What belongs in a fire safety log book
The routine fire safety checks premises are expected to record, typical frequencies, and who carries the duty.
This is a plain-English explainer, not legal advice. The authority on this topic is the Home Office and your local fire and rescue authority. Rules change — check the current official guidance before relying on it.
Non-domestic premises in England and Wales have a responsible person with duties under fire safety law, including carrying out a fire risk assessment and keeping the premises' fire precautions in working order. The fire safety log book is where the routine evidence of that lives. It's not itself a legal document with a prescribed format, which is why practice varies so widely: what matters is that the checks happen and can be shown.
The routine entries
Fire alarm call point test
Weekly
Emergency lighting function test
Monthly
Emergency lighting full duration
Annually
Extinguisher visual check
Monthly
Extinguisher service
Annually
Fire door inspection
Follows the risk assessment
Means of escape unobstructed
Daily or weekly
Alarm system service
Commonly six-monthly
Evacuation drill
Annually or more often
Frequencies vary by premises and should follow your own fire risk assessment rather than a generic table.
The weekly alarm test
The most frequent entry, and the one most often recorded carelessly. Convention is to test a different call point each week, rotating through them, so every point is proven over time, and to record which point was tested, not merely that a test occurred.
A log showing "alarm tested" every Monday for a year, with no indication which point, demonstrates considerably less than one showing the rotation.
Escape routes
The check that catches most premises in practice is the simplest: escape routes and fire exits clear and unobstructed. It fails because it's nobody's job in particular, and because obstructions accumulate gradually, a delivery left in a corridor, a propped door. Attaching it to the daily close is the usual fix, since somebody is walking the building anyway.
Keeping it credible
The same principles apply as anywhere else: record who performed the check and when, record what was found rather than a tick, and make sure a fault produces a recorded action and a re-check.
Common questions
- What should be recorded in a fire safety log book?
- Weekly alarm call point tests noting which point was tested, emergency lighting tests, extinguisher checks and services, fire door inspections, escape route checks, alarm servicing and evacuation drills. Frequencies should follow your own fire risk assessment rather than a generic list.
- How often should a fire alarm be tested?
- Weekly is the usual convention for a call point test, rotating through a different point each week so all are proven over time. Record which point was tested, not just that a test happened — a year of entries reading only 'alarm tested' demonstrates far less than one showing the rotation.
- Who is responsible for fire safety records in a workplace?
- The responsible person under fire safety law, typically the employer, owner or whoever has control of the premises. The duty includes carrying out a fire risk assessment and keeping fire precautions in working order, and the log book is the routine evidence that this is happening.
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