Fire Strategy Reporting & Assessment

A Fire Strategy Report is required for new buildings, extensions or significant changes of use, setting out how the design meets requirements B1 to B5 of Schedule 1, Building Regulations 2010. 

The report develops alongside the design, from early concept through to construction detail, referencing current guidance including approved Document B and BS 9999. 

Getting this right early on means fire safety is integrated into the design itself, rather than bolted on later on in the process.

You’ll receive a Fire Strategy Report suitable for Building Control submission, giving your design team a clear reference point for fire safety decisions throughout the design process.

CFD Modelling

Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling is required where a fire strategy involves scenarios that standard guidance can’t resolve on its own, such as smoke extract systems in residential corridors, basement car parks, or radiative heat calculations for external walls. This is often requested directly by Building Control or the fire and rescue service. 

Where a standard fire strategy can’t fully answer a complex design question, modelling provides the evidence needed to demonstrate a solution works, rather than leaving it open to challenge later on in the approval process. 

You’ll receive a CFD Modelling Report and a Qualitative Design Review (QDR) where required, validating the methodology behind the design solution against the standards it’s assessed to.

Fire Strategy Drawings

Strategy Drawings translate the written fire strategy into a visual format that the design and construction teams can work from directly. These become necessary once a strategy is developed enough to communicate on site. 

A written report alone can be open to interpretation on site. Clear drawings reduce that risk, giving contractors and building control officers a single clear reference for how the fire strategy should be built. 

We prepare bespoke fire strategy drawings that stay consistent from initial design through to construction, reducing the risk of miscommunication as the project moves forward.

Gateway 2 Fire Support

Gateway 2 applies to higher risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022, and is the point at which the Building Safety Regulator must approve the fire safety aspects of a design before construction can begin. Thorough, well-prepared documentation at this stage is one of the most effective ways to avoid a resubmission.

Evidence typically includes a RIBA Stage 4 Fire Strategy Report, Fire Strategy Drawings, and supporting documents such as a QDR or CFD Modelling Report, detailed enough to demonstrate the design can be built as intended. These documents also form part of the golden thread of information required for higher risk buildings, carried through from design into construction and occupation.