Look at the building as a complete property
London Fire Brigade, the capital’s fire and rescue service, describes a building-specific fire strategy in its June 2025 historic building guidance (london-fire.gov.uk). Relevant considerations include construction, compartmentation, escape routes, occupancy and management.
The guidance explains how passive measures, including fire separation, doors and dampers, can limit spread. Alterations can compromise that separation, so the history of changes is relevant to the assessment scope.
This does not mean every older building has the same weaknesses. An enquiry should identify what is known about the property rather than treating its age as a diagnosis.
Explain alterations and conservation constraints
Describe the premises as used today, including whether the enquiry concerns the whole building or a defined area. Mention refurbishment, changes of use and known alterations relevant to the request.
Heritage constraints need appropriate specialist and conservation input. If proposed work affects protected features or requires a conservation decision, identify that dependency. The assessment request should make clear which decisions remain open.
For instance, a proposed change to an occupied room may involve both its future use and restrictions on alteration. Those are separate pieces of project information. Neither can be resolved by choosing a product from a website description.
Existing records help define the discussion
Mention any fire strategy, previous assessment, alteration records or conservation information you hold. A brief description of each record and its date is enough for an initial enquiry.
Where records are incomplete, identify the gap. Avoid assuming that a drawing reflects the present building or that a previous recommendation has been completed.
If you are discussing follow-on work, distinguish the assessment requirement from equipment maintenance or proposed construction. Any solution needs consideration in the context of the building and its documented strategy. A product name or claimed fire rating alone cannot establish the suitability of a complete system.
Bring the unresolved questions into the enquiry
State what prompted your request, which areas are involved and whether timing depends on other project decisions. Include known access arrangements without investigating concealed construction to gather details.
For an existing report affected by alterations or a change of use, the assessment reviews page provides a starting point for describing your London historic-building requirements.