London is one of the busiest fire and rescue environments in the country. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) attended 137,412 incidents in 2025 alone — an average of 376 every single day. Of these, 19,542 were fire incidents, concentrated most heavily in Inner London boroughs such as Westminster, Newham and Tower Hamlets, though outer boroughs including Bromley, Brent and Havering also have notable hotspots.
For anyone responsible for a building in the capital — whether that's a shop, an office, a block of flats or a family home — understanding the current risk landscape isn't just useful background. It shapes what a proper fire risk assessment needs to cover.
The Changing Face of Fire Risk
Lithium-ion batteries are now the fastest-growing fire risk in London. LFB recorded 521 fire incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in 2025, a 28% increase on the previous year. These fires caused 109 injuries and three deaths. E-bikes and e-scooters, along with the batteries that power them, are a particular concern — LFB has even partnered with Uber Eats to raise battery safety awareness among delivery couriers. For premises where staff or residents charge these devices, this is now a risk that needs explicit consideration, not an afterthought.
Cooking and electrical faults remain the two biggest causes of fire, especially during the early evening. LFB data shows that between 5pm and 8pm, fires occur at more than three times the rate seen during the quietest overnight hours, with cooking (4,430 fires) and electrical faults (2,100 fires) the leading causes during that peak window.
Hoarding-related fires are rising too. Crews attended 1,028 hoarding-related fires in 2025 — the highest figure since 2022, and an 8% increase on 2024. Cluttered properties fuel fires, block escape routes and make firefighting far more difficult. This is a factor increasingly relevant to landlords, housing providers and anyone managing vulnerable tenants.
Vulnerable occupants face disproportionate risk. LFB figures show that over a third of people who die in dwelling fires in London were receiving some form of care, formal or informal. This has clear implications for care homes, supported housing, and any premises where residents may have reduced mobility or cognitive impairment.
London Fire Brigade's Prevention Work
Fire safety in London isn't left to chance. In 2025, LFB carried out 11,730 fire safety inspections and audits under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the piece of legislation that places legal responsibility for fire safety on the "responsible person" for non-domestic premises. Inspection activity is weighted towards central, east and south London boroughs, reflecting the density of commercial and residential occupancy in those areas.
Response performance also varies across the capital. In 2025, LFB's average first-pump attendance time was around five minutes 30 seconds, comfortably within its six-minute target — but this masks real variation between boroughs. Kensington and Chelsea saw average response times of 4 minutes 36 seconds, compared with 6 minutes 24 seconds in Hillingdon. Six boroughs, including Hillingdon, Bromley, Havering, Enfield, Redbridge and Richmond upon Thames, consistently sit above the six-minute average. If your premises falls in one of the slower-response areas, that's a factor worth building into your fire safety planning — particularly around compartmentation, alarm systems and evacuation procedures that reduce reliance on a fast brigade response.
What This Means for the "Responsible Person"
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, anyone who has control of non-domestic premises in London — employers, landlords, building owners, occupiers — is legally required to carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment. This isn't a box-ticking exercise. It needs to reflect the real risks present in your specific building: how it's used, who occupies it, what's stored there, and how people would escape in an emergency.
Given the data above, a fire risk assessment for a London premises today should specifically address:
- Charging and storage arrangements for lithium-ion batteries and e-mobility devices
- Electrical safety and cooking risk management, particularly in premises with high footfall during peak evening hours
- Escape route management in premises where clutter or storage could obstruct exits
- Provisions for vulnerable occupants, including those with mobility or cognitive impairment
- Realistic evacuation timings that account for local response times rather than assuming a fast brigade arrival
Getting a Proper Assessment
A fire risk assessment carried out by someone with genuine operational fire service experience looks different from a generic checklist exercise. It considers how a fire would actually behave in your building, how people would actually respond, and where the real gaps are — not just what the regulations technically require.
If you're responsible for a premises in London and it's been a while since your last fire risk assessment — or you've never had one carried out properly — it's worth getting it reviewed. Get in touch with Whale Fire to discuss your building's specific risks and what a thorough, compliant assessment would involve. Contact Us - Whale Fire
