A practical guide / Fire risk assessment
Can AI do a fire risk assessment?
AI can help sort your walk-round notes, draft a fire risk assessment record and track actions. Start with a visit to the premises. Use the GOV.UK five-step structure to turn what you find into a clear record and a list of work to do.
This guide is for small business owners writing their own assessment. It uses the Home Office checklist for England. GOV.UK links to separate rules for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The responsible person makes the risk judgements, with a competent person where help is needed.
Draft your assessment recordKeep site notes, judgements and actions connected.
Decide who will carry out the assessment
GOV.UK says you can carry out the assessment yourself if you have the expertise. Appoint a competent person if you need help. As the responsible person, arrange the assessment, put suitable fire measures in place and review the assessment regularly.
More on this step
Choose the official guide that matches your premises. Collect the floor plan, previous assessment and service records before the walk-round. Write down areas you need help to assess, such as a shared escape route. Discuss shared responsibilities with the landlord or other occupiers.
Read the source: GOV.UK: carrying out a fire risk assessment; GOV.UK: fire safety responsibilities
Use the five steps as your writing template
The Home Office checklist has five headings: fire hazards; people at risk; evaluate and act; record, plan and train; review. Copy these headings into your document and put each site note under the right step.
More on this step
Under hazards, note possible ignition sources and material that could burn. Under people, describe who uses each area and who may need extra help. Under evaluate and act, record your assessment and the measures needed. Keep each decision linked to the location and evidence you inspected.
Under record, plan and train, set out the fire plan, staff instruction and upkeep plans. Under review, add the review date and any changes that prompt a fresh look. The checklist includes changes to the building, stock and substances, as well as fires or near misses.
Read the source: Home Office: fire risk assessment five-step checklist
Give AI site notes it can organise
Give each note a place, date and record ID. Add what you saw, the fire measure in place and the assessor’s decision. Leave an open field for anything still to check. Ask AI to sort the notes under the five headings and keep your wording intact.
More on this step
Keep an action list beside the draft. Use fields for action ID, issue, agreed work, owner, due date and proof of completion. Link each action to the part of the record it comes from. You can then follow work from the walk-round through to the next review.
Worked example
A print shop turns notes into an action record
Example with made-up details: a print shop owner records cartons beside a rear exit at 09:15. She photographs the area as P04 and records that the cartons were moved at 09:25. Her notes also say that the latest alarm service record needs collecting.
The draft places the cartons under hazards and escape arrangements, with P04 beside the site note. Action A01 records the agreed storage change and its owner. Action A02 asks the office manager to obtain the service record by Friday. Its status stays open until the evidence arrives.
The owner adds her assessment of the escape arrangements after inspecting them. The document preserves both the original site note and the later action, so the next review can follow what changed.
Illustrative example.
Walk-round
Capture locations and evidence.
Record
Arrange notes under five headings.
Action plan
Assign work and record completion.
Keep responsibility and personal data clear
GOV.UK requires a written assessment record and regular review. Save the final version with the walk-round notes and dated actions. Keep open questions visible for the person completing the record, then add their decisions when those points are resolved.
The ICO covers the use of personal data in AI. If staff need help to leave the building, use only the details needed for that task. Keep named staff records in an approved system. Agree who can see the record and its source files.
Read the source: GOV.UK: carrying out a fire risk assessment; ICO: AI and data protection
Try a practical task
Draft the record from a completed walk-round
Use this prompt after collecting site notes and the assessor’s decisions.
Try this in your AI app
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini
CodexUsing Gemini? The button copies the prompt. Paste it into the new chat.
Arrange these fire safety notes for [premises and use] into the Home Office five-step structure: hazards; people at risk; evaluate and act; record, plan and train; review. Our notes and evidence references are [notes]. Our assessor’s decisions are [decisions].
Preserve locations, dates and evidence IDs. Put unanswered points in a questions list. Leave risk judgements open wherever the assessor has yet to provide them. Create a linked action register using our agreed owners and deadlines.
Return a draft record, a record index and the open actions. Include a review section with our next review date [date] and the changes our assessor says should trigger a review.
A relevant public story
Iain connected hotel site records to reports
Iain Davidson audits health, safety and security at luxury hotels. With coaching, he built a Python app to capture evidence, score issues and write reports. He produced a 70-page first client report and used the tool at further hotels.
For a fire assessment record, this shows how site notes can stay linked to written findings and follow-up work.
Read the source: Remote Humans: iain public story
Testimonial · 4:16
"It's going to save a considerable amount of time. More importantly, it's going to save a considerable amount of money."
Iain Davidson · Health, Safety & Security Leader, Five-Star Luxury Hotels
Questions about this task
Can I do a fire risk assessment myself?
GOV.UK allows this when you have the expertise. Use the premises guidance to judge the help you need and appoint a competent person where needed.
How do I start writing it?
Gather your premises details and walk-round notes. Use the five official headings, then add the assessor’s decisions, record references and a dated action plan.