Every fire, whether major or minor, provides lessons. We explain how post-incident reviews can strengthen fire safety and reduce future risk in UK buildings.. Why Post Incident Reviews Matter Every fire — from a small bin fire to a major structural fire — provides data that can prevent future incidents. Under the Building Safety Act, Mandatory Occurrence Reporting formalises this for higher risk buildings. The Review Process 1. Immediate (24 48 hours) Secure the scene Initial evidence collection Witness statements System performance data retrieval 2. Investigation (1 4 weeks) Origin and cause determination Fire system performance analysis Evacuation effectiveness review Building performance assessment 3. Analysis (4 8 weeks) Root cause analysis System failure analysis Human factors assessment Comparison with design intent 4. Recommendations Immediate corrective actions Medium term improvements Long term design changes Industry wide sharing (anonymised) Key Questions 1. Did detection work as designed? 2. Did compartmentation contain the fire? 3. Did occupants evacuate safely? 4. Did fire service access work? 5. What would have happened if the fire was larger/different location? For post incident fire safety reviews, contact us.