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fire inspection, cited to the clause
Fire safety inspection requirements in the United Kingdom
What a fire inspection has to cover in the United Kingdom — the instruments that impose it, and the clause each check is cited to.
3 instruments · 62 requirements · 67 checks · authoritative language: EN
The instruments we cite
BS 8214:2026 · edition 2026
BS 9792:2025 · edition 2025
PAS 79-1:2020 · edition 2020
What an inspection covers
BS 8214:2026 (gaps and clearances)
Gaps and clearances around the door leaf must be within tolerance.
Checks on this requirement
- Are the gaps within tolerance (typically 2-4 mm)?
BS 8214:2026 (intumescent seals)
Intumescent seals must be present, correctly fitted and undamaged.
Checks on this requirement
- Are intumescent seals present and undamaged?
BS 8214:2026 (self-closing devices)
Self-closing devices must return the door to the fully closed position from any angle.
Checks on this requirement
- Does the door close fully onto the latch from any angle?
BS 9792:2025 (communal building services) / BS 7671 (EICR) / gas safety / BS EN 62305 (lightning)
Communal building services that present a fire risk — the landlord's fixed electrical installation (EICR), communal gas/heating plant, lifts, dry-lining voids and any lightning protection — must be maintained and inspected within interval.
Checks on this requirement
- Are communal services (landlord electrical installation/EICR, gas/heating plant, lightning protection) maintained and inspected within interval, with no signs of fault or overheating?
BS 9792:2025 (communal fire doors) / BS 8214:2026 + BS EN 1634-1
Communal fire doors (cross-corridor, lobby, stair, riser, plant and store-room doors) must be intact, correctly specified, self-closing where required and effective at maintaining the protected route and compartment lines.
Checks on this requirement
- Do communal fire doors (corridor/lobby/stair/riser/plant) close fully, with seals present, gaps in tolerance and hardware intact, so protected routes and compartments stay effective?
BS 9792:2025 (compartmentation between dwellings) / Approved Document B / BS 9991
Compartmentation separating each dwelling from others and from common parts must be intact — including floors, party/separating walls, service risers, and the fire-stopping of penetrations and voids — so that a fire is contained to the flat of origin where a stay-put strategy is relied upon.
Checks on this requirement
- Is compartmentation between dwellings and common parts intact, with service penetrations and riser/void breaches correctly fire-stopped?
BS 9792:2025 (emergency escape lighting) / BS 5266-1:2025
Emergency escape lighting must be provided to common escape routes and key safety points where needed for the evacuation strategy, and must operate on failure of the normal supply, with monthly function and annual duration testing.
Checks on this requirement
- Is emergency escape lighting provided to common routes/key points as needed, operating on mains failure, with the monthly function test up to date?
BS 9792:2025 (evacuation alert systems) / BS 8629:2019
Where a simultaneous evacuation strategy is used in a block of flats (typically over 18 m), an evacuation alert system to BS 8629 for use by the fire and rescue service should be provided and maintained; a stay-put block does not require one.
Checks on this requirement
- Where a simultaneous evacuation strategy applies, is a BS 8629 evacuation alert system provided (for FRS use) and maintained in working order?
BS 9792:2025 (evacuation strategy) / BS 9991 (residential fire safety design)
The building's evacuation strategy (stay-put/defend-in-place, simultaneous, or phased) must be identified, its continuing validity confirmed against the condition of compartmentation and protected routes, and any interim measures (temporary simultaneous evacuation / waking watch) recorded with an exit plan back to the intended strategy.
Checks on this requirement
- Is the evacuation strategy (stay-put / simultaneous / phased) identified, clearly communicated to residents, and still valid given the condition of compartmentation and escape routes?
- Where the intended strategy is compromised, are interim measures (temporary simultaneous evacuation / waking watch) in place, adequately managed, and coupled with a plan and timescale to restore the permanent strategy?
BS 9792:2025 (external walls & attachments) / Fire Safety Act 2021 / PAS 9980:2022 (FRAEW)
The external wall system (cladding, insulation, cavity barriers) and attachments (balconies, windows, spandrel panels) fall within the fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Act 2021; the level of risk they present must be considered, informed by any external-wall fire-risk appraisal (PAS 9980 FRAEW), and any balcony combustible-storage controls confirmed.
