Fire risk assessments for
shops & retail premises.

Fire risk assessments for shops, units and showrooms, written for premises full of members of the public who don't know where the exits are. Kevin or Jon on-site, never a junior or subcontractor.

What we find

Your customers don't know the way out. The assessment has to.

Retail premises mix three difficult ingredients: members of the public unfamiliar with the building, a high density of combustible stock and displays, and a back-of-house stockroom that is often where a fire actually starts. In an evacuation, customers head for the door they came in by, not the nearest fire exit.

A generic assessment that treats a shop like an office misses the things that matter in retail: keeping marked exits usable during trading, the fire loading on the shop floor, and the housekeeping in the stockroom.

Clear Fire assesses retail premises on-site under the Fire Safety Order, with members of the public treated as the relevant persons they are, and writes a report your insurer and landlord will accept.

What we find in shops.

Drawn from Kevin and Jon's combined assessment experience. Retail findings centre on the exits the public will actually use, and the stockroom they never see.

Fire exits locked during trading

Final exits bolted, blocked by stock or display, or alarmed-but-locked while customers are in the building. A serious and common finding.

Stockroom housekeeping

Overstocked back-of-house with combustibles against electrics, blocked routes, and deliveries left in the escape path.

Shop-floor fire loading

High-density displays, packaging and seasonal stock raising the fire load and obscuring exit routes and signage.

Emergency lighting on the public route

Gaps in emergency lighting along the route the public must use to leave, or an out-of-date test regime.

Exit signage for the unfamiliar

Missing or poorly sited running-man signage, so customers cannot find the nearest exit rather than the entrance they arrived through.

Electrical & display heat sources

Overloaded display sockets, portable heaters and lighting close to combustible stock or fabric.

Detection coverage

Stockrooms, plant and voids without detection, so an out-of-hours or back-of-house fire goes unnoticed until it is established.

Staff training & seasonal cover

Seasonal and part-time staff who have never been shown the evacuation routine, and no nominated person to sweep the shop floor.

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
Retail · 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

New unit or landlord requirement? We can move fast.

Tell us about the shop and we'll confirm scope and availability 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 shops.

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. A shop is non-domestic premises under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, so the responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment. Crucially, the "relevant persons" you must protect include members of the public visiting the premises, not just your staff, which raises the bar for escape routes and signage.
Normally the occupying business (the employer). In a shopping centre or parade, the landlord or centre management is responsible for the common malls, service corridors and shared exits, while each retailer is responsible for their own demised unit. The two assessments must be compatible, your escape may rely on the landlord's mall.
Not while the public or staff are in the building. Final exits must be openable without a key, code or special knowledge whenever the premises is occupied, simple-action panic hardware is the usual solution. Locked or obstructed fire exits are one of the most frequently enforced retail breaches.
The assessment considers the maximum number of people the available exits can safely evacuate, given exit widths and travel distances. For busy or sale-period retail this can be the limiting factor, and the assessment sets out the capacity your escape provision actually supports.
If staff work alone, opening, closing or during quiet periods, the assessment looks at how a fire would be detected and how that lone worker would raise the alarm and escape. Detection, alarm audibility and a clear escape route matter more, not less, when one person is on site.
Yes. Article 21 of the Fire Safety Order requires adequate fire safety training for employees, including temporary and seasonal staff, exactly the people most likely to be on the shop floor at the busiest times and least familiar with the evacuation routine.
At least annually, and immediately after a refit, a change of layout or stock type, a significant increase in occupancy, or a change of tenant. Seasonal reconfiguration is a common prompt for a quick review.

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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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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Pubs & Restaurants

High public footfall, kitchen fire risk, late-night occupancy and licensing implications. Assessments written for hospitality operators and their insurers.

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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.