What is an FRAEW
What is an FRAEW
A Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) is a structured engineering appraisal of the fire risk presented by a building's external wall construction. It assesses the materials and design of the cladding, insulation, cavity barriers, attachments (e.g. balconies), and the interaction of the wall system with the wider fire safety strategy of the building.
FRAEWs are produced by competent fire engineers in accordance with the methodology set out in PAS 9980, the recognised Publicly Available Specification for appraising external wall fire risk on existing blocks of flats. For background on the methodology, see What is PAS 9980.
Why FRAEWs exist
The need for a consistent appraisal methodology for external walls emerged after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which exposed the role of combustible cladding systems and inadequate compartmentation in catastrophic external fire spread. In the years that followed, the EWS1 form was introduced as a short-term industry response — a checklist for valuation purposes — but it was widely criticised as binary, inconsistent, and unsuited to the scale and complexity of the problem.
PAS 9980, published in 2022, replaced EWS1 for most practical purposes with a more rigorous, codified methodology. A FRAEW produced under PAS 9980 is now the accepted means of demonstrating that the external wall fire risk of an existing block of flats has been competently appraised.
Who reads a FRAEW
Responsible persons and building owners — to understand the fire risk presented by the building's external walls and the recommendations for remediation, interim measures, or ongoing management.
Mortgage lenders and insurers — many require a FRAEW (or its conclusions) before lending against or insuring properties in higher-risk buildings.
Leaseholders and residents — increasingly expect access to FRAEW conclusions affecting their building.
Approving authorities and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) — for higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act (BSA), the FRAEW forms part of the evidence within the safety case demonstrating that external wall fire risk is appropriately managed.
When a FRAEW is required
A FRAEW is required, or strongly expected, in a number of circumstances:
For higher-risk buildings under the BSA, as part of the safety case demonstrating that external wall fire risk is being managed.
Where mortgage, insurance, or sale activity on properties in a block of flats requires evidence that external wall risk has been appraised.
Following remediation or material alteration to the external wall system, to capture the post-works position.
As part of ongoing fire safety management for existing blocks of flats, particularly those built or refurbished during the period when combustible cladding systems were widely used.
What a FRAEW contains
A FRAEW produced under PAS 9980 typically contains:
A description of the building — height, use, construction date, occupancy, escape strategy.
A detailed description of the external wall construction — cladding materials, insulation, substrate, cavity barriers, attachments, and any variations across elevations.
An evaluation of the fire risk factors — the combustibility of materials, the presence and adequacy of cavity barriers, the integrity of compartmentation, the contribution of attachments, and the interaction with means of escape and firefighting access.
A risk rating — drawn from the PAS 9980 tolerability framework.
Recommendations — remediation, interim measures, ongoing monitoring, or confirmation that no action is required.
The supporting evidence — typically a structured External Wall Survey capturing the as-built condition — is included as an appendix.
Related documents
A FRAEW sits alongside other fire safety documents that share underlying building information:
Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) — operational risk assessments under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.
For the technical methodology underpinning a FRAEW, see What is PAS 9980. For step-by-step instructions on the data-capture stage in the RiskBase app, see How To: Performing an External Wall Inspection. For the analysis stage, see How To: Producing a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls.
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