Checks on this requirement
- Has the external wall system and its attachments (cladding, insulation, cavity barriers, balconies) been considered, informed by any PAS 9980 external-wall appraisal, with balcony combustible-storage controlled?
BS 9792:2025 (facilities for firefighters) / BS 9990 (rising mains) / BS 9991 (firefighting shafts/lifts)
Firefighting facilities appropriate to the building — dry or wet rising mains, firefighting shafts and firefighters'/evacuation lifts — must be present where required, accessible and maintained; provision requirements scale with building height.
Checks on this requirement
- Are the firefighting facilities the building requires (rising mains, firefighting shaft/lift) present, accessible to the FRS and maintained within test interval?
BS 9792:2025 (fire detection & warning) / BS 5839-1:2025 (communal) + BS 5839-6 (within dwellings)
Automatic fire detection and warning must be appropriate to the building and its evacuation strategy — the correct BS 5839-1:2025 category/coverage for common parts and any simultaneous-evacuation alarm, and the correct BS 5839-6 grade within dwellings — and must reflect the BS 5839-1:2025 changes: heat detectors are no longer acceptable in rooms where people sleep (revised L2/L3), and the new Section 7 governs any extension or modification of an existing system.
Checks on this requirement
- Is fire detection/warning appropriate to the strategy and building (correct BS 5839-1:2025 category/coverage), with NO heat detectors in sleeping rooms and any alterations designed per the new BS 5839-1:2025 Section 7?
- Are the detection/alarm system's periodic servicing and (where present) weekly test up to date, with faults resolved?
BS 9792:2025 (fire safety information to residents) / Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 reg. 9 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9
Residents must be given clear fire-safety instructions appropriate to the evacuation strategy (what to do in a fire, and the stay-put/evacuate basis), displayed in the common parts and provided to each dwelling, and kept up to date.
Checks on this requirement
- Are residents given current fire-safety instructions matching the evacuation strategy, both displayed in the common parts and provided to each dwelling?
BS 9792:2025 (flat/maisonette entrance doors) / Fire Safety Act 2021 / BS 8214:2026 + BS EN 1634-1
Flat and maisonette entrance doors (which form part of the compartmentation between each dwelling and the common escape route) must be fire-resisting and smoke-sealing (typically FD30S), self-closing, correctly hung with cold-smoke and intumescent seals intact, and free of unauthorised alterations.
Checks on this requirement
- Are flat/maisonette entrance doors fire- and smoke-resisting (FD30S), self-closing onto the latch, with intact seals and gaps in tolerance, and free of damage/unauthorised alteration?
BS 9792:2025 (housing FRA — premises/building context) / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9
The building must be characterised for a housing FRA: construction and age, purpose-built vs converted, number of storeys and height, number and layout of dwellings, tenure/occupancy type (block of flats, HMO, specialised/sheltered, student), any mixed use, and the common parts covered — recorded to reflect the building as found.
Checks on this requirement
- Do the recorded housing characteristics (purpose-built/converted, storeys/height, number of dwellings, occupancy type, common parts) match the building as found?
BS 9792:2025 (ignition-source & housekeeping control in common parts) / RRFSO 2005 Arts. 8-9
Ignition sources and combustible loading in the common parts must be controlled — including refuse/storage management, smoking, arson risk, and the charging/storage of e-bikes, e-scooters and mobility scooters — so that escape routes are not a fuel load or ignition point.
Checks on this requirement
- Are combustibles, refuse, smoking and e-bike/e-scooter/mobility-scooter charging controlled in the common parts, and is arson risk (external combustibles, unsecured access) reduced?
BS 9792:2025 (management, recording, review & competence) / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9(6) & Art. 18 (BSA 2022 s.156) / BS 8674:2025
The FRA and all its findings must be recorded and kept up to date, a review date set (and review triggered by significant change), the Responsible Person and fire-safety management arrangements identified, and the assessment carried out by a demonstrably competent assessor; a higher-risk building must also maintain the golden thread of information.
Checks on this requirement
- Was the assessment carried out by a demonstrably competent assessor (per BS 8674:2025 / relevant third-party scheme)?
- Are the FRA and all its findings recorded, a review date set, and management arrangements / Responsible Person clearly identified (with the golden thread where the building is higher-risk)?
BS 9792:2025 (means of escape from common parts) / RRFSO 2005 Art. 14 / BS 9991
Common escape routes must be adequate for the evacuation strategy, kept clear and unobstructed, with protected stairways/lobbies maintained and final exits usable, and (where a stay-put strategy applies) stairways kept sterile.
Checks on this requirement
- Are common escape routes adequate for the strategy, unobstructed, with protected lobbies/stairs and usable final exits (and sterile stairways where stay-put applies)?
BS 9792:2025 (residents especially at risk / person-centred assessment) / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9
Residents whose ability to evacuate may be impaired (mobility-, sensory- or cognitively-impaired, older or very young, and those in specialised/supported housing) must be identified and a person-centred approach taken to their fire safety and escape, irrespective of building height.
Checks on this requirement
- Have residents whose escape may be impaired been identified and their fire-safety needs and evacuation addressed (person-centred approach)?
BS 9792:2025 (risk evaluation & prioritised action plan)
Each significant finding must be evaluated for risk and assigned a prioritised, time-bound remedial action, producing a clear action plan with responsibilities and target dates, and an overall risk rating for the building.
Checks on this requirement
- Has each finding been risk-rated and given a prioritised, time-bound action with an owner, and an overall building risk rating assigned?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 10
In multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 m in England, the responsible person must carry out and record quarterly checks of communal fire doors and (best-endeavours) annual checks of flat-entrance doors.
Checks on this requirement
- For a residential building over 11 m (England): are the statutory quarterly communal fire-door checks and annual flat-entrance-door checks up to date and recorded?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 4
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must install and maintain a secure information box containing the responsible person's details and the required building information, accessible to the fire and rescue service.
Checks on this requirement
- Is a secure information box installed, correctly located and accessible to the FRS, containing the current building information?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 5
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must prepare, keep up to date and share a record of the design and materials of the external walls, the level of risk they present, and any mitigating steps taken.
Checks on this requirement
- Is there a current record of the external-wall design and materials, including the fire-risk level and any mitigating steps, available to the FRS?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 6
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must prepare floor plans identifying lifts and key fire-fighting equipment plus a single-page building plan, keep them current, and place a hard copy in the secure information box.
Checks on this requirement
- Are current floor plans and a single-page building plan prepared, and is a hard copy held in the secure information box?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 7
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must check firefighters' lifts, evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment at least monthly, record and share the results, and report to the fire and rescue service any fault not rectified within 24 hours.
Checks on this requirement
- Are firefighters'/evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment checked at least monthly, with faults unresolved after 24h reported to the FRS?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 8
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must install and maintain wayfinding signage identifying floor and flat/premises numbers, visible in low light, in the common parts.
Checks on this requirement
- Is wayfinding signage installed identifying floor and flat numbers, and visible in low light / smoke conditions?
Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regs 2025 (SI 2025/797) regs. 5-9, 13
In England residential buildings with two or more domestic premises that are at least 18 m tall or have at least 7 storeys (or are over 11 m with a simultaneous evacuation strategy), the responsible person must identify residents whose ability to evacuate is impaired, offer each a person-centred fire risk assessment, put reasonable mitigating measures and a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) in place, and prepare and annually review a building-level emergency evacuation plan.
Checks on this requirement
- For this building (England, 2+ dwellings, >=18m/7 storeys or >11m with simultaneous evacuation): are residents with impaired evacuation identified, offered a person-centred FRA, and covered by PEEPs and a current, annually-reviewed building evacuation plan?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 10
In multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 m in England, the statutory quarterly common fire-door and annual flat-entrance-door checks must be carried out and recorded.
