Fire Safety Records UK: Policy & Log Guide 2026

Overview

A fire safety policy is the written statement of how your organisation approaches fire risk. It sets out who is responsible for what, which preventative measures are in place, and what everyone should do if a fire breaks out. Alongside the policy sit the records, which are the ongoing evidence that the policy is actually being followed on the ground.

Together, these documents form the paper trail that fire officers, insurers and tribunals may want to see. They typically cover your fire risk assessment, logs of drills, maintenance and testing records for detection and firefighting equipment, training registers for staff and fire marshals, and notes of any incidents or near misses.

The policy tends to be reviewed annually or whenever something material changes, such as a refit, a change of use, or a shift in who occupies the building. The records, by contrast, are living documents, updated each time a check is carried out or a drill is run. The responsible person, usually the employer, owner or occupier, is the one accountable for keeping them current.

Key steps

1. Identify your responsible person. Work out who holds the duty under the Fire Safety Order for your premises. In most single-occupier workplaces this is the employer, but in shared buildings the duty may fall on the landlord, the managing agent or more than one party. Write the name and role into your policy so there is no ambiguity.
2. Carry out or refresh your fire risk assessment. A suitable and sufficient assessment is the foundation of everything else. It should identify hazards, the people at risk, the measures already in place and anything that needs to be improved. Record the findings in writing, date them, and set a review cycle so the assessment does not go stale.
3. Draft your fire safety policy. Put down in plain language how your organisation manages fire risk day to day. Cover escape routes, alarm procedures, roles during an evacuation, how visitors are accounted for, and who signs off on repairs. Keep it short enough that staff will actually read it.
4. Set up your record-keeping system. Decide where logs will live, whether on paper in a fire logbook or in a digital system, and who is responsible for each entry. Cover alarm tests, emergency lighting checks, extinguisher servicing, drill reports, training attendance and any faults reported. Consistency matters more than format.
5. Train staff and review regularly. Make sure everyone knows the evacuation plan, the location of call points and extinguishers, and who the fire marshals are. Run drills at sensible intervals, log the outcomes, and use what you learn to refine the policy. Treat the whole system as something that evolves rather than a one-off task.

Common questions