Fire Safety Law in 2025: What You Need to Know

 

If you own, manage, or are responsible for a building in the South of England, including Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, and London, you must comply with current fire safety law. This covers commercial buildings, residential blocks, schools, healthcare sites, care homes, and construction projects. Enforcement and inspections are active across the region.

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Fire Safety Order 2005

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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main legislation for all non-domestic and shared residential buildings.

You must:

• Carry out a fire risk assessment

• Identify and control fire risks

• Install and maintain fire precautions

• Appoint a responsible person

• Keep and review all records

• Update when layouts or uses change

 

Applies to every sector including housing, industrial, and commercial buildings.

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Fire Safety Act 2021

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Since 2023, this Act has expanded what fire risk assessments must include:

• Flat entrance doors

• External walls and cladding systems

• Shared and communal areas

 

Applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings, regardless of height.

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Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

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If your building is over 11 metres high, you must now:

• Check communal fire doors every 3 months

• Check flat entrance doors annually

• Provide residents with written fire safety instructions

• Give the Fire Service access plans and key safety data

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Fire and Rescue Services across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, and London are enforcing these duties.

 

Building Safety Act 2022 and the Regulator

 

If your building is over 18 metres or 7 storeys with residential units, it is classed as high-risk.

You must:

• Register with the Building Safety Regulator

• Appoint an Accountable Person

• Keep a full digital safety record

• Maintain a Building Safety Case

• Manage fire and structural risks at all times

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This applies to private, public, and social housing across the South of England.

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Fire Door Inspections

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By law, all fire doors must be:

• Inspected regularly

• Maintained in full working condition

• Marked with certification

• Fitted with compliant gaps and closers

• Repaired or replaced when damaged

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Fire door failures are now a major cause of enforcement notices.

 

Common Failures

• Outdated fire risk assessments

• No checks on external walls or fire doors

• Missing or unclear responsible person

• No RAMS covering fire safety during works

• Missing safety file updates at handover

 

Take Action

• Confirm your fire risk assessments are current

• Record all fire door inspections

• Identify who holds legal responsibility

• Update site files and RAMS

• Act before enforcement starts

 

At Soldi CDM and Fire, we provide fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, and fire safety compliance servicesacross Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, and London. You get clear reports, plain advice, and fast support when you need it.