News

Camden Fire

This recent fire in Camden, London, started in a shop and spread to the residential flats above. LFB extinguished the fire and warned any nearby residents to keep doors and windows closed in the surrounding areas due to a high quantity of smoke from the fire.

From a fire safety perspective, it is an interesting job to note because we often assess either just a shop (with flats above) or just the communal areas of flats (with a shop below).

As I have stated before in previous posts, it is always important to take into account the building as a whole and to consider where a fire could start and where it could spread too.

Is there sufficient compartmentation between the commercial and residential space and a satisfactory escape route from the flats without requiring linked fire detection or is a system needed linking the shops and flats so that a fire in the shop would alert any residential occupants.

We look at the buildings age, construction, height, protection of escape routes etc., amongst many more things we have to consider.

For fire risk assessments in London please visit our fire risk assessments London page here:

How much does a fire risk assessment Cost UK?

Good question.  Firstly we need to know what your premises are and whether it is a residential or commercial property. 

If your property is residential, we need to know whether the flats are converted or purpose-built.  We then need to know how many floors and flats you have as well as how many communal entrances and staircases.  As a general rule of thumb we charge per the number of floors but we take all of these factors into account.  Our residential fire risk assessments start from £175 plus VAT.

If you have a flat and need to obtain a fire risk assessment before you sell it, please see our ‘Do I need a fire risk assessment to see my flat’ news article here:

Residential fire risk assessment London

Whale Fire specialise in carrying out fire risk assessments to residential properties throughout London.  Whether you require a fire risk assessment for a converted, purpose-built block of flats or House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), we can help.

Maybe you are selling your flat and your solicitor has informed you that you need a fire risk assessment for the communal areas in order for the sale to complete.  You may need this urgently in order to speed up the sale.  If that is the case, please contact us and we can carry these out at short notice.

We need to know what type of property it is and how many flats, floors and communal staircases there are in the building.    We will need to see any maintenance records you may have for the property if you have a communal fire alarm and emergency lighting system fitted.

You can visit our residential fire risk assessment page here:

There are two ways that you can ultimately get a fire risk assessment completed.  The first is to do it yourself but you must ensure you have sufficient fire safety knowledge and an understanding of the legislation and guidance.  The second and most common, is to use a professional fire risk assessor with the appropriate training, qualifications and accreditations. 

There are five main steps to a fire risk assessment and they are as follows:

Step 1 – You need to identify the people at risk.

Step 2 – You then need to identify the fire hazards. Are there are potential fuel sources, for example.

Step 3 - Evaluate the risk.  Are your fire safety measures adequate for the risk?

Step 4 – You must then record your findings.

Step 5 - Review and revise your assessment.

These steps are second nature to a qualified fire risk assessor which is why most companies and responsible persons chose to use a qualified company/individual.  We know what we are looking for and can use our experience to make sure you get the correct advice, specific to your premises.

If you would like more information about how to get a fire risk assessment please contact Whale Fire on 0800 772 0738 or via our enquiry page below:

You may be in the process of buying a flat and have been asked by yours or the vendors Solicitors to provide a fire risk assessment.

This will be for the communal areas in the building which provides access to your flat entrance door.  This can be frustrating as it should be down to the vendor to provide a fire risk assessment but often this is not always completed.

If you need this fire risk assessment completed quickly and for a competitive rate, then please call Whale Fire on 0800 772 0738 , email us at info@whalefire.co.uk or follow this link to our enquiry page:

We provide fire risk assessments to all residential and commercial properties and have a large client base consisting of Housing Associations, Property Management Companies, Hotels amongst many more.

We have a common sense pragmatic approach to our work and all assessments are accredited by a Warrington and IFSM qualified assessor.

We offer no no-nonsense straight talking advice and our assessments offer the following benefits:

• Clear and concise recommendations within our third-party accredited assessments
• Realistic timescales for work to be completed, taking into account logistics and costs
• Fire risk assessments that work alongside EWS 1 forms
• Health and Safety assessments
• No additional fire door or compartmentation surveys where these can be avoided

For all London Fire Risk Assessments please visit our Fire Risk Assessments London page here:

Whale Fire carry out fire risk assessments throughout London and a lot of our Work is carried out in North London in Islington and in and around the Finsbury Park area.  We specialise in carrying out fire risk assessments to the communal areas of flats as well as to all commercial properties.

Whether you are the responsible person for a block of flats, shop, restaurant, public house, cafe or any other premises please contact Whale Fire today on 0800 772 00738.

You can also enquire via our London Fire Risk Assessments page here: