Fire Risk Assessments

Anchor have a dedicated team of qualified and competent fire risk assessors who carry out Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) across our portfolio of properties.

Fire Risk Assessments are a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) for certain types of building and play a crucial role in ensuring that effective fire prevention and protection measures are in place to keep people and property safe.

Anchor has been a participant in the national Fire Safety Primary Authority Scheme for over a decade, through a formal partnership with the London Fire Brigade. This collaboration provides us with consistent, expert fire safety guidance, which we implement across all our locations nationwide to ensure a unified and robust approach to fire safety compliance. 

What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A Fire Risk Assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of a building aimed at: 

• Identifying all individuals who use or occupy the premises. 
• Detecting potential fire hazards and assessing the level of risk they pose to those individuals. 
• Reviewing existing fire safety measures and evaluating how effectively they protect building users. 
• Recommending appropriate actions to enhance or introduce measures that reduce fire risk. 
• Outlining steps to minimise fire hazards, identifying who could be harmed, and explaining how harm could occur. 

Does every Anchor location have a Fire Risk Assessment? 

The requirements of the FSO apply to all workplaces and buildings containing 2 or more domestic premises. They do not apply within individual domestic premises. Therefore single domestic premises, (such as standalone bungalows) or attached domestic premises where there are no shared common areas or escape routes (such as terraced houses) do not require a Fire Risk Assessment. 

Any Anchor building with 2 or more domestic premises and with a shared common area (internal or external), is required to have a suitable and sufficient FRA in place.

How do I access the Fire Risk Assessment for my location?

Anchor will provide residents with a copy of your FRA upon request, in line with the supported approach agreed with our Primary Authority Partner, the London Fire Brigade.

FRAs for buildings identified as higher risk are displayed on notice boards within communal areas and are available on this page of our website.

FRAs for Anchor buildings identified as higher risk 

Currently there are 7 Anchor buildings across our portfolio of housing properties and care homes that are identified as higher risk, their FRAs are available below:

Atlas Lodge, Uxbridge  

Hanover House, Portishead  

Patchings Lodge, Brighton

Rochester Gate, Rochester 

Tudor Rose Court, London

Walrond House, London

Whittons Mill, Gainsborough

Our person centred approach to fire safety 

Anchor properties fall within the category of specialised housing and care homes, therefore we have a responsibility to work closely with residents, and where appropriate their families, to consider individual needs. This includes assessing how a person’s health, mobility, or behaviour may impact their ability to respond in the event of a fire, and forms part of our person-centred approach to fire safety. 

Fire safety in Anchor housing locations

In our housing settings that require a Fire Risk Assessment, relevant resident details are recorded in Resident Fire Information (RFI) forms, which are stored securely. Guidance from the Home Office and National Fire Chiefs Council encourages use of this information to ensures that fire and rescue services have access to essential details in the event of an emergency and that Anchor consider the needs of “relevant persons” who may be especially at risk.

Fire safety in Anchor care homes

In our care homes, the process is slightly different. Anchor care colleagues are responsible for managing the necessary steps required in an emergency evacuation. This is supported by the development of individual care plans and Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for our residents.