Key takeaways
- A fire strategy explains how the whole building is designed to be safe in a fire
- The escape strategy is one part of it: how people get out
- The fire risk assessment checks the building in use still matches both
- Stay put depends on sound compartmentation and fire doors
- Any change of evacuation strategy needs planning and a review of the assessment
Two terms that are often confused
Building owners, managing agents and even contractors often use "fire strategy" and "escape strategy" as if they meant the same thing. They do not. Mixing them up leads to real problems: a building managed on the wrong evacuation assumption, alterations that quietly undermine the design, or a fire risk assessment written without knowing what the building was designed to do.
The simplest way to think about it: the fire strategy is the design of the whole system, and the escape strategy is how people are expected to move through it in a fire.
What a fire strategy is
A fire strategy is usually produced at design stage, by a fire engineer or fire safety consultant working with the architect, to show how a new building, extension or change of use will meet the fire safety requirements of the building regulations. It explains the design, the standards it follows and any areas where an engineered solution has been used. A typical fire strategy covers:
- Means of warning and escape: the alarm and detection system, escape routes, travel distances, stairs, exits and the evacuation strategy
- Internal fire spread: wall and ceiling linings, compartmentation, fire-resisting construction, cavity barriers and fire stopping
- Structural fire resistance: how long the structure must stand in a fire
- External fire spread: external walls, boundaries and roofs
- Firefighting access and facilities: vehicle access, firefighting shafts, risers, hydrants and smoke ventilation
- Fire safety systems: sprinklers, smoke control and emergency lighting where they form part of the design
Designers follow recognised guidance. In England that is Approved Document B. Wales has its own Approved Document B (Wales), in two volumes for dwellings and for other buildings. Many designs use British Standards instead or as well: BS 9991 for residential buildings and BS 9999 for non-residential and mixed-use buildings. Wales also has a distinctive requirement for sprinklers in new and converted homes, under the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011, which a Welsh fire strategy must reflect.
When the work is finished, the fire safety information for the building should be handed to the Responsible Person, so the fire strategy does not disappear with the design team.
What an escape strategy is
The escape strategy, more often called the evacuation strategy, is the part of the fire strategy that says how people will respond when the alarm sounds or a fire is discovered. It depends on how the building is built and who is in it. The main approaches are:
Stay put
Used in most purpose-built blocks of flats. Each flat is designed as a fire-resisting compartment, so residents who are not directly affected can stay in their flat unless the fire affects them or they are told to leave by the fire and rescue service. It is sometimes described as delayed evacuation. It only works if compartmentation, flat entrance doors and fire stopping are in good condition.
Simultaneous evacuation
Everyone leaves at once when the alarm sounds. This is normal for most offices, shops, schools and HMOs, and for converted houses where the construction cannot support stay put.
Phased evacuation
Used in some tall or large buildings. The floors most at risk leave first, with other floors following in stages. It depends on a suitable alarm and voice communication system and on stairs and compartmentation designed for it.
Progressive horizontal evacuation
Used where many people cannot leave the building quickly, such as care homes and hospitals. Residents are moved through fire doors into a neighbouring protected area on the same floor, and then further if needed. It depends on sufficient staff, training and well-maintained compartmentation.
Personal plans
Whatever the general strategy, some people need help to escape. A personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) sets out how a specific person will be helped out. In workplaces and care settings this is part of good fire safety management. In England, specific duties on residential evacuation plans for residents of certain high-rise buildings have been introduced.
How they relate to the fire risk assessment
The fire risk assessment is carried out once the building is in use, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in both England and Wales. It is not a design document. It checks whether the building, as it is actually used and maintained today, still supports the fire strategy, and whether the evacuation strategy is still appropriate.
A good assessor will ask for the fire strategy before visiting. If the building was designed for stay put, the assessment will look closely at the condition of compartmentation, flat entrance doors and service risers. If there is no fire strategy, which is common in older buildings, the assessor will have to work out the likely design intent from what is there, and may recommend that a strategy is prepared.
When the escape strategy has to change
Sometimes a fire risk assessment or an investigation finds that the building cannot support its intended evacuation strategy. Common examples are serious gaps in compartmentation, missing fire stopping, or combustible external wall materials. In a block of flats designed for stay put, this may mean moving temporarily to simultaneous evacuation until the building is put right.
That change needs to be planned properly. It usually involves interim measures such as a common fire alarm system and, in some cases, a waking watch while the alarm is installed. The National Fire Chiefs Council publishes guidance on temporary simultaneous evacuation, and the local fire and rescue service should be told about any change. Residents need clear, updated fire action information, and the fire risk assessment must be reviewed.
Changes to the building itself, such as alterations, a new use or a change in occupants, can also undermine the original fire strategy. Any significant change should prompt a review of both the strategy and the fire risk assessment.
England and Wales: higher-risk buildings
In England
Higher-risk buildings (at least 18 metres or seven storeys, with two or more residential units) are regulated by the Building Safety Regulator. Fire strategy information is scrutinised at Gateway 2 before building work starts and at Gateway 3 before occupation, and it must be kept as part of the golden thread of building information.
In Wales
The England-only higher-risk building regime does not apply. Fire strategies are checked through the building control process against Approved Document B (Wales). The Welsh Government is reforming building safety law, including new duties for multi-occupied residential buildings.
What you should have in place
If you are responsible for a building, find the fire strategy and check that the evacuation strategy in your fire action notices, resident information and staff training matches it. Make sure your fire risk assessment refers to it. If you have no fire strategy, or the building has changed since it was written, it is worth having one prepared or updated. We write fire strategies for new buildings, extensions and changes of use across Wales and England.