Checks on this requirement
- For residential >11m (England): are the quarterly common / annual flat-entrance door checks up to date?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 4
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must install and maintain a secure information box containing the responsible person's details and the required building information.
Checks on this requirement
- Is a secure information box installed, correctly located, and does it contain the current building information?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 5
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must prepare, keep up to date and make available a record of the design and materials of the external walls, the level of risk they give rise to, and any mitigating steps taken.
Checks on this requirement
- Is there a current record of the external-wall design and materials, including the fire-risk level they present and any mitigating steps?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 6
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must prepare floor plans identifying lifts and key fire-fighting equipment plus a single-page building plan, keep them current, and place a hard copy in the secure information box.
Checks on this requirement
- Are current floor plans and a single-page building plan prepared, and is a hard copy held in the secure information box?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 7
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must check firefighters' lifts, evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment at least monthly, record and share the results, and report to the fire and rescue service any fault not rectified within 24 hours.
Checks on this requirement
- Are firefighters'/evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment checked at least monthly, with faults unresolved after 24h reported to the FRS?
Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 (SI 2022/547) reg. 8
The responsible person for a high-rise residential building must install and maintain signage identifying floor and flat/premises numbers, visible in low light, in the common parts.
Checks on this requirement
- Is wayfinding signage installed identifying floor numbers and flat numbers, and visible in low light / smoke conditions?
Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regs 2025 (SI 2025/797) regs. 5-9, 13
In England residential buildings with two or more domestic premises that are at least 18 m tall or have at least 7 storeys (or are over 11 m with a simultaneous evacuation strategy), the responsible person must identify residents whose ability to evacuate is impaired, offer each a person-centred fire risk assessment, put reasonable mitigating measures and a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) in place, and prepare and annually review a building-level emergency evacuation plan.
Checks on this requirement
- For this residential building (England, 2+ dwellings, 18m/7 storeys or >11m simultaneous-evac): are residents with impaired evacuation ability identified, offered a person-centred fire risk assessment, and covered by PEEPs and a current, annually-reviewed building evacuation plan?
PAS 79-1:2020 (risk estimation & action plan)
Each significant finding must be evaluated using the PAS 79-1 likelihood x consequence risk estimator and assigned a prioritised, time-bound action, with a review date set.
Checks on this requirement
- Has each finding been risk-rated (PAS 79-1 3x3) and given a prioritised, time-bound action?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.1
The construction, layout, floors above/below ground, floor areas and use of the premises must be recorded and reflect the building as found.
Checks on this requirement
- Do the recorded construction, layout and use match what you see on site?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.10
Cooking facilities, including extract ductwork, must be kept clean and maintained, with suitable fire suppression / extinguishing media provided.
Checks on this requirement
- Are cooking facilities clean, maintained and provided with the right suppression/extinguisher?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.11 / BS EN 62305 (lightning protection)
Hot works and contractor activities must be controlled by permit, and any lightning protection system must be periodically tested.
Checks on this requirement
- Are hot works permit-controlled and is the lightning protection (if fitted) in test?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.12
Combustible materials and waste must be controlled and kept away from ignition sources and escape routes.
Checks on this requirement
- Is combustible material controlled and kept clear of ignition sources and escape routes?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.13 / DSEAR 2002 (SI 2002/2776)
Dangerous and highly flammable substances must be identified, correctly stored and controlled, and assessed under DSEAR.
Checks on this requirement
- Are dangerous / flammable substances stored, controlled and DSEAR-assessed?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.14 / BS 9991:2024 (residential) / BS 9999:2017 (other occupancies)
Escape routes must be adequate in number, width and travel distance for the occupancy, and kept clear and unobstructed at all times. The design basis is BS 9991 for residential buildings (dwellings / blocks of flats) and BS 9999 for other occupancies.
Checks on this requirement
- Are escape routes adequate (number/width/travel distance) and kept clear?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.15 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 14
Final exit doors must open easily in the direction of escape, without a key or special knowledge, and lead to a place of total safety.
Checks on this requirement
- Do final exit doors open easily without a key and lead to a place of safety?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.16 / BS 5266-1:2025
Emergency escape lighting must be provided along escape routes and at key safety points, and function on failure of the normal supply.
