Fire Safety Inspections

We carry out regular fire safety inspections across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to help ensure premises are safe and compliant with fire safety law, and that people are protected in the event of a fire.

During an inspection, we will look at your fire safety arrangements, review key documents, and carry out a visit of your premises to make sure appropriate safety measures are in place.

During your inspection, we may:

• Ask questions about how fire safety is managed in your premises
• Review relevant fire safety documentation
• Inspect your building and escape routes
• Speak with staff to understand fire safety awareness

Our focus is to understand how well fire risks are managed and whether people would be safe in the event of a fire.

Verifying it’s us visiting you

We will assess whether you have suitable arrangements in place to:

• Reduce the risk of fire starting
• Limit the spread of fire
• Provide safe and effective escape routes
• Detect fire and raise an alarm
• Ensure occupants know what to do in an emergency
• Maintain fire safety systems and procedures

Reduce the overall impact of a fire

• Fire Risk Assessment
• Fire safety policies and procedures
• Fire alarm and emergency lighting test records
• Fire extinguisher servicing records
• Staff training and fire drill records
• Electrical safety reports (EICR / PAT testing)
• Maintenance records for relevant systems (e.g. kitchen extraction systems)

Keeping these records up to date helps demonstrate compliance and good fire safety management.

If fire safety improvements are required, we will clearly explain what needs to be done.

In most cases, we will:

• Provide advice on necessary improvements
• Agree reasonable timescales with you
• Use formal enforcement action only where required

Where formal action is necessary, this will always be proportionate and explained clearly.

Where there is a serious and immediate risk to life, we may take urgent action. This could include restricting or prohibiting the use of all or part of the premises until fire safety issues are resolved.

In some higher-risk premises, we may issue an alteration notice.

This requires you to inform us before making certain changes that could significantly increase fire risk. It is a preventative measure and does not indicate non-compliance.

We have legal powers to enter premises at a reasonable time where necessary to carry out fire safety inspections. We prioritise inspections based on risk, including premises where concerns have been raised or following a fire incident.

If you are unsure about an inspector, please refer to our guidance on how to verify a fire service officer.

Your feedback is important in helping us improve the service we provide. Following an inspection, we would welcome your comments.

Our feedback form takes only a few minutes to complete and is anonymous unless you choose to provide your details.

We are committed to delivering a professional, consistent, and proportionate fire safety service. Our Protection Team Charter sets out what you can expect from us when we visit your premises.