What is fire risk assessment software?
Fire risk assessment software produces and manages the fire risk assessment (FRA) required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Rather than starting from a blank template, you answer questions about the premises and the software builds a structured assessment to the gov.uk five-step method and the structure of PAS 79 — the hazards, the people at risk, the existing fire precautions, an overall risk rating and a prioritised action plan.
Complys does more than a template: it generates the assessment from your premises details, modernises an existing FRA to the current standard, tracks the review date, produces a branded PDF, lets you share the assessment for sign-off, and links each FRA to a property so you can manage a whole portfolio. It also detects whether the premises is an occupied building or a live construction site and assesses against the correct standard.
Who needs a fire risk assessment?
Almost every non-domestic premises in England and Wales needs a fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Order, and the common parts of blocks of flats and HMOs specifically do. The legal duty sits with the "responsible person" — the employer, owner or person in control of the premises — who must ensure a suitable and sufficient assessment is in place and kept up to date. That covers workplaces, shops, restaurants, care homes, schools, warehouses, HMOs and residential blocks.
What should a fire risk assessment contain?
Complys follows the official gov.uk five-step method:
- 1Identify the fire hazards
Sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen across the premises are identified and recorded.
- 2Identify people at risk
Everyone who uses the premises, and anyone especially at risk — elderly, children, disabled, lone workers or sleeping occupants.
- 3Evaluate, remove or reduce the risks
Existing fire precautions are assessed against the standard, the risk is evaluated and an overall rating is given.
- 4Record, plan and train
The significant findings are recorded with a prioritised action plan, an emergency plan and the information and training staff need.
- 5Review and update
The assessment is reviewed regularly and whenever there is a significant change to the premises, its use or its occupancy.
How digital fire risk assessment software works
You enter the premises, its use and occupancy, and what fire precautions exist. Complys writes the full assessment — identifying hazards and people at risk, evaluating the existing measures against the right standard, giving an overall risk rating, and producing a prioritised action plan with recommendations. Where information is missing it uses clear placeholders rather than inventing facts. You then review it, download a branded PDF, and share it with the responsible person for sign-off.
Because it is digital, the assessment is version-controlled, the review date is tracked and surfaced before it lapses, and every FRA is stored and searchable — not a PDF lost in an inbox. For a business with more than one premises, that is the difference between staying on top of fire safety and hoping nothing has expired.
Action plans, review dates and sign-off
Every assessment ends with a prioritised action plan so the significant findings turn into things that actually get done. Complys tracks the next review date for each assessment and shows it alongside your other compliance dates, and you can share a read-only link with the responsible person to review and sign off the assessment. You can also mark an assessment approved or archived, and produce an improved new version at any time.
Fire risk assessments by sector
Landlords
The common parts of blocks and HMOs need a fire risk assessment kept up to date. Generate one per property and track the review dates alongside gas, EICR and EPC.
Learn more →Letting & managing agents
Generate FRAs across a whole portfolio, link each to its property, and see coverage at a glance — which are done and which are due.
Learn more →Blocks of flats
Common-parts FRAs, fire doors and building-safety records in one place, with review reminders so nothing lapses.
Learn more →Care homes
Premises with a sleeping risk need careful assessment. Complys produces an FRA that accounts for vulnerable occupants and the evacuation strategy.
Learn more →Offices & workplaces
A straightforward premises FRA for an office or workplace under the Fire Safety Order, with a clear action plan.
Learn more →Construction sites
A construction/development site is assessed against CDM 2015 and HSG168 for temporary fire safety, not permanent-building standards — Complys detects which applies.
Learn more →Fire risk assessment software vs a Word or PDF template
A downloaded FRA template is cheap but risky: it is easy to leave generic, hard to keep updated, and impossible to track across several premises. Software produces a premises-specific assessment every time, keeps every version, prompts you before the review is due, and stores everything in one place ready to share. Across a portfolio, that reliability is the whole point.