PAS 79-1:2020 in plain English: what the structure actually asks of an assessor

PAS 79-1:2020 is often described as a template for fire risk assessments. It is better understood as a methodology: a documented, repeatable way of working through a premises so that two competent assessors, looking at the same building, would examine the same things in the same order and record their reasoning in a way a third party can follow.

The legal duty it supports comes from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks. The Order does not prescribe a method. PAS 79-1 is the widely-adopted answer to the question of what a defensible method looks like in practice.

What the structure covers

The structure moves from context to judgement. In broad terms, it asks the assessor to establish:

• What the building is: its construction, layout, use and occupancy, and who would be at particular risk in a fire.
• How a fire could start: ignition sources, combustible materials and the housekeeping and processes that bring them together.
• How a fire would be noticed and how people would escape: detection, alarm, means of escape, emergency lighting and signage.
• How the building limits fire once it starts: compartmentation, fire doors and the measures that protect escape routes.
• How the premises is managed day to day: testing, maintenance, training, drills and records.

The order is the point. An assessor who has not established occupancy and persons at risk cannot sensibly judge whether the means of escape are adequate, because adequacy depends on who is escaping. The structure forces the context to be recorded before the judgement that relies on it.

Judgement, evidenced

None of this removes professional judgement; it disciplines it. The assessor still decides whether a defect is significant and how urgently it needs to be addressed. What the structure adds is the requirement to show the working: what was inspected, what was found, and why the conclusion follows. A finding without evidence is an opinion; a finding with a titled photograph, a severity, a responsible party and a due date is an instruction someone can act on and an auditor can check.

For housing, the same discipline is carried by BS 9792, which addresses the particular risks of residential buildings. Safentia implements both as structured templates, so the methodology is the shape of the assessment itself rather than a document the assessor has to remember to follow.