Written by APS Deputy CEO, Sofie Hooper.

August saw the publication of two important documents related to driving up fire safety - BS 8674:2025 - Framework for competence of individual fire risk assessorsand updated Government guidance on fire doors.

BS8674:2025

Long anticipated, BS 8674:2025 sets out a framework for assessing and assuring the competence of individual fire risk assessors operating in the built environment. It provides performance-based criteria that can be used to determine whether an individual is suitably competent to carry out fire risk assessments in a wide range of occupied buildings.

The standard supports the professionalisation of fire risk assessors, reflecting the drive for competence captured by the Building Safety Act and the Grenfell Inquiry. The establishment of three defined levels of competence - Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced - reflect the complexity and risk associated with different building types and occupancy levels.

BS 8674 does not outline the fire risk assessment process itself (which is addressed in standards like PAS 79-1 and the upcoming BS 9792), but instead focuses on what knowledge, experience, and behaviours an individual must have to be deemed competent to carry out those assessments effectively.

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 put in place a legislative requirement that where the Responsible Person appoints a person to make or review the fire risk assessment, they must be competent. While this legislative requirement is not yet in force, Government guidance recommends that anyone appointing a fire risk assessor, ensures they are competent to do so, in terms of having sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities. As such, BS8674 supports legal compliance with the Building Safety Act.

BS 8674:2025 is intended for a wide range of stakeholders across the built environment, including Individual fire risk assessors, Responsible Persons under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and Building Safety Act 2022, Employers, dutyholders, and building owners/managers seeking assurance that assessments are being carried out by qualified professionals.

It is applicable across multiple sectors, anywhere that fire safety and building occupancy intersect.

Updated Government Fire Doors Guidance

The Government guidance on fire doors was updated to clarify to Responsible Persons the purpose of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 - to carry out simple checks on fire doors. The clarification was deemed necessary because following their publication, the Regulations’ scope and intent have often been misunderstood, leading to the (often unnecessary) replacement of many flat entrance doors that were not manufactured, and certificated, in accordance with current standards for new fire-resisting doors.

The purpose of these Regulations is not to ensure that existing flat entrance doors satisfy the current standards for flat entrance doors in new blocks of flats, as imposed under the Building Regulations. Rather the purpose of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations is to implement the recommendations of the Public Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which emphasised the importance that flat entrance doors must be effectively self-closing.

There is an assumption that the fire risk assessment (under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) has already assessed the suitability of the fire doors.

Alongside the guidance, a short fire doors checklist can be found for use by Responsible Persons in this context.

APS Academy: Essential Fire Regulations for CDM dutyholders

Against this background of ongoing fire safety policy development, APS is developing a specific course to equip Principal Designers (PDs), PD Advisers, and other CDM dutyholders with the essential understanding of Fire Safety regulations in England required to fulfil their duties under CDM 2015.

While Principal Designers are not responsible for delivering fire safety, they must understand relevant regulations well enough to assess proposed fire safety design measures and raise concerns or comments where appropriate. This new course will ensure CDM dutyholders are better informed and more confident in addressing fire safety design during the pre-construction phase.

Find out more and sign up here for the first course taking place on 2 October.