When to Hire a Certified Fire Risk Assessor

Work with a certified fire risk assessor anytime a formal fire risk assessment is required.

Most Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) will not accept a risk assessment completed solely by a building owner or operator, as these individuals typically lack the technical expertise to evaluate fire protection adequacy.

If you are submitting the assessment as part of a performance-based design, alternative means of compliance, or a required code provision (e.g., for high-piled storage or mass notification systems), having a licensed fire protection engineer or certified risk assessor will make the whole process smoother.

What Happens If You Don’t Comply?

If you’re following the prescriptive requirements of the code, a fire risk assessment isn’t always needed. But if you’re unable to comply prescriptively and choose not to complete a risk assessment to justify alternative strategies, you could face serious liabilities.

More importantly, once an assessor completes a fire risk assessment and identifies hazards, it becomes your responsibility to implement the recommended mitigation strategies. Failing to act on a documented risk can increase liability exposure down the line, especially if an incident occurs and the assessment shows you were aware of the hazard and chose not to address it.

How Is a Fire Risk Assessment Performed?

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the typical fire risk assessment process:

Step 1: Identify Fire Hazards

The fire risk assessor begins by walking through the facility to observe its operation. They will seek answers to the following questions:

• What materials are present?
• How are they stored and used?
• Are there unique operations or equipment that introduce combustible or flammable risks?

For example, in lithium-ion battery manufacturing, risks occur during the electrode manufacturing, cell assembly, and cell formation steps.

Step 2: Identify People at Risk

Next, the assessor determines who could be affected if a fire occurs. That includes employees, tenants, first responders, visitors, and even the community or insurers.

Risk means something different to each of these groups, so the assessment must reflect a broad understanding of who’s involved and what's at stake.

Step 3: Evaluate & Mitigate Risks

Once hazards and exposures are identified, the assessor investigates the likelihood and impact of those risks and compares them to the stakeholders’ tolerance for risk. They may ask questions like:

• Do you need maximum reliability because the operation is mission-critical?
• Is a moderate level of protection sufficient?
• Does the hazard assumed by the prescriptive code actually exist in this facility?

Based on the answers to these questions, the assessor develops tailored mitigation strategies ranging from system upgrades to procedural changes.

Step 4: Record Findings & Prepare an Emergency Plan

At this step, everything is documented:

• Identified hazards
• Affected parties
• Acceptable risk thresholds
• Proposed mitigation measures

The assessor backs their recommendations with industry data, system reliability reports, and historical statistics to build a defensible case for why certain measures are necessary (or unnecessary).

Step 5: Review & Update the Plan Regularly

A fire risk assessment is a living document. As operations change—such as with new tenants, different processes, or updated equipment—the risk profile shifts.

Some assessments may require reevaluation every three years, while others should be triggered by changes in processes or identified during inspections by the AHJ.

How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?

There’s no universal timeline for when a fire risk assessment needs to be reviewed. However, several key triggers should prompt a review:

• Changes to operations or occupancy: If a space is repurposed, its fire risk profile may shift significantly, such as converting office space into lab use, or storage areas becoming production floors.
• Introduction of new materials, equipment, or layouts: New equipment might introduce heat sources or flammable materials, while a revised layout could affect egress paths, smoke movement, or sprinkler coverage.
• After a fire, near-miss, or false alarm: Small or large incidents highlight potential vulnerabilities that may not have been previously considered.
• Code updates or regulatory changes: If local, state, or national fire codes are updated, revisit your fire protection strategy to confirm continued compliance or identify needed changes.
• Tenant turnover or management changes: New tenants may bring new operations, materials, or equipment. Similarly, new leadership may have different risk tolerances or insurance requirements.

Many organizations include a Management of Change (MoC) program within their fire risk management strategy to ensure reviews occur whenever significant changes are made.

At the end of the day, the best practice is to review your fire risk assessment regularly and proactively, not just when regulators ask for it. For some facilities, that may mean a formal review every 1–3 years. For others, it may hinge on specific events or industry standards. What matters most is staying aware of how your risks evolve and keeping your protection strategies aligned with them.

Conclusion

Every building tells a unique story, and so do its risks. A fire risk assessment helps you move beyond the assumptions built into the codes and take a closer, more accurate look at the real fire hazards your facility faces.

Whether you’re managing a complex industrial operation, a unique architectural design, or a facility that’s grown and evolved over time, this process empowers you to design defensible fire protection strategies that align with how your space functions.

The key is to treat your fire risk assessment as a roadmap for making smarter decisions, safer operations, and better outcomes in everyday conditions and worst-case scenarios.

If your operations don’t fit the mold, your fire safety plan shouldn’t either. A tailored approach starts with the right assessment.

When you need an expert fire protection engineer to conduct a fire risk assessment for your facility, turn to Performance Based Fire Protection Engineering for optimal results. Contact us to start the conversation.