Multi-Use Mastery: Coordinating Fire Safety in Complex Buildings

Managing fire safety in a single-occupancy office is relatively straightforward. However, when a building combines residential flats, retail units, and commercial office space, the complexity doesn’t just double—it multiplies.

In these multi-use environments, fire safety is no longer a solo effort. It requires a high level of coordination between landlords, commercial tenants, and residents. Following the major legislative updates of the Building Safety Act and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the “Responsible Person” now has more rigorous duties than ever before.

At Thor Fire, we work with property managers across the UK to ensure these complex systems work in harmony. Here is how you can manage the unique risks of multi-tenancy properties effectively.

The Challenge of Overlapping Responsibilities

In a multi-use building, you often have multiple “Responsible Persons” (RPs). A shop owner is responsible for their unit, while the landlord is responsible for the communal corridors and the residential floors above.

Under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, all RPs in a building have a legal duty to cooperate and coordinate their fire safety measures. This means you cannot manage your fire safety in a vacuum. If a commercial tenant installs a new kitchen, that change must be reflected in the overall building fire strategy.

Key Coordination Requirements:

• Identify All RPs: Clearly document who is responsible for which part of the building.

• Information Sharing: You must share your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) and emergency procedures with all other RPs on-site.

• The Golden Thread: For high-rise buildings, maintaining a digital record of safety information is now a mandatory requirement to ensure information isn’t lost during tenancy turnovers.

Strategic Maintenance: A Unified Approach

One of the biggest risks in multi-use buildings is “protection drift.” This happens when different fire safety systems are maintained to different standards.

For example, if the commercial ground floor has a sophisticated sprinkler system but the residential floors above have outdated fire doors, the building’s overall safety is compromised. We recommend a unified maintenance schedule for:

1. Passive Fire Protection: Regular inspections of compartmentation and fire-stopping are vital. In multi-use buildings, services like internet and plumbing often pass through walls separating different tenancies. These penetrations must be correctly fire-stopped to prevent the spread of smoke and heat.

2. Wet and Dry Risers: These systems often serve the entire height of the building, passing through multiple tenancies. Access to these must remain clear and unhindered in every unit.

3. Fire Doors: The 2022 regulations now mandate quarterly checks on fire doors in communal areas and annual checks on flat entrance doors for buildings over 11 metres.

Effective Communication with Tenants and Residents

A procedure is only effective if the people in the building know how to follow it. Modern regulations place a heavy emphasis on resident engagement.

Providing Clear Instructions

You must provide residents with fire safety instructions that are easy to understand. This includes how to report a fire, the specific evacuation strategy for the building (such as “Stay Put” or “Simultaneous Evacuation”), and the importance of fire doors.

Multichannel Engagement

Don’t rely solely on a noticeboard in the lobby. Use email updates, digital tenant portals, and move-in packs to ensure that every occupant knows their role in a fire emergency.

Practical Steps for Building Managers

To stay ahead of the curve in 2025, follow these three steps:

• Conduct a Holistic Review: Don’t just look at individual units. Commission a building-wide Fire Risk Assessment that considers how a fire in one area would impact another.

• Standardise Testing: Try to align the testing of alarms and emergency lighting across all tenancies to minimise disruption and ensure consistency.

• Document Everything: If a fire officer visits, they will want to see proof of coordination between RPs. Keep a centralised compliance logbook that records all shared safety meetings and correspondence.

Why Professional Guidance is Vital

Multi-use buildings are high-stakes environments. The integration of different detection systems, suppression technologies, and evacuation strategies requires specialist knowledge.

At Thor Fire, we help you simplify the complex. From technical riser testing to comprehensive building safety audits, we provide the expertise needed to keep your multi-use property compliant and your tenants safe.

Do you share responsibility for a multi-use building?

Our Oldham-based team provides expert fire safety services nationwide. Whether you need a new fire strategy or a review of your current maintenance procedures, we are here to support you.

Contact Thor Fire today to ensure your building is managed to the highest standards.