IFE-registered assessor, covering all of Scotland
Fire risk assessments across Scotland
For landlords, businesses and property managers. Every assessment is carried out in person by Raj Chall BSc and written to the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Fixed fee from £225 + VAT, agreed before we visit. Your report within 48 hours.
Raj Chall BSc, lead assessor. IFE-registered fire risk assessor with 15 years in fire safety. He carries out every visit and writes every report.
Select a point on the building to see what we check there.
Fire detection and warning
We check the type and coverage of smoke and heat detection against what the premises needs, whether alarms are interlinked where required, and whether testing and servicing are recorded. Since February 2022 every home in Scotland must have interlinked smoke and heat alarms. HMOs, hotels and workplaces usually need more.
Emergency lighting
Would the escape routes still be lit if the power failed? We check fittings are in the right places and working, and look for records of monthly function tests and annual full-duration tests.
Compartmentation and fire stopping
Visual checks for gaps where pipes and cables pass through fire-resisting walls and floors, missing ceiling tiles, and alterations that could let fire and smoke spread. Assessments are non-destructive unless intrusive inspection is agreed in advance.
Fire doors
Self-closers, gaps around the leaf, intumescent strips and smoke seals, hinges, glazing and signage. Fire doors wedged open or damaged are among the most common findings in Scottish premises.
Escape routes
Travel distances, whether stairs and corridors are protected and kept clear of storage and ignition sources, alternative routes, and how people with limited mobility would get out.
Ignition sources
Cooking, heating, electrical installations and appliances, charging of e-bikes and scooters, smoking, and deliberate fire setting, including bins stored against the building.
Firefighting equipment
Whether extinguishers and fire blankets suit the risks, are in the right places and are serviced, and whether staff know when, and when not, to use them.
Final exits and signage
Exit doors that open easily without a key, fire exit signs where they are needed, and a safe route away from the building to a place of safety.
Which fire risk assessment do you need?
What the law requires, and what your council or insurer will ask for, depends on how the building is used. Choose your type of premises.
HMO fire risk assessments
A house in multiple occupation needs a licence under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 when three or more unrelated people from three or more families share it as their main home. Once licensed, it is a "relevant premises" under Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, so the licence holder must assess the fire risk.
Councils take fire safety into account when deciding licence applications, and many ask to see the assessment, or a declaration that a competent person carried it out.
- Assessment required
- Yes
- Written record
- Yes, licensed premises
- Standard followed
- BS 9792:2025
- Common findings
- Fire doors, detection
- Fixed fee
- From £225 + VAT
Short-term let fire risk assessments
Every short-term let in Scotland needs a licence from the local council, and fire safety is one of the mandatory licence conditions that apply everywhere. Under fire safety law the person in charge of the accommodation must carry out a fire risk assessment, act on it and keep it under review.
That covers whole-property holiday lets, B&Bs and guest houses, rooms let in your own home, and serviced apartments.
- Assessment required
- Yes
- Written record
- Yes, licence required
- Alarms
- Interlinked smoke and heat
- For guests
- Fire safety information
- Fixed fee
- From £225 + VAT
Workplace and commercial fire risk assessments
Employers, and anyone who controls non-domestic premises, must assess the fire risk to employees and to anyone else on or near the premises: customers, visitors and contractors.
Since 1 July 2023 the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has not attended automatic fire alarm calls at most workplaces unless a fire is confirmed. Your assessment and procedures need to cover how an alarm is investigated and who calls 999.
- Assessment required
- Yes
- Written record
- 5+ employees or licensed
- Standard followed
- PAS 79-1:2020
- Automatic alarm calls
- Confirmed fire only
- Fixed fee
- From £225 + VAT
Hotels, guest houses and care homes
People are most vulnerable to fire when they are asleep. Hotels, guest houses, hostels, student accommodation and care homes need closer attention to detection, compartmentation, fire doors, night-time staffing and the evacuation strategy.
Care homes also need evacuation planning built around each resident's needs, because some residents cannot get out unaided.
- Assessment required
- Yes
- Written record
- Yes, licensed or registered
- Guidance
- Scottish Government
- Automatic alarm calls
- SFRS still attends
- Fixed fee
- Quoted individually
Blocks of flats and common areas
Private flats are domestic premises, but the common parts of many blocks still need assessing. The Scottish Government's guidance for high-rise domestic buildings calls for a specific fire safety risk assessment, and factors and housing providers commission them routinely.
Mixed-use buildings, such as tenements with shops on the ground floor, bring parts of the building under Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
- Assessment required
- Depends on the building
- Standard followed
- BS 9792:2025
- Scope
- Closes, stairs, bin stores
- Usually ordered by
- Factors, housing providers
- Fixed fee
- Quoted individually
Every report ends with a clear risk rating
We weigh how likely a fire is to start against how badly people could be hurt if it did. The result is one of five ratings, and it decides how quickly each action in your plan needs to happen.
