It doesn't matter whether it is a workplace or not - the Fire Safety Order applies to any premises other than:
(a)domestic premises, except to the extent mentioned in article 31;
(b)an offshore installation within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Offshore Installation and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995;
(c)a ship, in respect of the normal ship-board activities of a ship?s crew which are carried out solely by the crew under the direction of the master;
(d)fields, woods or other land forming part of an agricultural or forestry undertaking but which is not inside a building and is situated away from the undertaking?s main buildings;
(e)an aircraft, locomotive or rolling stock, trailer or semi-trailer used as a means of transport or a vehicle for which a licence is in force under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 or a vehicle exempted from duty under that Act;
(f)a mine within the meaning of section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954, other than any building on the surface at a mine;
(g)a borehole site to which the Borehole Sites and Operations Regulations 1995 apply.
A risk assessment and resulting general fire precautions is therefore still required - as it isn't generally going to be an long in depth document it's often covered as part of a general H&S Liability Assessment, although we have carried out full standalone FRAs for clients - often where the vacant area is part of a larger premises (as recent example being a vacant bar at ground level under flats)
