Case Study
New-Build Nursery Pre-Opening & Building-Control Style FRA
Pre-opening fire risk assessment for a purpose-built three-storey nursery at practical completion stage.
Summary
Fire Check Scotland was asked to review a new purpose-built nursery shortly before opening. The building was a multi-storey childcare premises at completion/commissioning stage, with fire strategy plans, management procedures, site inspection evidence and several life-safety systems still awaiting final commissioning or handover records.
The purpose of the work was to help the client identify what still needed to be completed, evidenced or controlled before the premises could be safely occupied.
The Premises
- Purpose-built three-storey children's nursery.
- Completion and commissioning stage.
- Protected stair and alternative escape routes.
- Ground-floor kitchen.
- Baby room, sleeping room and upper external play/garden area.
- Extensive fire detection observed.
- Purpose-made fire-door sets observed.
- Visible fire-stopping sampled during construction stage.
Why This Project Was More Complex
The building appeared professionally constructed, but it was not yet an occupied, fully commissioned premises. The assessment therefore had to focus on completion evidence, commissioning, Regulation 38-style handover information, management readiness, staffing and evacuation procedures.
This is a different task from inspecting an established occupied building. The key question was not simply “what defects exist today?” but “what must be completed, tested, evidenced and adopted before opening?”
Key Technical Themes
- Fire alarm system not fully commissioned at the time of inspection, with panel faults displayed.
- Need for final fire alarm category, zone plan, device schedule, cause-and-effect and audibility evidence.
- Access-control and maglock interfaces not yet fully demonstrated or evidenced.
- Defective/incomplete fire doors, including one stair-protection door not fully closing/latching and a large threshold gap.
- Need for full pre-opening fire-door inspection and register.
- Visible fire-stopping appeared generally positive, but final register/product evidence/sign-off was required.
- Temporary stair handrails still in place.
- Signage, extinguishers and some door closers still to be installed.
- Baby/sleeping-child evacuation, staffing and upper garden evacuation arrangements still to be confirmed.
- Final emergency lighting, kitchen, electrical, plant, ventilation and external escape-route commissioning records still required.
- Written daily final-exit/opening checks and management procedures needed before occupation.
Fire Check Scotland Approach
Fire Check Scotland treated the assessment as a pre-opening practical-completion review. Positive construction features were recorded, but the report did not assume that installed systems were acceptable until commissioning and handover evidence had been provided.
The output separated observed positive features; incomplete works; high-priority pre-opening actions; commissioning and handover evidence still required; management procedures needed before occupation; and matters requiring the project team or competent contractors to confirm.
Outcome
The client received a practical close-out roadmap for fire-safety readiness before opening. The work helped identify which items were construction/commissioning close-out matters, which were management-procedure matters, and which defects needed to be rectified before children occupied the building.
Relevance to Similar Clients
This experience is relevant to new nurseries, education projects, practical-completion reviews, building-control close-out support, pre-opening fire-safety audits and premises where Regulation 38-style handover evidence is critical.