Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for virtually every non-domestic building in England and Wales — and the responsible person carries the liability personally. Gemini AMPM assessors work to PAS 79 methodology, producing findings you can act on rather than a document you file.
PAS 79 is the publicly available specification for fire risk assessment methodology: PAS 79-1 for non-domestic premises, PAS 79-2 for housing, including the common parts of blocks of flats. It sets a structured sequence — identify fire hazards, identify the people at risk, evaluate the existing fire protection measures, judge likelihood and consequence, then record the significant findings and rate the risk.
Why should a buyer care about methodology? Because the alternative is a template with your address pasted in. Article 9 demands an assessment that is suitable and sufficient for your building — the courts, not the assessor, decide what that means after a fire. A PAS 79 assessment gives your document a defensible spine: every conclusion traceable to something the assessor actually looked at. Ours are written in plain English, with the risk rating explained rather than asserted.
The report ends with a prioritised action plan: each significant finding ranked by risk, with a realistic timescale and a plain statement of what good looks like. Because Gemini AMPM also surveys, installs and maintains fire systems, fire doors, fire stopping and signage, the plan is written by people who know what each fix actually involves — and you can have one contractor close the findings instead of chairing five.
An assessment is a snapshot, so reviews need triggers, not just anniversaries. Review after material alterations, a change of use or occupancy, a fire or near miss, or new information about the building — and at a sensible routine interval in between, typically annually. Since October 2023, the amended Fire Safety Order also requires the assessment to be recorded in full, whatever the size of your business. Ours always were.
The Fire Safety Order requires review whenever there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid or the building has significantly changed — alterations, a change of use, higher occupancy, a fire or near miss. Alongside those triggers, an annual review is widely regarded as good practice, with a full reassessment every few years or sooner in higher-risk premises. If your assessment predates a refurbishment, a new tenant or October 2023, it is due a look.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person is whoever has control of the premises: usually the employer in a workplace, and the owner or managing agent elsewhere — including the common parts of residential blocks. It is a legal role, not a job title, and it cannot be delegated away by hiring a consultant. You can, and should, get competent help with the assessment itself; the duty to have one that is suitable and sufficient stays with you.
Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks, for the purpose of deciding what precautions the premises need. Since October 2023 it must be recorded in full — hazards, findings, measures — regardless of how many people you employ. Suitable and sufficient is the phrase enforcement turns on: the assessment must reflect your actual building and occupants, which is why methodology matters more than page count.
A named engineer, not a call centre, comes back within 24 hours. Tell us the building and what you’re dealing with, and we’ll scope it properly.