Fire risk assessments for
pubs & restaurants.

Fire risk assessments for hospitality, commercial kitchens, cellars, late-night occupancy and rooms above. Assessed on-site by Kevin or Jon, written for your insurer, your licence and your responsible person.

What we find

A commercial kitchen, a cellar, a late crowd, and people asleep upstairs.

Hospitality stacks up more distinct fire risks than almost any other small business: a commercial kitchen with hot oil, a cellar with gas under pressure, a busy public floor late at night, and, very often, staff or letting rooms on the floors above. Each one changes the assessment.

The moment there is sleeping accommodation above, the building becomes a sleeping-risk premises and the standard rises sharply. A generic assessment that treats it as a daytime restaurant misses the most dangerous scenario: a kitchen fire at night with people asleep upstairs.

Clear Fire assesses pubs and restaurants on-site under the Fire Safety Order, covering the kitchen, the cellar, the public areas and any sleeping risk, and writes a report that holds up with your insurer and licensing authority.

What we find in pubs & restaurants.

Drawn from Kevin and Jon's combined assessment experience. Hospitality findings cluster around the kitchen, the cellar and the route out for people who may be asleep or have had a drink.

Kitchen suppression & interlock

No fixed suppression over cooking ranges where one is expected, or a system not interlocked to shut off the gas and power on activation. Cooking-oil (Class F) fires are the leading hospitality ignition.

Grease-laden ductwork

Extract ducting not cleaned to TR19 frequencies, allowing grease build-up that turns a hob fire into a duct fire running through the building.

Cellar gas & CO₂ (DSEAR)

Cellar CO₂ and mixed-gas cylinders without ventilation, gas detection or a DSEAR assessment, an asphyxiation and pressure risk as well as fire.

Escape from rooms above

Letting or staff bedrooms above the kitchen or bar with an inadequate protected route, no detection in the escape path, or a single stair passing the highest-risk area.

Late-night occupancy & capacity

Actual occupancy under a late licence exceeding what the exits can clear, with patrons who may be unfamiliar with the building or have been drinking.

Naked flames & decorations

Candles, tea-lights and combustible seasonal decoration close to soft furnishings, with no management controls.

Blocked exits during service

Final exits obstructed by deliveries, kegs, furniture or smoking-area clutter while the premises is open.

Electrical & appliance load

Overloaded kitchen and bar circuits, portable heaters in dining areas, and appliances without PAT or maintenance records.

Risk-rated findings. Costed action plan. Insurer-ready.

Your assessment arrives as a signed PDF with a one-page management summary at the front, photographic evidence stitched to every finding, and a separately downloadable evidence appendix.

Findings are prioritised against the PAS 79-1 likelihood-and-consequence matrix into four bands, each with an indicative remediation window.

P1

Immediate

Within 14 days · risk to life
P2

Short-term

Within 3 months · serious
P3

Medium-term

Within 12 months · moderate
P4

Improvement

Best-practice · advisory
Clear Fire · FRA
Conclusions
Sample Report
Clear Fire · FRA
Fire Risk Assessment
Pubs & Restaurants · Type 1
Significant findings
P1P2P3P4
Risk profile
SAMPLE
Client voice

Kevin was superb in responding quickly when asked to step in and replace an inadequate fire risk assessment delivered by another firm.

Charlie Parkes
Verified Google review
★★★★★ · Bonnar FRA

Insurer deadline or licence review? We can move fast.

Tell us about the premises, kitchen, cellar and any rooms above, and we'll confirm scope within one working hour. Kevin or Jon on-site, signed report within 24 hours of invoice paid.

Request a same-week visit

Everything you need to know about fire risk assessments for pubs & restaurants.

Still have questions?

Kevin and Jon are happy to give you a straight answer before you book, no sales pitch, just plain advice.

Speak to an owner →
Yes. Hospitality premises are non-domestic premises under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, so the responsible person, usually the operator or licensee, must make a suitable and sufficient assessment, recorded in writing where five or more people are employed. A current assessment is also routinely required by insurers and expected by the licensing authority.
For most commercial cooking it is strongly expected. BS 5306-8 recommends an automatic suppression system for kitchen extraction hoods above 0.4 square metres, using a Class F (wet chemical) agent suited to cooking oil and interlocked to cut the gas and electrical supply on activation. The assessment confirms what your cooking line actually requires.
Substantially. As soon as there is sleeping accommodation above, letting rooms or live-in staff, the building is a sleeping-risk premises. That raises the requirements for detection, protected escape routes and the fire-resistance separating the kitchen and bar from the rooms above. It is the single biggest factor we assess in a pub with accommodation.
Cellar CO₂ and mixed dispense gases fall under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) as well as the Fire Safety Order. They require adequate ventilation, gas detection where appropriate, secured cylinders and a DSEAR risk assessment, the cellar is both an asphyxiation and a fire/pressure risk.
The assessment is based on realistic worst-case occupancy, a busy night under your latest licensed hours, and recognises that patrons may be unfamiliar with the building and have been drinking. That puts more weight on clear, unobstructed, well-signed exits and trained staff who can direct an evacuation.
For a leased or tenanted pub the operating tenant is normally the responsible person for the premises they control, while the pub company or freeholder may retain duties for the structure and any common parts. Where control is shared, the Order requires the parties to co-operate, we help establish who owns what.
At least annually, and immediately after a kitchen reconfiguration, a change to the sleeping accommodation, a late-licence extension, or a refit. Sleeping risk above pushes hospitality toward the more frequent end of the review scale.

We assess every type of building.

Our fire risk assessment programme covers 11 other property types, each with its own dedicated page, assessor knowledge and report format.

Offices & Commercial Premises

Type 1–2 assessments for single and multi-tenanted offices. Covers means of escape, compartmentation, alarm systems and responsible person obligations.

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Blocks of Flats

Type 1–4 assessments aligned with PAS 9980. Common parts, cladding, external wall systems, compartmentation and fire door registers.

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Warehouses & Light Industrial

Storage classifications, racking risk, sprinkler interaction, shift-work occupancy and insurers' specific requirements for industrial premises.

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Managing Agents

Multi-site programmes for portfolio managers. Consistent reporting format, shared document portal and annual review schedules across all properties.

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Airbnb & Serviced Accommodation

Short-let and serviced apartment assessments for hosts and operators. Platform compliance, guest safety documentation and local authority requirements.

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Commercial Properties

Retail units, mixed-use developments and landlord-controlled commercial space. Tenant obligations, common areas and change-of-use requirements.

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Retail

Shop and retail unit assessments covering public-facing occupancy, stock storage risk, emergency lighting and staff training evidence.

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HMOs

Houses in multiple occupation. Licensing-compliant assessments covering protected routes, interlinked detection, fire doors and local authority requirements.

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Landlords

Private landlord obligations under the Fire Safety Order and the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations. Residential and mixed-use portfolios.

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Small Business

Straightforward, proportionate assessments for small employers. Meets your legal duty without unnecessary complexity or cost.

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Care Homes

Vulnerable occupancy risk profiles, protected escape routes, staff procedures and CQC-aligned documentation for registered care providers.

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Book your assessment

Talk to the assessor, not a call centre.

Tell us about your building and we'll come back to you within one working hour.