ONGOING FIRE SAFETY SUPPORT & ADVICE
Not every fire safety problem starts with a blank sheet of paper. Sometimes you already have an assessment that needs checking, a building that has changed since it was last looked at, or an enforcement notice that needs a fast response.
ESI: Fire Safety provides ongoing fire safety consultancy for businesses, landlords, managing agents and other professionals across Surrey and the South East, filling in the gaps a one-off assessment does not cover.
GET IN TOUCH
Send us the basics and we will help work out the right next step.
Professional memberships, registrations and industry credentials
The basics
A fire risk assessment is a snapshot: a structured look at your building at a single point in time. Fire safety consultancy is everything around that snapshot, reviewing what you already have, advising when things change, and helping you act on findings rather than just receive them.
It covers situations that do not always fit neatly into a single service, such as checking an assessment someone else produced, working out whether an alteration to your building needs fire safety to be looked at again, or responding quickly when a fire officer has raised a concern.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (also known as the RRO or RRFSO), the legal duty to manage fire safety sits with the Responsible Person, whether that is an employer, a building owner, a landlord or a managing agent. Consultancy support exists to make that duty manageable, giving you someone to turn to rather than leaving you to interpret the regulations alone.
Think of it as ongoing access to fire safety expertise, rather than a one-off transaction. Some clients use it for a single specific problem, others build it into how they manage a building or portfolio over time.
At its best, consultancy means working with someone who gets to know your business or your properties, not someone you call once and never hear from again. Appointing a fire safety professional gives you a dedicated point of contact whose job is to protect your interests, your property and your people, rather than leaving compliance to whichever contractor happens to be on site.
Talk through your situation
A consultancy review can bring together existing assessments, plans, policies, contractor information and regulatory correspondence.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Consultancy covers a broad range of situations. Here are the ones we are asked about most often.
What ties these together is that none of them start from a blank sheet of paper. You already have a building, a history, and usually some existing paperwork, whether that is a previous assessment, a set of contractor invoices, or a policy nobody has looked at in years. Our job is to work with what already exists, tell you honestly where it stands, and help you decide what to do next, rather than starting again from scratch every time.
If your situation does not fit neatly into one of the areas below, that is completely normal. Most consultancy enquiries start as a conversation rather than a clearly defined brief, so get in touch and we will work out together what you actually need.
Checking an existing fire risk assessment is competent and complete.
View FRA validationAdvising whether alterations mean your fire safety, or your Approved Document B compliance, needs revisiting.
Discuss your situationA broader look at management, documentation and maintenance, benchmarked against Approved Document B, BS 9999 or BS 9991 as appropriate.
Discuss your situationInspecting completed works and reporting on whether they address the findings
Discuss your situationReviewing or drafting your fire safety policy, management arrangements and Regulation 38 information.
Discuss your situationFast, competent help when a fire officer has raised a formal concern.
Discuss your situationAppoint a dedicated fire safety professional who gets to know your buildings, not just your reports.
Discuss your situationReviewing and auditing compliance documentation consistently across multiple sites.
Discuss your situationFire safety due diligence before you complete, so you know what you are taking on.
Discuss your situationNot sure which of these fits your situation?
Tell us what's going on and we will advise.
WHO IT'S FOR
Consultancy support suits businesses and property professionals who need more than a single assessment: landlords managing several properties, businesses that have outgrown an ad hoc approach to fire safety, and any Responsible Person who has inherited a fire risk assessment they are not confident in.
It is particularly useful if you do not have anyone in-house with fire safety expertise. Rather than trying to interpret a report or regulation yourself, you have someone to call who already knows your building and can give a straight answer.
For organisations managing several sites or a wider property portfolio, we also review and audit compliance documentation across the whole portfolio, not just one building at a time, including higher-risk buildings that fall within scope of the Building Safety Act 2022. This gives you a consistent picture of where every site stands, rather than a set of separate assessments that are hard to compare or report on as a whole.
SCOPE OF WORK
Exactly what we cover depends on what you come to us with, but consultancy work typically involves the following.
Existing reports
Checking assessments, strategies or audits already in place
Changes since the last assessment
Layout, use, occupancy or works carried out
Management arrangements
Policies, procedures and how they are followed
Training and competence
Whether staff understand their fire safety responsibilities
Maintenance records
Whether testing and servicing is up to date
Outstanding actions
Whether previous recommendations were completed properly
Documentation
Whether records reflect what is really happening on site
Regulatory correspondence
Any notices or communication from the fire service
Fire service audits
Support with, and following up after, a visit from the fire service
Fire door assessments
Checking fire doors are fitted and performing correctly
Legal compliance under the RRO
Making sure your paperwork, processes and procedures meet your obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Landlord and managing agent coordination
Helping coordinate fire safety responsibilities between landlords, agents and tenants
The process
We start by understanding the situation and what is already in place, then agree the level of review, site input and ongoing support that makes sense for you.
01
We talk through what's going on and what you need from us.
02
We look at any existing reports, plans or correspondence you can share.
03
Many reviews need a visit; some can be done from documents alone.
04
We work through what we've found and what it means for you.
05
Findings and recommendations, set out in plain English.
06
We remain on hand if further questions or issues come up.
Ready to get started?
Get in touch in a couple of minutes, no obligation.
