Under the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England & Wales) and the equivalent obligations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the “Responsible Person” must plan, organise, control, monitor and review emergency arrangements for non-domestic premises.
At Ark Workplace Risk we partner with commercial property professionals to deliver comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plans & Procedures, and rigorous Emergency Preparedness Testing, so your assets are resilient, compliant and safeguarded.
Why Emergency Preparedness Is Critical for Commercial Property
- Regulator expectations: Article 11 of the Fire Safety Order requires “arrangements…for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures”. We interpret this to mean: you must prove your building’s emergency strategy works, not just have it on paper.
- Operational risk & liability: Effective emergency procedures protect occupiers, minimise business interruption and reduce reputational and insurance risk.
- Complex portfolios demand readiness: In multi-tenanted offices, retail centres and mixed-use sites you must coordinate many stakeholders; tenants, visitors, service providers and contractors.
- Testing builds confidence: Regular drills and simulated scenarios are not optional; they ensure that when an incident occurs, assets deliver a safe outcome for people, property and reputation.
Our Service 1 – Emergency Preparedness Plans & Procedures
We design, implement and review custom plans tailored to your building’s profile, including:
- Emergency response framework aligned to your building type, occupancy and use-case.
- Clear roles, responsibilities and escalation pathways for your duty-holders, tenants, visitors and contractors.
- Detailed procedures for evacuation, fire alarm activation, refuge/evacuation of vulnerable persons, strategy for business continuity.
- Integration with the wider Fire Safety Strategy, general risk assessments, and building management systems (BMS).
- Compliance referencing to:
> Article 15.1(a) of the Fire Safety Order (duty of responsible person to take general fire precautions)
> Regulation 14 (Scotland & Northern Ireland) covering emergency planning obligations. - Customised documentation and digital strategy ensuring all procedures are accessible, version-controlled and auditable.
Why choose Ark for your Plan & Procedures?
- Over 30 years of experience delivering risk, compliance and safety frameworks across high-density and complex commercial assets.
- An end-to-end approach: from strategy to implementation, auditing and continuous review.
- Collaborative work with insurers, auditors and enforcement authorities meaning your procedure will be aligned with what they expect.
Our Service 2 – Emergency Preparedness Testing
A plan is only as strong as its execution. Ark’s testing service ensures you’re not just compliant; you’re confident.
What’s included:
- Scenario-based drills (fire, evacuation, refuge, partial shutdown, tenant & contractor interface) tailored to commercial built-environment conditions.
- Specialist competent observers who evaluate performance, record deviations and provide structured feedback reports.
- Live performance data and benchmarking against best-practice metrics.
- Action-plan with prioritised remediation tasks, responsibilities and scheduling.
- Follow-up review to verify improvements and embed continual improvement.
Benefits of Ark’s Testing Programme
- Demonstrates to insurers, tenants and enforcement authorities that your emergency systems are operational and effective.
- Reduces risk of non-compliance enforcement, delays or reputational damage.
- Improves occupant confidence and tenant retention by showing you take safety seriously.
- Delivers measurable insights, actionable improvement and documentation to support your safety governance.
How Ark Works With Commercial Property Professionals
We review your asset’s occupancy, usage patterns, building systems and existing emergency arrangements.
We draft and align the emergency preparedness framework to your building’s risks, stakeholder structure and regulatory requirements.
We work with your teams, tenants and contractors to ensure procedures are understood and embedded.
We execute scenario drills, assess performance, report findings and deliver remediation plans.
Ongoing review, retesting and integration into your safety management system ensure you keep pace with asset changes, regulation and industry expectation.
“Buildings that can demonstrate not just a plan, but that the plan works under pressure, are the ones achieving operational resilience, favourable insurance terms and stakeholder confidence.”
Interested in More Resources?
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Ready to strengthen your emergency preparedness?
For commercial property management organisations, failure to prepare is failure to protect. At Ark we turn regulatory obligation into strategic asset, delivering emergency preparedness you can trust.