Fire Safety & Building Compliance Recruitment Agency

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) is the UK primary fire safety law for non-domestic premises and the common parts of residential buildings. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified its application to external walls and structure. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 added new duties on Responsible Persons for multi-occupied residential buildings, particularly around fire risk assessment, external wall information, evacuation plans and fire door inspections. Together they form the baseline compliance regime that fire risk assessors and fire safety officers work under, and the regime our fire risk assessor briefs screen against.

FRACS is the Fire Risk Assessor Competency Scheme, operated by the Fire Sector Federation with certification bodies including Warrington Fire and BAFE. It provides a Tiered competence ladder aligned to premises risk and complexity. IFE is the Institution of Fire Engineers, awarding TIFireE, AIFireE, GIFireE, MIFireE and FIFireE grades with Engineering Council registration (CEng, IEng, EngTech) for suitable candidates. IFSM is the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, accrediting fire safety managers and senior officers. On any in-scope fire risk assessment brief, FRACS, IFE membership or IFSM accreditation is increasingly the minimum competent-person evidence.

Three British Standards covering fire safety design. BS 9999 is the Code of Practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of non-domestic buildings. BS 9991 is the equivalent for residential buildings. BS 7974 is the framework for fire engineering, the performance-based design route allowing departure from prescriptive Approved Document B guidance where justified by fire engineering analysis. Senior fire engineers work across all three, with Approved Document B as the prescriptive baseline and BS 7974 applied where performance-based justification is required.

PAS 9980 is the Publicly Available Specification for the fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding on existing residential buildings, commonly called a FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls). It is the UK standard methodology for appraising external wall fire risk on existing residential buildings. EWS1 is the External Wall Fire Review form introduced by RICS in 2019 for use by lenders. Both sit within the wider cladding remediation programme driven by the Developer Pledge, the Cladding Safety Scheme and the Building Safety Act 2022. Senior fire engineers with live PAS 9980 and EWS1 scheme experience are amongst the hardest profiles to hire on the UK market in 2026.

BS 5839 is the UK standard for fire detection and fire alarm systems, in two core parts. BS 5839-1 covers non-domestic premises and BS 5839-6 covers dwellings. BS EN 12845 is the European (UK-adopted) standard for fixed firefighting automatic sprinkler systems. They are the core reference standards for UK fire systems design, install, commissioning and maintenance briefs. BAFE SP203-1 is the third-party accreditation scheme for fire detection and alarm companies. LPCB certification applies to sprinkler contractors and equipment.

Under Part 2A of the Building Safety Act 2022, the Principal Designer is the designer appointed by the client to lead and coordinate design work across a Higher-Risk Building project. It is a distinct role from the CDM 2015 Principal Designer role and carries bespoke competence requirements, duty to coordinate Gateway submissions and duty to produce the required safety case information. The role requires demonstrable competence against the BSA 2022 framework, and live evidence of Gateway 2 submission track record is now a common shortlist requirement on senior HRB briefs.

Broad 2026 ranges. Fire Risk Assessor (FRACS Tier 1-2) 35 to 48 thousand. Senior Fire Risk Assessor (Tier 2-3) 48 to 65. Fire Safety Manager 45 to 62. Head of Fire Safety 70 to 100. Engineer-grade Fire Engineer 40 to 55. Senior Fire Engineer 55 to 75. Principal Fire Engineer 75 to 95. Associate Fire Engineer 90 to 115. Fire Engineering Director 115 to 150 plus. Building Safety Manager 55 to 80. Accountable Person-aligned senior roles 85 to 130. Principal Designer under BSA 2022 (Part 2A role) 75 to 110. PAS 9980 FRAEW Assessor 55 to 80. Day rates for contract roles run 400 to 850.

Yes, across all BSA 2022 duty holder roles. Principal Designer (Part 2A BSA 2022), Principal Contractor, Accountable Person, Principal Accountable Person and Building Safety Manager. We screen against live Gateway submission evidence, competence framework alignment and HRB portfolio experience. These are comparatively new roles in the UK market, and candidate pools are still maturing.

Yes. We work across the major UK fire engineering consultancies, specialist fire engineering practices and built-estate fire safety teams at G15 housing providers, NHS trusts, commercial landlords, higher education and retail estates. Candidates move between the two worlds frequently, and we manage those moves without losing specialism fluency.

Yes. Cladding remediation is one of the single biggest drivers of senior fire engineering demand in 2026. The Developer Pledge, the Cladding Safety Scheme, the Responsible Actor Scheme and ongoing PAS 9980 FRAEW demand are absorbing senior capacity across the consultancy and contractor sides. We recruit PAS 9980 FRAEW assessors, EWS1 surveyors, facade fire engineers, cladding remediation project and programme managers, and scheme delivery leads across developer, housing provider and contractor clients.

Yes, across all three. Permanent placements are the majority of our volume. Contract cover is common on Gateway 2 submission peaks, cladding remediation programme delivery, and specialist fire engineering assignments. Interim fire safety manager and building safety manager placements are used where housing providers or commercial estates need to stand up a compliance capability quickly or cover a senior gap pending permanent hire.