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London office projects meet fire-safety requirements through two connected but separate processes: the Building Regulations shape the design and construction of covered work, while the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 governs fire precautions once people occupy the premises. Neither stage is a substitute for the other. The design must suit the actual building and expected occupants, and the responsible person must then assess and manage the risks, keep escape routes usable and plan evacuation.
There is no universal London-office formula for the number of exits, stair widths or evacuation strategy. Those decisions depend on the building’s use, layout, height, occupant population and fire strategy. This guide explains the project sequence, the handover information needed and how the responsible person’s duties continue after construction.
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Which rules apply at design and after occupation?
For covered building work, the Building Regulations set the legal framework and Approved Document B (ADB), Volume 2 provides fire-safety guidance for buildings other than dwellings. After occupation, the Fire Safety Order places duties on the responsible person and other people who control relevant parts of the premises. The project must account for both stages: a design that satisfies building-work requirements does not, by itself, discharge the later duty to manage fire risk.
Start by identifying what the project actually involves: new construction, an extension, a material change of use, or alterations to an occupied building. That scope affects which building-work requirements and guidance are relevant. For a live project, confirm the applicable ADB edition and any transitional arrangements rather than assuming that a document’s hosting date, filename or an earlier design decision settles the issue.
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The linked ADB PDF is hosted among current government assets, but the available data identifies the document as the 2019 edition. Check the applicable edition and transitional rules for the project in question before relying on its detailed design guidance. Technical figures below are guidance values, not a finding that any particular office design complies.
Who is responsible for fire safety in an office building?
Responsibility follows control of the premises, not simply ownership. In a workplace, the employer is the responsible person to the extent of its control; other people who control premises or parts of them can also have duties within their control. An owner is therefore not automatically the only person responsible, nor does naming one responsible person remove other controllers’ duties.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The Fire Safety Order applies to occupied-building fire safety management. Its Article 9(1) requires the responsible person to make a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risks to relevant persons so that the necessary general fire precautions can be identified. The consolidated Fire Safety Order is the primary reference for those legal duties.
In practical terms, establish who controls the whole office, who controls particular areas or systems, and how responsibilities are allocated among the employer, building owner, landlord, managing agent and any other relevant controller. Contracts and maintenance arrangements may help clarify who is expected to carry out particular tasks, but the statutory duty is tied to actual control. The responsible person must ensure the assessment and precautions are suitable for the premises and people affected.
How should a project develop its escape design?
Design escape routes around the intended use and expected population, not around a generic office template. The routes and exits must be suitable for the premises and, where necessary, allow people to evacuate promptly and safely. They must be kept clear and, where required, properly indicated and illuminated. Approved Document B Volume 2 gives guidance on exit numbers and widths and on stair capacity, but the guidance must be applied to the building’s circumstances and relevant provisions.
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- Set the design assumptions. Record the intended use, the expected number and distribution of occupants, relevant building characteristics and the evacuation strategy being considered. Assumptions should be explicit so later changes to use or occupancy can be checked against the original design basis.
- Lay out routes and exits. Consider where routes begin and end, their availability and distribution, travel distances, capacity, accessibility and protection from fire and smoke. Review how those routes work together as a system; a count of doors alone does not establish that occupants can reach safety.
- Check capacity against the strategy. ADB guidance relates stair sizing in part to whether evacuation is simultaneous or phased. The number and capacity of stairs therefore cannot be decided independently of the evacuation sequence, occupant load, layout and management assumptions.
- Coordinate accessibility and protection measures. The fire strategy should address people who may not be able to use stairs unaided and the disabled-evacuation provisions applicable to the project. Coordinate those provisions with routes, alarm arrangements, smoke control and other relevant fire-protection systems.
- Record and revisit the basis. Keep the design assumptions and strategy available for construction coordination and the eventual handover. If the planned use, occupancy or layout changes, check whether the escape design remains suitable rather than treating the original calculations as permanently valid.
For context, the ADB Volume 2 table titled “Minimum number of escape routes and exits from a room, tier or storey” gives guidance of one route or exit for a maximum of 60 people, two for a maximum of 600, and three for more than 600. Its exit-width guidance gives 750 mm for a maximum of 60 people, 850 mm for 110 people, 1,050 mm for 220 people, and 5 mm per person above 220. These figures are not blanket permissions or a complete design method: the table notes, other provisions, accessibility guidance and building-specific conditions matter. Confirm the applicable edition and requirements before using them for a live design.
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Accordingly, these thresholds cannot establish how many exits a particular London office needs. The title of a project, or the fact that a building is an office, does not supply the occupant schedule, storey layout, building height or other inputs needed to determine compliance. That conclusion requires project-specific assessment and appropriately qualified design input.
Does an office use phased or simultaneous evacuation?
