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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Prevent fires during work in an occupied building by assessing the changing risk, removing avoidable ignition sources, avoiding hot work where another method is practical, controlling combustibles and temporary hazards, and keeping escape routes and fire precautions effective. The building’s responsible person and the contractor need to coordinate the controls and emergency arrangements before work starts and whenever conditions change.
What should you do before construction starts?
Plan for the building to remain safe while work is underway—not just for the completed project. HSE’s Fire safety in construction (HSG168, third edition, July 2022) says partial occupation should be identified from the design stage so appropriate protection can be planned. This matters in schools and other occupied premises because work can change escape routes, fire separation, alarms, sprinklers and the risks facing occupants.
- Agree who controls fire-safety decisions. Identify the building operator or responsible person, the client, the principal contractor and the people authorized to approve changes to fire precautions. Set a clear communication route between the building and the work site.
- Review the premises fire-risk assessment for the work. Identify the planned activities, ignition sources, fuels, workers and occupants, including anyone who may need help to evacuate. Check warning and escape arrangements, firefighting measures, staff information and training, and what records need updating.
- Map the occupied building against the work area. Mark the escape routes, stairwells and fire-resisting separations that must remain effective. Consider how a fire in the construction zone could affect pupils, staff, visitors, contractors and people elsewhere in the building.
- Set site rules and change controls. Agree how work affecting fire precautions will be assessed and communicated, who can authorize it, and when the risk assessment must be reviewed. Brief workers and relevant building staff before the work begins.
HSE’s HSG168 and its general fire-safety guidance both address construction risks and occupied-building precautions. The assessment should reflect the actual work and building, rather than treating the construction zone as isolated from the people using the premises.
How can schools and contractors reduce ignition risks?
Use an alternative to hot work where possible
Hot work is a significant avoidable ignition hazard during maintenance and refurbishment. The Department for Education’s school-maintenance guidance, published 18 November 2016, says hot work should be undertaken only after other options have been considered. Dry timber and other combustible materials are particular concerns during school refurbishment and maintenance.
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Before approving hot work, consider whether the task can be done by another method. If it cannot, assess the work area and the paths sparks or heat could travel, including the other side of the work area. Apply the hot-work controls required by the site’s risk assessment and applicable local rules; the UK and US requirements are not interchangeable.
Control combustibles and temporary hazards
Identify combustible materials in and around the work area and consider how they could be ignited or allow fire to spread. Also account for temporary electrical installations, engines, smoking and other ignition sources. The measures need to match the work, the materials present and the building’s occupied state.
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For US construction workplaces, OSHA’s 29 CFR 1926.24 requires an effective fire-prevention program throughout construction, repair, alteration or demolition. OSHA’s 29 CFR 1926.151 addresses electrical compliance, keeping engine exhaust away from combustibles and prohibiting smoking around fire-hazard operations. These are US requirements, not a substitute for the rules that apply at a UK site.
How do you keep occupants protected while work is underway?
Keep escape routes and fire separation usable
Keep the agreed escape routes and stairwells workable, and protect the building’s fire-resisting separation. HSE’s occupied-building guidance specifically identifies escape routes, alarms, dry risers and sprinkler systems as fire precautions that construction work can affect. Do not let work or temporary arrangements leave occupants without an effective way to receive warning and evacuate.
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Plan changes to alarms and suppression systems
If work could affect an alarm, sprinkler system or other fire precaution, assess the effect in advance, document the decision and arrange suitable temporary measures. This is a practical application of HSE’s direction to consider the impact of construction on those systems; it is not a single universal impairment procedure. The building operator and contractor should agree the change and communicate it to the people whose safety arrangements are affected.
Make warning and evacuation arrangements clear
Ensure occupants and workers understand how they will be warned and what to do in an emergency. Contractors may be unfamiliar with the premises, while pupils, staff and visitors rely on the building’s arrangements. In schools, the Department for Education’s guidance on fire safety in new and existing school buildings emphasizes maintaining detection and alarm systems and making sure staff and pupils know evacuation procedures.
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When should the fire-risk assessment be reviewed?
Review it before work starts and whenever a significant change could make it inadequate. Triggers include changes to the work, occupied areas, escape routes, building use, fire precautions or site conditions. Reassess before a planned change takes effect where possible, then communicate the updated arrangements to the contractor and affected building staff.
The Department for Education’s school estate health-and-safety guidance, updated 20 July 2026, says schools should consider reviewing the assessment annually or at least every three years, as well as when changes warrant a review. That periodic guidance does not replace reviews prompted by changing construction conditions.
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Who is responsible for fire safety during school renovations?
Responsibility depends on who controls the premises and the work, and on the law that applies. In England, GOV.UK describes the responsible person for non-domestic premises as the employer, owner, landlord, occupier or person with control, depending on the circumstances. The responsible person must assess fire risks, provide and maintain appropriate precautions, plan for emergencies, and provide staff information and training. Where responsibilities are shared, the responsible persons should cooperate.
School employer and estate-management duties may be delegated, but the Department for Education’s school estate guidance says the employer retains overall health-and-safety responsibility. The building operator and contractor therefore need to coordinate practical controls rather than assume that one party’s assessment covers the other’s responsibilities.
Which rules apply in the UK and the United States?
| Location and source | What it covers | Scope to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| UK construction: HSE, Fire safety in construction (HSG168), third edition, July 2022; and HSE general fire-safety guidance | Construction fire risks, risk assessment and precautions for occupied buildings. | UK guidance; check the legislation and requirements applicable to the particular site. |
| School maintenance: Department for Education and predecessor education funding agencies, Fire risk from school maintenance or building works, published 18 November 2016 | School maintenance and building work, including the need to consider alternatives before hot work. | The page states that the guidance applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It also says to continue following it after ESFA activity moved to DfE from 31 March 2025. |
| England educational premises: Home Office, Fire safety risk assessment: educational premises, updated 12 September 2023 | Fire-risk assessment guidance for educational premises. | England guide; it excludes residential premises such as boarding-school sleeping accommodation. |
| US construction workplaces: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.24 and 1926.151 | Fire-prevention program requirements and specified construction fire hazards and controls. | US standards. Do not use UK guidance as a substitute for OSHA or other local requirements. |
For an occupied project, compare work plans by the jurisdiction, who will occupy which areas, whether hot work can be avoided, the combustible materials and possible fire-spread paths, the continuity of escape routes and fire separation, the status of alarms and sprinklers, and how occupants and workers will be warned and evacuated. These are practical control dimensions reflected in HSE and Department for Education guidance, not a ranking of products or contractors.
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