The deliverable
What you receive depends on what you come to us with, but it typically includes:
Clear written findings
A view on whether existing documents are adequate
A prioritised list of any actions needed
Practical, proportionate recommendations
Plain English explanation, not just a report
Direct access to ask follow-up questions
Existing documents
Reviewed and assessedCurrent position
What is satisfactory and what needs attentionPriorities
Actions set out in a practical orderNext steps
Clear recommendations and follow-up supportBEYOND BUILDING OWNERS
We also work alongside other professionals who need fire safety input as part of their own work, not just building owners managing their own premises.
DEVELOPMENT
Fire safety input alongside acquisitions, conversions and new schemes.
Discuss your requirementsSURVEYING
Fire safety input alongside a building survey, where it falls outside your own scope.
Discuss your requirementsCONSTRUCTION
Advice during works so fire safety is not compromised as a project progresses.
Discuss your requirementsLEGAL
Fire safety due diligence to support a transaction or lease renewal.
Discuss your requirementsLANDLORDS
Ongoing compliance support across single or multiple let properties.
Discuss your requirementsINSURANCE
Independent fire safety input to support underwriting or claims.
Discuss your requirementsDESIGN TEAM
Fire safety input to support a project, alongside or ahead of a full fire strategy.
Discuss your requirementsSOCIAL HOUSING
Compliance support across larger residential portfolios.
Discuss your requirementsWorking with a client who needs fire safety input?
We're happy to work directly with you or alongside your client.
Founder & Principal Consultant
ABOUT ESI
We are a small, specialist, consultancy led team, overseen by Jamie Morgan, who is listed on the Institute of Fire Safety Managers National Fire Risk Assessors Register and holds Level 4 and Level 6 qualifications in fire risk assessment.
Consultancy work relies on being able to give a straight, independent opinion, including telling you when something is already satisfactory rather than finding problems that are not really there. We would rather build a long-term relationship than create unnecessary work.
We are independent of any contractor. That matters, because relying on a contractor to tell you whether their own work is compliant is not the same as an independent assessment of it. Our job is to protect your interests, not sell you further works.
For clients who want more structured, ongoing support, we also offer tiered retained consultancy packages. Ask us for details if this sounds like a better fit than one-off support.
"Our job is to protect your interests, not sell you further works."
NFRAR
Registered fire risk assessor.
Qualifications
Level 4 and Level 6 fire risk assessment qualifications.
IFSM
Professional membership and ongoing industry engagement.
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URGENT ENFORCEMENT SUPPORT
These need a fast response. Call our team now for urgent help understanding what's required and getting it resolved.
Common questions
This is one of the most common reasons people contact us, so you are not alone. The best starting point is usually a straightforward conversation about your building and what is already in place, so we can tell you honestly whether your existing arrangements are adequate or where the gaps are. You do not need to already understand the regulations, that is what we are here for.
This happens more often than you would think, particularly where fire safety was handled informally by one person rather than through a documented system. We can review what is currently in place, tell you honestly how confident you should be in it, and help you put something more resilient in place so it does not depend on one person's knowledge again.
It depends entirely on what you need. Reviewing an existing assessment costs less than a full audit or ongoing support arrangement. Tell us what's going on and we will give you a straightforward, honest quote rather than a one-size-fits-all price.
Yes, this is one of the most common things we are asked to do. We will look at whether it is suitable and sufficient for your building, and be honest with you if it is fine as it stands rather than finding problems that are not really there.
Possibly, depending on what changed. An internal layout change, a change in occupant numbers, or new activities on site can all affect whether your existing assessment is still valid. Tell us what has changed and we can advise whether a full reassessment is needed or a lighter-touch review will do.
Contact us straight away. We will help you understand exactly what the notice requires, what needs to happen and by when, and support you through getting it resolved. This is genuinely urgent, so do not wait to deal with it.
Yes, for clients who want more structured, ongoing access to fire safety advice rather than one-off support. Get in touch and we can talk through whether this would suit your situation.
Yes. For organisations with several sites or a wider portfolio, we can review and audit fire safety documentation consistently across all of them, rather than treating each site as a one-off. This gives you a clear, comparable picture of where every site stands and what needs attention, which is particularly useful for reporting up to a head office or board.
Yes. Many clients come back to us once they have an action plan and need help working through it, whether that is advice on what a recommendation actually means in practice, help prioritising and scoping the work, or reviewing contractor works once they are complete. We can inspect completed works and report on whether they address the original findings, though we are independent of any contractor and do not carry out the works ourselves.
Yes, we regularly support property developers, surveyors, builders, solicitors and conveyancers, commercial landlords, insurers and loss adjusters, architects and building designers, and housing associations and social landlords, all of whom need fire safety input as part of their own work. We are happy to work directly with you or alongside your client.
Yes. DSEAR is a separate legal requirement from general fire safety, covering flammable and explosive substances, and we offer it as its own dedicated service. If you already have a DSEAR risk assessment and want it reviewed as part of a wider consultancy check, or you are not sure whether it applies to you, get in touch and we can advise. See our DSEAR Risk Assessments page for more detail.
Yes. Before you complete on a commercial property, or a business that occupies premises, it is worth knowing whether the fire safety arrangements are adequate and what it might cost to put right anything that is not. We can review existing documentation, carry out a site visit, and give you a clear, independent picture of the fire safety position before you commit, working alongside your solicitor or surveyor as needed.
Get started
To give you the right advice, it helps if you can let us know a bit about what's going on.
Do not worry if you are not sure exactly what you need, we would rather have a conversation and work it out together.
Tell us a little about the premises and what has prompted the enquiry.
