EXISTING BUILDINGS & UPDATED FIRE STRATEGIES
If your building has no reliable fire strategy, or the one you have no longer reflects the layout, use or fire precautions, ESI can build a clear, current strategy around the building as it actually stands today.
We bring together the available drawings, records and current fire safety arrangements so you have a coherent document that explains the building's fire safety approach, what can be evidenced and where further clarification may be needed.
GET A QUOTE
Send us the basics. We will review the project stage, likely scope and next step.
Professional memberships, registrations and industry credentials
The basics
A fire strategy sets out the fire safety design and approach for a building. For a new project, that work is normally developed alongside the design. A retrospective fire strategy starts from a different place: the building already exists.
It is useful where no reliable strategy can be found, or where the existing strategy no longer reflects how the building is actually laid out and used. The aim is to bring the available information together into a clear picture of the building's current fire safety approach.
That can include means of escape, structural fire resistance, compartmentation, fire detection and alarm, emergency lighting, fire service access and the management arrangements that support the building once occupied.
Important: a retrospective fire strategy is not the same as a fire risk assessment. The strategy explains the building's fire safety design basis. The fire risk assessment looks at the risks and management of the occupied building.
Understanding the building as it exists today
WHEN IT HELPS
Existing buildings often have a long history of alterations, changing use and incomplete records. A retrospective strategy can give owners, managers and project teams a clearer basis to work from.
NO RELIABLE STRATEGY
You need a clear record of the building's fire safety approach, but the original strategy is missing or was never handed over.
OUT OF DATE
The layout, use or fire precautions have changed significantly since the existing strategy was prepared.
TRANSACTION
You want a clearer, current fire safety basis ahead of a sale, refinancing exercise or insurance renewal.
REFURBISHMENT
A refurbishment or fit-out is being planned and the project team needs to understand the existing fire safety basis before changing it.
CHANGE
Occupancy, layout or use has moved on and the old documentation no longer gives the full picture.
NEW OWNERSHIP
You have inherited a building and need to understand what the existing fire safety arrangements were intended to achieve.
Not sure whether you need a retrospective strategy?
Tell us what documents you have and what has changed. We will advise on the most sensible next step.
WHAT WE REVIEW
A retrospective strategy needs to connect the available records with the building as it stands today. The scope is agreed around the property, the information available and what the strategy needs to achieve.
Building use and occupancy
How the building is actually used today.
Means of escape
Routes, travel distances and exit arrangements.
Structural fire resistance
The fire-resisting basis of the structure where it can be established.
Compartmentation
How fire and smoke are intended to be contained.
Fire detection and alarm
The system provision relevant to the building and use.
Emergency lighting
Provision supporting escape routes and key areas.
Fire service access
Access, facilities and firefighting provisions.
External fire spread
Relevant separation and external fire safety considerations.
Management arrangements
How the design assumptions are supported in use.
Existing drawings and records
Available plans, reports and historic information that help establish the current basis.
A DIFFERENT STARTING POINT
The purpose is similar, but the evidence and constraints are different. A retrospective strategy has to work with the building that already exists rather than a design that can still be changed freely.
| Comparison | Retrospective fire strategy | New-build fire strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | An existing, usually occupied building. | A developing design or construction project. |
| Information available | Current layout, available drawings, previous reports and what can be established from the building. | Architectural drawings, specifications and coordinated design information. |
| Main challenge | Reconciling historic information with what exists now. | Coordinating fire safety before the design is fixed or built. |
| What it gives you | A clearer current fire safety design basis for the existing building. | A fire safety design basis for the project as it develops. |
| Drawings | Annotated drawings where relevant and where suitable base information is available. | Annotated strategy drawings coordinated with the design team. |
Not sure which strategy your building needs?
Tell us what you already have and what has changed. We’ll help you understand whether you need a retrospective strategy, an update to an existing strategy, or another route.
WORKING WITH WHAT EXISTS
That is common in older buildings and buildings that have changed hands. Start by sending us what you have. We can review the available drawings, reports and other fire safety information and agree what further information is needed for a sensible scope.
A retrospective strategy should not pretend that every historic design decision can be reconstructed perfectly. The useful outcome is a clear document that distinguishes what can be established, what assumptions need to be understood and what may need further investigation.
If the building is also being refurbished, this work can give the design team a stronger starting point before new changes are introduced.
The strategy should reflect the building as it stands today, not simply reproduce assumptions from drawings that may no longer match reality.
Reviewing existing drawings, reports and records
The process
We keep the process practical, starting with what already exists and building towards a strategy that gives owners, managers and project teams a clearer basis to work from.
