You have received a notice from the fire and rescue service

The four things you might have received

• Letter of fire safety deficiencies — informal, lists shortcomings and expects them addressed.
• Alterations notice — requires you to notify the authority before making changes to the premises or its use.
• Enforcement notice — a legal instrument specifying failures, required steps and a compliance deadline.
• Prohibition or restriction notice — effective immediately where risk to life is serious, limiting or preventing use.

What to do in the first 48 hours

Diarise the deadline. Acknowledge the notice in writing. Get a competent assessment of each listed item so you know what the work involves. Where any item affects escape, put an interim measure in place and record it. Then write back with a dated plan rather than waiting until everything is finished.

How the notice usually maps onto work

The items listed in a notice overwhelmingly fall into a small set: an absent or inadequate fire risk assessment, detection that does not match the building's risk, fire doors that will not perform, escape routes compromised by storage or locking, emergency lighting gaps, and missing maintenance records. Each of those has a defined route to resolution.

Evidence is the deliverable

Officers close notices on evidence, not assurances. Certificates, dated photographs, a completed action plan and an updated fire risk assessment are what make the file closable. We produce that documentation as part of the work, not as an afterthought.