Do you know whether your fire risk assessor is certificated?
A new industry report finds that most buyers cannot tell whether their fire risk assessor is independently certificated. Here is what it found and what you can do about it.
Almost ten years after Grenfell, organisations are taking fire safety more seriously. A new report from BAFE, the Fire Industry Association and NSI suggests that taking it seriously is not the same as knowing who is competent to help.
What the research found
The report, The Fire Safety Competence Gap, draws on a survey of 150 UK decision-makers with responsibility for, or influence over, fire safety. It found that:
- 93% agree that focus and action around fire safety have increased.
- 45% of Responsible Persons do not see checking their assessor's competence as one of their responsibilities.
- 73% do not know whether their fire risk assessor is certificated, who certificates them, or how to appoint a certificated one.
- 69% say proof of competence is essential when choosing a fire safety supplier.
In other words, most people agree that competence matters, but many have no simple way to check it.
Why membership is not the same as certification
The report is clear that appearing in a directory, or being a member of a trade association, is not proof of competence. Third-party certification means an independent, UKAS-accredited body has audited the provider against a recognised scheme. UKAS is the body the Government recognises to check those certification bodies.
What the authors want Government to do
The report was written by the certification bodies themselves, BAFE and NSI with the Fire Industry Association. It recommends that Government makes UKAS-accredited third-party certification the required way to verify competence, and creates a single official register of certificated providers, similar to the Gas Safe Register.
What you can do now
You do not need to wait for any change in the law. If you are a Responsible Person, you can ask your assessor three questions today:
- Are you certificated by an independent, UKAS-accredited body?
- Can I verify that directly with the certification body?
- Which standard do you work to? BS 8674:2025 now describes the skills and knowledge expected of fire risk assessors.
Our guide on how to choose a competent fire risk assessor walks through the full checklist, and how we prove our competence shows how to verify our own certification with BAFE and NSI.
Source: BAFE, FIA and NSI, The Fire Safety Competence Gap, 2026 (research by Sapio Research). Read the report.
Talk to a competent specialist
Tell us about your building and we will explain what you need and what it involves.