Neither strategy is mandatory for every office. A simultaneous evacuation tells occupants to leave in response to the alarm at the same time; a phased strategy evacuates occupants in a planned sequence. The suitable approach depends on the occupant load, time and sequence needed for evacuation, building layout and use, stair number and capacity, fire protection and management arrangements, and provisions for people who cannot use stairs unaided.
Because ADB links stair sizing to the selected strategy, choosing a strategy is not just an operational detail to decide after the building is designed. The design team needs to consider the strategy alongside exit and stair capacity, and the responsible person’s later procedures need to be consistent with the resulting fire strategy. Do not infer that one approach is correct for every London office or that a generic floor-plan rule can settle the choice.
How should the occupied office be prepared for evacuation?
The responsible person must maintain a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, take the general precautions identified as necessary, establish emergency procedures and have competent people available to help implement evacuation. The assessment should reflect the actual premises and relevant people, not simply repeat the assumptions made during design.
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London Fire Brigade’s commercial guidance says an emergency plan should address:
- what to do when someone discovers a fire and how to raise the alarm;
- how and when to call the fire brigade;
- how occupants will evacuate, including people particularly at risk;
- where people should assemble;
- the key escape routes and how they are to be used;
- who has which responsibilities; and
- what training is required.
This is a useful planning framework, not a substitute for the legal duties or an assessment tailored to the premises. The London Fire Brigade guidance note cited here is dated 1 April 2018, so check current legislation and the circumstances of the specific office when preparing or reviewing an emergency plan. Procedures should fit the actual routes, evacuation strategy, occupant needs and allocation of responsibilities.
What fire safety information should be handed over when an office project is completed?
For covered building work, Regulation 38 requires the person carrying out the work to give fire-safety information to the responsible person by the relevant completion or earlier-occupation deadline. This handover is intended to let the dutyholder understand, operate and maintain the building and its fire systems—not merely to archive a design-stage document.
ADB recommends that the information include relevant as-built plans and details such as:
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- the fire strategy, escape routes and their capacities;
- fire-resisting construction and fire doors;
- fire detection and alarm equipment;
- emergency lighting and firefighting equipment;
- smoke-control systems;
- provisions for evacuating disabled people; and
- information needed to operate and maintain the building and its fire-safety systems.
The handover should describe what was actually built, including relevant systems and arrangements, so the responsible person can understand how they fit into the fire strategy. If plans or information do not reflect the completed work, the operational team may lack a dependable basis for maintaining precautions or implementing the emergency plan. Agree who receives the information and ensure it is available to the people responsible for operating and maintaining the premises.
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Regulation 38 is a building-work handover obligation; it does not transfer all ongoing Fire Safety Order responsibilities to the construction team. Once the building is occupied, the responsible person and other controllers must continue to manage their respective duties.
Who enforces fire safety rules in London?
The London Fire Commissioner is the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order in London. Enforcement is distinct from building-control approval: approval associated with construction does not mean the responsible person has met the ongoing duties that apply to an occupied office.
GOV.UK guidance describes risk-based audit programmes and explains that an enforcement authority may issue an enforcement notice specifying measures it considers necessary to remedy non-compliance. The statutory duties remain the starting point for the responsible person; a project should not treat a past approval or the absence of an enforcement visit as proof that ongoing precautions are adequate.
What should the project team keep aligned?
Fire safety is most reliable when the design basis, construction record and occupied-building arrangements tell the same story. Keep the following items aligned through the project:
- Use and occupancy: the activities the office is intended to support and the population assumptions used in design.
- Escape design: routes, exit and stair capacities, evacuation strategy, relevant accessibility provisions and any assumptions about management or fire protection.
- As-built condition: plans and system information that describe the completed building rather than an earlier design.
- Operational arrangements: a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, emergency procedures, competent evacuation personnel, training and maintenance responsibilities.
- Control and accountability: clarity about which employer or other controller is responsible for each relevant part of the premises and within what scope of control.
Use this as a coordination framework, not as a compliance checklist that can replace professional judgment. The correct exit count, width, stair capacity, strategy and fire-protection specification cannot be determined without project information such as drawings, dimensions, occupancy, use classification, building height and stage of work.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does building-control approval mean an office has passed its fire risk assessment?
No. Building-control requirements address covered building work, while the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to assess and manage risks in the occupied premises. The risk assessment needs to reflect the actual building, its use and the people exposed.
Does the employer have fire-safety duties if it does not own the office?
Yes, to the extent the employer controls the workplace. Other people with control may also have duties within their control, so ownership and responsibility do not necessarily sit with the same party.
When should the office emergency plan be reviewed?
Review it when the premises, use, occupancy, escape arrangements or relevant responsibilities change, and keep it consistent with the current fire risk assessment and fire strategy. The exact review needs depend on the workplace’s circumstances.
Can a generic fire-exit sign make an escape route compliant?
No. Signs may be needed to indicate emergency routes and exits, but their suitability and placement must fit the project’s fire strategy and applicable requirements. A sign alone does not establish that a route is adequate, protected or usable.
