Your compliance partner: safeguarding people, property and assets
As we reach the end of 2025, it’s clear that fire safety continues to shift faster than ever. Across the UK, duty-holders are facing rising standards, tighter accountability and growing expectations around competence. At Commercial Fire Protection, we’ve spent the year helping clients stay ahead of the curve.
2025 has been a year of growth, strengthened partnerships and expanded services. And as we enter 2026, our role as your compliance partner has never been more important. This will be defined by competence – how it is evidenced, documented and embedded across every aspect of fire safety management.
Greater demand for structured, long-term compliance support
More organisations than ever have turned to our CFP Service Agreements, which offer a simpler, more predictable approach to year-round compliance and fire-safety support.
Our agreements include annual Fire Risk Assessments, six-monthly Fire Door Inspections, scheduled servicing, priority callouts, compliance reminders, and free consultations when alterations are being considered that may affect the fabric of a building. This ensures potential compliance and fire-safety implications are identified early and managed effectively.
With savings of up to 30%, our agreements have helped clients stay compliant, improve safety and reduce hidden costs.
Guiding clients through shifting standards
Much of our advisory work in 2025 focused on supporting clients navigating:
- the transition from BS 476 to BS EN fire-testing standards
- increasing scrutiny on passive-fire performance
- evolving expectations around documentation, traceability and evidence of competence
- growing demand for early-stage fire-safety consultancy in refurbishments and new works
Our aim was to demystify complexity and give duty-holders clear, practical steps to stay compliant.
Our new website will be launching in 2026
We are preparing to launch our fully redesigned website in 2026, created to better support the needs of busy duty-holders and facilities professionals.
The new site will be modern, intuitive and built around clarity, competence and compliance. It will make it easier to:
- explore our full range of services
- access practical guidance and technical updates
- understand compliance obligations
- request inspections and manage service needs
- view case studies and expert insights
The website will be officially launched early in the new year and will form an important part of how we share expertise, guidance and regulatory insight with our clients.
2026: A Year of Competence, Regulatory Change & Continued Growth
As we move into 2026, one trend stands above all: competence becomes the central pillar of regulatory expectation and enforcement. Whether through the Building Safety Regulator’s independence, the shift to European testing, or evolving guidance in Approved Document B – competence will be the measure by which organisations are assessed.
A strengthened team to support our clients
In early 2026 we will welcome Jalil Drahmane, our new Chief Operating Officer.
Jalil will lead our service-agreement growth, support client engagement, and help organisations plan ahead as regulations tighten. He will strengthen our early-stage, competence-led consultancy offering, ensuring clients get the right fire-safety advice from design through to occupation and ongoing lifecycle management.
Key regulatory developments for 2026
2026 is set to bring some significant fire-safety and building-safety changes witnessed in recent years. Here’s what duty-holders need to be aware of:
- Building Safety Regulator (BSR) becomes independent in January 2026
From January, the BSR will formally separate from the HSE, becoming a more distinct and specialised regulatory body.
This marks a significant shift toward a more defined, centralised structure for building safety and is expected to bring clearer oversight, more consistent enforcement, and sharper expectations for duty-holder competence and accountability.
With increased scrutiny on documentation, competence and maintenance, organisations will need robust, reliable systems in place – areas CFP continues to support through structured servicing and consultancy.
- Transition toward European testing and classification
2026 will accelerate the move away from BS 476 testing standards toward European standards such as BS EN 13501 (reaction to fire) and BS EN 1634-1 (fire resistance of doors and shutters).
Duty-holders will need to understand how this affects door replacements, certification and maintenance planning, and at CFP we can help. We’re already helping clients audit existing doors, verify certification and plan phased upgrades to avoid last-minute compliance pressure.
Knowing what is compliant, and demonstrating competence in selection and maintenance, is essential.
- Revised cladding fire-safety standards from 31 January 2026
A revised European standard for cladding fire testing will take effect on 31 January 2026.
The changes replace visual assessments with a temperature-based approach and introduce new test substrates in classification. This raises expectations for improved competence in understanding façade systems, external wall materials, and documentation of fire performance.
- Expected updates to Approved Document B
Key areas under review for 2026 include:
- new sprinkler requirements for certain building types
- removal of national class testing (BS 476)
- refined guidance on means of escape in higher-risk buildings
- implications for multi-storey and residential properties
Each of these puts greater emphasis on competent assessment, installation and ongoing management.
As these changes take effect, we will continue to publish guidance and updates to help clients understand and plan.
Final Thoughts
As we step into the new year, the regulatory horizon is clear; competence will be the defining expectation for building-owners, duty-holders and facilities managers.
More rigorous standards, more proactive scrutiny, and greater need for organisations to partner with fire-safety experts who understand the evolving landscape will shape the next 12 months and beyond.
With our expanded leadership team, new website, and enhanced Service Agreements, we remain ready to support clients with clarity, confidence and expert guidance through every stage of the compliance journey.
Here at Commercial Fire Protection, we partner our clients, helping you stay ahead of regulatory change, and we remain committed to being your expert compliance partner: safeguarding people, property and assets.
If you’d like to review your fire protection for 2026, contact us today to find out how we can help.
