Who is competent to prepare a Fire Statement at Gateway One
Article 9A requires a fire statement for relevant buildings, and the form asks the author to evidence their competence. Here is what that means and how to programme the appointment.
A Fire Statement submitted at Planning Gateway One has to be written by someone with fire engineering competence, and the form asks that person to identify themselves and their qualifications. That single question defeats a surprising number of applications, because the design team assumes the architect can complete it and the architect assumes the fire consultant already has. Fire statement competence is not a formality. The Health and Safety Executive reads the author details before it reads the content.
If nobody on the team can answer the question honestly, the appointment has to be made before the application goes in, not after the consultation response arrives.
Where the requirement comes from
Article 9A of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 requires a fire statement to accompany a planning application for development involving a relevant building. Relevant buildings are, in broad terms, those of 18 metres or more in height or seven or more storeys containing at least two residential units, with care homes and hospitals meeting the same height test also caught.
The statement is submitted on the published form. The Health and Safety Executive, acting as the Building Safety Regulator, is a statutory consultee on those applications, and its response feeds into the council's decision. This is the planning stage of the wider building safety regime introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022, sitting ahead of the Gateway Two and Gateway Three checks that follow under building control.
A Fire Statement therefore has a narrow job. It sets out the fire safety principles that have shaped the site layout and the building form, at a stage when those principles can still change the scheme. It is not a fire strategy, and it should not pretend to be one.
What the form asks the author to stand behind
The form covers the principles of the proposed approach to fire safety: the site layout, the access and water supplies available for the fire and rescue service, the means of escape strategy in outline, the approach to external walls and to fire spread, and any policy or guidance the design follows.
It then asks who prepared the statement and what their competence is. The author is being asked to put their name to design principles that will be tested again at building control stage, with the professional exposure that carries. That is why the question cannot be answered by whoever happens to be assembling the application pack.
The related concept of a competent person appears across planning legislation in different forms, and the meaning shifts depending on the regime, as set out in what competent person means in planning legislation.
How fire engineering competence is evidenced
There is no single statutory licence for fire engineers in the way there is for ecologists handling protected species. Competence is demonstrated by a combination of qualification, professional registration and relevant experience, and the sector has been formalising that combination since the Building Safety Act.
In practice, the evidence a regulator finds persuasive includes:
- Membership of the Institution of Fire Engineers at an appropriate grade, with registration on its register of fire engineers where held.
- Engineering Council registration as an incorporated or chartered engineer through a licensed body.
- A degree or postgraduate qualification in fire engineering, or a cognate engineering discipline with documented fire specialisation.
- Recorded continuing professional development in the relevant building type.
- Project experience with buildings of comparable height, use and complexity, which matters more than the letters after the name.
The BS 8670 series on core criteria for building safety competence frameworks provides the structure the sector is converging on. Where an author's competence sits outside the obvious routes, the statement should say what the experience is rather than leaving the regulator to guess.
Currency matters too. A fire engineer whose last tall residential project predates the current regime is in a weaker position than the qualification alone suggests, which is the same judgement applied to survey evidence in checking whether a survey is still valid.
Why an architect usually cannot sign it
Architects design buildings that comply with fire safety requirements. That is not the same as being competent to set out and defend a fire safety strategy for a building above the height threshold, and most architects' professional indemnity cover reflects the distinction.
An architect can legitimately coordinate the submission, draw the plans the statement relies on, and take responsibility for the architectural content. The fire content, including the escape strategy principles, the external wall approach and the firefighting provision, sits with the fire engineer. Splitting the responsibility clearly in the statement is better than a single signature that nobody will stand behind later.
There is one practical exception worth noting. On a straightforward building at the lower end of the threshold, a fire engineer may take responsibility for a statement largely drafted by the design team, provided the engineer has reviewed it, revised it and signed it as their own work. That is a normal professional arrangement. What does not work is an engineer's name on a document they have not read.
The regulator's role and what it does with the statement
The Health and Safety Executive is consulted on applications for relevant buildings and provides a substantive response to the local planning authority. Its interest is whether fire safety has actually influenced the design at a stage where it can still do so, rather than whether the building will ultimately comply.
That shapes what a useful statement looks like. Site layout decisions, the position and number of firefighting shafts, the fire and rescue service access route and hardstanding, water supply provision, and the relationship between the building and its boundaries are all planning-stage matters. Detailed compartmentation, door specifications and alarm systems are not, and a statement crowded with them tends to obscure the points the regulator is looking for.
Where a full Fire Safety Strategy will follow at building control stage, say so and summarise the principles it will develop. A fire safety strategy to BS 9991 or BS 9999 is itself a fire engineering document and needs the same competence.
Briefing and programming the appointment
The cost of a fire engineer's planning-stage input is small next to the cost of a design that has to be reworked after a Gateway One response. Treat it as an early appointment rather than a late one.
- Establish whether the building meets the relevant building test, using the statutory measurement method rather than the drawing dimension.
- Appoint the fire engineer at concept design, before the core layout, escape stair count and access arrangements are fixed.
- Ask for a written scope that covers the fire statement, attendance at design team meetings, and a response to any consultee comments.
- Agree who signs the statement and confirm their professional indemnity cover extends to it.
- Allow time for the statutory consultation period in the programme, and do not assume a nil response.
Ask for the author's competence summary in writing at appointment, in the form it will appear on the submitted document. It is an awkward conversation to have after the form is completed.
Where a scheme needs a reviewer to check a draft before submission, or an independent signature on a document prepared by others, the professional directory is the route to someone who can take that on. An AI-assisted draft can carry the structure, the site facts and the policy references, and it gives the fire engineer a document to react to rather than a blank page. It cannot supply the competence the form asks for.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority, the Building Safety Regulator or a qualified professional before relying on it.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Which applications need a fire statement?
Applications for development involving a relevant building under Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015. In broad terms that means buildings of 18 metres or more in height or seven or more storeys containing at least two residential units, with care homes and hospitals meeting the same height test also within scope.
Can an architect prepare the fire statement?
An architect can coordinate the submission and take responsibility for the architectural content, but the fire content needs an author with fire engineering competence. A fire engineer may sign a statement largely drafted by the design team provided they have reviewed and revised it, but a name on an unread document is not competence.
What qualifications show fire engineering competence?
There is no single statutory licence. Regulators look for Institution of Fire Engineers membership at an appropriate grade, Engineering Council registration, a fire engineering qualification or documented specialisation, recorded continuing professional development, and project experience with buildings of comparable height and use.
Who is consulted on a fire statement?
The Health and Safety Executive, acting as the Building Safety Regulator, is a statutory consultee on planning applications for relevant buildings. Its response goes to the local planning authority and considers whether fire safety has influenced the design at a stage where it can still change the scheme.
Is a fire statement the same as a fire strategy?
No. A fire statement sets out planning stage principles: site layout, fire and rescue service access, water supplies, escape strategy in outline and the approach to external walls. A fire strategy to BS 9991 or BS 9999 is a detailed fire engineering document produced later, and it needs the same level of competence.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.