Fire risk assessments for
warehouses & light industrial.

Fire risk assessments for storage, distribution and light-industrial units, high fire loading, racking, sprinklers and dangerous substances assessed by Kevin or Jon on-site, written for your insurer and your responsible person.

What we find

High fire loading, big open volumes, and an insurer watching closely.

Warehouses concentrate enormous quantities of combustible stock into large, open compartments, and add racking, charging bays, hot works and, often, dangerous substances. A fire grows fast and the financial loss is rarely just the building.

That is why warehouse fire safety is driven as much by your insurer and the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations as by the Fire Safety Order, and why a generic office-style assessment misses the things that actually matter here: sprinkler clearances, storage classification, and the substances on site.

Clear Fire assesses storage and industrial units on-site against the Fire Safety Order and DSEAR, and writes a report that lines up with your insurer's sprinkler and risk requirements.

What we find in warehouses.

Drawn from Kevin and Jon's combined assessment experience. Industrial findings cluster around storage, ignition sources and the substances on site, and several are insurer red lines.

Stock breaching sprinkler clearance

Goods stacked into the minimum clearance below sprinkler heads, defeating the very system the insurer relies on. A common BS EN 12845 / LPC non-compliance.

Escape routes blocked by stock

Pallets, cages and overflow stock encroaching on gangways and final exits, especially during peak periods.

High-pile & racking fire loading

Storage height and commodity class exceeding what the sprinkler design or building was rated for, with no reassessment after a change of stored goods.

Charging bays

Forklift, MHE and EV charging without separation, ventilation or management, a growing ignition source, particularly with lithium-ion batteries.

Dangerous substances (DSEAR)

Aerosols, flammable liquids, LPG and dusts stored without a DSEAR assessment, segregation or explosive-atmosphere controls.

Hot works without permit

Maintenance, racking changes or contractor works involving heat with no hot-work permit system, a leading cause of warehouse fires.

Compartmentation to offices/mezzanine

Breached separation between the warehouse and ancillary offices, mess rooms or mezzanines, often with sleeping or higher-occupancy use above.

Sprinkler & alarm maintenance gaps

Missing weekly sprinkler valve tests, overdue servicing, or detection that does not cover the full footprint and shift pattern.

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
Warehouses & Light Industrial · 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 survey or new stock profile? We can move fast.

Tell us about the unit and what you store, 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 warehouses.

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 warehouse is a workplace under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, so the responsible person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment, recorded in writing where five or more people are employed. Where dangerous substances are present, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) add a separate, overlapping duty to assess and control them.
DSEAR, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, applies wherever flammable or explosive substances are present: aerosols, solvents, paints, LPG, certain dusts and more. It requires you to identify the substances, assess the risk of fire and explosion, and put control and mitigation measures in place. If you store or handle any of these, your fire risk assessment and a DSEAR assessment need to work together.
Because in a high-loading warehouse, sprinklers are often the single measure standing between a contained incident and a total loss. Property-protection sprinkler systems are normally required to the LPC Rules incorporating BS EN 12845, with weekly valve tests and annual servicing. Insurers may apply significant premium loadings, or decline cover, where the system is non-compliant or stock breaches head clearances.
Both are central. Sprinkler systems and building fire strategies are designed for a particular commodity classification and storage height. Change what you store, or stack higher, and the original design may no longer protect it, which is why a change of stored goods is one of the most important triggers for reassessment.
If any maintenance, racking alteration or contractor work involves heat, welding, cutting, grinding, hot-air stripping, a formal hot-work permit system is strongly expected, and is often an explicit insurer condition. Hot works are a leading cause of serious warehouse fires, frequently igniting hours after the work finishes.
The assessment has to reflect how the building is actually occupied, night shifts, lone workers, and periods when fewer people are present to detect and respond to a fire. Detection coverage, alarm audibility and escape arrangements all have to work for the lowest-staffed shift, not just the day shift.
At least annually, and immediately on any material change, a new stored commodity, higher racking, a new process, a mezzanine or office fit-out, or a change of tenant. Insurer surveys often prompt a review too.

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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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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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.