A substantial or intolerable rating is uncommon in well-managed premises. If we find one, you will hear about it on the day of the visit, not 48 hours later in the report.
How your premises is rated
Every report ends with an overall risk rating: how likely a fire is, against how badly people could be hurt. Select a box to see what it means for you.
Rows show how likely a fire is to start. Columns show how badly people could be hurt.
- TrivialNo action needed beyond keeping current measures in place.
- TolerableNo major additional controls; minor improvements may be recommended.
- ModerateAction needed to reduce the risk within a set timescale.
- SubstantialConsiderable action needed urgently.
- IntolerableThe premises or area should not be used until the risk is reduced.
Scottish fire law in numbers
Scotland has its own fire safety law. Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 apply here, not the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order that covers England and Wales. The person responsible is the duty holder, and hiring an assessor does not pass that responsibility on.
Fire (Scotland) Act
Part 3 places fire safety duties on employers and anyone with control of relevant premises.
Employees
Employ five or more people, or need a licence, and the significant findings must be written down.
Maximum summary fine
For failures that put people at risk of death or serious injury. On indictment the fine is unlimited.
Maximum prison term
On conviction on indictment, with or without a fine, under section 72 of the Act.
Unwanted alarms a year
The average number of unwanted fire alarm signals SFRS attended each year since 2015, before its July 2023 change.
How it works
One assessor from first call to finished report, with the price agreed before anyone visits.
- Step 1
Fixed quote
Tell us the address, the type of premises and roughly how big it is. We confirm a fixed fee and book a date.
- Step 2
Site visit
Raj walks the whole building, from roof space to bin store, and talks to you about how it is used and managed.
- Step 3
Report in 48 hours
A written assessment specific to your premises, with photographs, a risk rating and a prioritised action plan.
- Step 4
Action and review
Work through the actions in order of priority. We set a review date and can return when it needs updating.
What you get
A report written for your building and the people in it. The Scottish Government's guidance is clear that a generic assessment is not enough.
- Premises and people at riskHow the building is used, who is in it and when, and anyone especially vulnerable.
- Fire hazardsIgnition sources, fuel, and the risk of deliberate fire setting.
- Fire protection measuresEscape routes, fire doors, compartmentation, detection, emergency lighting, signage and equipment.
- Fire safety managementTesting records, training, evacuation procedures and housekeeping.
- Risk rating and action planAn overall rating, then every action in order of priority with a timescale.
Your assessor: Raj Chall BSc
Raj has worked in fire safety for 15 years and is listed on the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) fire risk assessor register, one of the professional registers the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service points duty holders to when choosing an assessor.
He carries out every site visit and writes every report, so the person who walked your building is the person who answers your questions about it. No subcontractors, and no reports written at a desk by someone who never saw the premises.
- BSc
- IFE fire risk assessor register
- 15 years in fire safety
- Glasgow based, Scotland wide
Based in Glasgow, working across Scotland
From city-centre tenements to Highland guest houses and island holiday lets. Travel is built into your fixed quote, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
The fee depends on size, use, whether people sleep there, and travel. The price you are quoted is the price you pay.
Common questions
Is a fire risk assessment a legal requirement in Scotland?
Yes, for most non-domestic premises. Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 requires employers and anyone with control of "relevant premises" to carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it under review. Relevant premises include workplaces, shops, hotels and guest houses, care homes, licensed HMOs and short-term lets. Private homes are not covered by Part 3.
How much does a fire risk assessment cost?
Our fixed fees start from £225 + VAT for smaller premises such as a small office, shop, HMO or holiday let. Larger or more complex buildings, such as hotels, care homes or blocks of flats, are quoted individually once we know the size and layout.
How quickly will I get the report?
Your written report is issued within 48 hours of the site visit. If something needs immediate attention, Raj tells you on the day rather than waiting for the report.
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?
The Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require it to be reviewed regularly so it stays up to date, and whenever there is reason to think it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. Many duty holders review annually, and higher-risk premises often review more often. Your report gives a recommended review date.
Who is responsible for fire safety if I hire an assessor?
You are. The duty holder remains legally responsible even when someone else carries out the assessment. That is why the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recommends checking that your assessor is on a professional register or certified by a UKAS-accredited body. Raj Chall is listed on the Institution of Fire Engineers register.
Do you cover the whole of Scotland?
Yes. We are based in Glasgow and carry out assessments across Scotland, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Stirling, Perth and the Highlands and islands. Travel is included in your fixed quote.
Part of Scottish Energy Services
Fire Risk Scotland is the fire safety sister company of Scottish Energy Services in Glasgow. If the same property also needs an EPC, a legionella risk assessment or SAP and SBEM calculations, we can arrange it with one visit and one point of contact.
Get a fixed quote for your premises
Tell us the address and type of premises. You get a fixed fee before we visit, from £225 + VAT, and your report within 48 hours of the visit.