01
We talk through the building, why the strategy is needed and agree the right scope.
02
We review the drawings, reports and other relevant fire safety information you can provide.
03
We consider how the building is laid out and used now, and how the current arrangements fit together.
04
We bring the available evidence into a coherent fire safety design approach for the existing building.
05
You receive the written strategy and annotated drawings where relevant.
06
We explain the strategy clearly and support relevant project or stakeholder queries where agreed.
Ready to get started?
Get a quote in a couple of minutes, no obligation.
The deliverable
At the end of the process, you will receive a clearly written fire strategy document tailored to the existing building. Depending on the agreed scope, this can include:
Description of the building and its current use
Fire safety design approach for the existing building
Annotated drawings where relevant
Means of escape and travel distances
Compartmentation and structural fire protection
Fire detection, alarm and emergency lighting provision
Fire service access and firefighting facilities
Management arrangements for the occupied building
For assessments and surveys, this becomes a live asset register you can build on over time, rather than a one-off document that goes out of date the moment something changes.
See what's included in your quote
RETROSPECTIVE FIRE STRATEGY
Existing building · fire safety design basis · annotated information
1. BUILDING AND USE
2. FIRE SAFETY APPROACH
3. STRATEGY DRAWINGS
4. KEY PROVISIONS
FIRE STRATEGY OR FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT?
A fire strategy explains the fire safety design and approach for the building. A fire risk assessment looks at the fire risk in a building that is occupied and in use, including how the building is managed today.
If your retrospective strategy and fire risk assessment are both being reviewed, there is real value in making sure they tell the same story. The strategy should explain the design basis, while the assessment should reflect how that building is actually being operated.
If the two documents conflict, it can create confusion about what the building was designed to achieve and how it should be managed in practice. Reviewing them together helps identify those gaps before they become a problem.
Discuss your building
Founder & Principal Consultant
WHY 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.
Retrospective strategy work benefits from understanding both how fire safety is designed into a building and how that building is actually managed in use. Because ESI also carries out fire risk assessments, fire door work and compartmentation surveys, we can look at the strategy in the context of the wider building rather than as a standalone paper exercise.
We explain the reasoning in plain English and keep the scope proportionate to the building, the information available and what you actually need the strategy to achieve.
"A retrospective strategy should explain the building you actually have, not the building an old drawing says you have."
NFRAR
Registered fire risk assessor.
Qualifications
Level 4 and Level 6 fire risk assessment qualifications.
IFSM
Professional membership and ongoing industry engagement.
!
TIME-SENSITIVE REQUIREMENT
If a sale, refinancing exercise, insurance renewal or upcoming refurbishment has exposed a gap in your fire strategy information, tell us what is driving the requirement and what documents you already have. We can help you understand the right next step and scope the work appropriately.
Common questions
It is a fire strategy prepared for a building that already exists, typically because no reliable strategy is available or because the existing strategy no longer reflects the building's current layout, use or fire safety arrangements.
No. A fire strategy explains the fire safety design and approach for the building. A fire risk assessment looks at fire risk within an occupied building and how that risk is managed in practice. The two documents serve different purposes and should be consistent with each other.
Not simply because it is an existing building. The need depends on the circumstances. It can be particularly useful where no reliable strategy exists, where the building has changed significantly, or where a current fire safety design basis is needed for planned works, a transaction or another stakeholder requirement.
Often, yes. Send us what you have and we will advise what can be used and whether further information is needed. The scope should reflect what can reasonably be established rather than pretending missing historic information exists.
That is one of the main reasons to review it. If the layout, use or fire safety arrangements have changed significantly, the strategy should be revisited so it still reflects the building as it stands today.
It can be useful where those processes expose a gap in the building's fire safety information or where the existing strategy no longer gives a reliable picture. Tell us what has been requested and we can advise on the appropriate scope.
It depends on the size and complexity of the building, the quality of the existing information, the scope of review needed and whether drawings or further liaison are required. Send us the basic details and we will put together a clear proposal.
That depends on the complexity of the building and how much reliable information is available when we start. We can give you a realistic timescale once we have reviewed the basic project information.
Yes, where this is included in the agreed scope. We can explain the strategy, respond to relevant queries and update the document where further information or agreed changes require it.
Get started
To put together an accurate quote, it helps if you can tell us what the building is, what documents you already have and what has prompted the need for a retrospective strategy.
Do not worry if the records are incomplete or you are not sure exactly what is needed. We would rather understand the situation first and scope the work properly.
Tell us a little about the premises and what has prompted the enquiry.