Checks on this requirement
- Is emergency lighting provided on escape routes and does the monthly function test pass?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.17 / BS EN ISO 7010
Fire-safety signage — escape route, exit, fire-action and equipment-location signs — must be provided, correct and clearly visible.
Checks on this requirement
- Is fire-safety signage present, correct and visible (routes, exits, fire action, equipment)?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.18 / BS 5839-1:2025
The fire detection and alarm system must be appropriate to the premises' risk, give adequate warning to all occupants, and be tested and maintained.
Checks on this requirement
- Are the weekly user test and periodic service up to date?
- Is the detection & alarm system appropriate and giving adequate coverage/warning?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.19 / BS 5306-3:2017 + BS 5306-8:2023
Portable fire extinguishers of the correct type and rating must be provided, correctly sited and accessible, and maintained in serviceable condition.
Checks on this requirement
- Are extinguishers of the right type present, sited correctly and accessible?
- Is each extinguisher in date (annual service) with a full gauge and intact seal/pin?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.2
The maximum number of occupants (employees, others, total) must be established for the premises and each relevant area.
Checks on this requirement
- Is the maximum number of occupants established for the premises/each floor?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.20 / BS EN 12845:2015+A1:2019 + BS 9990:2015
Fixed firefighting systems (automatic sprinklers, dry/wet rising mains) required for the premises must be present, unobstructed and maintained within their service interval.
Checks on this requirement
- Are fixed systems (sprinklers / rising mains) present, accessible and within service/test interval?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.21 / BS 8214:2026
Fire doors, fire-resisting walls and compartmentation must be intact and effective.
Checks on this requirement
- Do fire doors close fully, with seals present and gaps in tolerance, and is compartmentation intact?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.22 / BESA DW/145 (2025)
Smoke-control systems and fire/smoke dampers must be present where required, unobstructed, and maintained within their inspection / drop-test interval.
Checks on this requirement
- Are smoke control systems and fire/smoke dampers present, clear and within test interval?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.23 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 15
A suitable, up-to-date emergency plan and evacuation procedures appropriate to the premises and its occupants must be established and communicated.
Checks on this requirement
- Is there a suitable, up-to-date emergency evacuation plan appropriate to the occupants?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.24 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 11, 13, 18, 22 / BS 8674:2025 (assessor competence)
A Responsible Person must be clearly identified with defined fire-safety management arrangements, including cooperation and coordination with any other responsible persons.
Checks on this requirement
- Is a Responsible Person identified with clear fire-safety management arrangements?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.25 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 21 (training) / RRFSO 2005 Art. 15(1)(a) (drills)
Staff must receive adequate fire-safety training on induction and periodically, and evacuation drills must be carried out and recorded.
Checks on this requirement
- Have staff been fire-safety trained and are evacuation drills carried out and recorded?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.26 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 17
All fire safety equipment and facilities must be subject to a suitable system of maintenance and kept in efficient working order, with testing recorded in a logbook.
Checks on this requirement
- Is fire-safety equipment maintained in efficient working order with an up-to-date logbook?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.27 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9(6) (BSA 2022 s.156)
The fire risk assessment and all of its findings must be recorded and kept up to date (every Responsible Person must record all findings since 1 October 2023).
Checks on this requirement
- Are the FRA and all its findings recorded, retained and up to date?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.3 / RRFSO 2005 Art. 9
Occupants especially at risk must be identified — including sleeping, mobility- or sensory-impaired, lone/night workers, and persons unfamiliar with the premises — and arrangements made for their evacuation.
Checks on this requirement
- Have occupants especially at risk been identified and their evacuation addressed?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.4
The premises' history of fires, near-misses and false alarms must be reviewed and taken into account.
Checks on this requirement
- Has the premises' fire / near-miss / false-alarm history been reviewed?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.5 / RRFSO 2005 (SI 2005/1541)
The correct fire-safety legislation must be identified for the premises — the RRFSO 2005 duty to make a suitable and sufficient assessment, plus any Fire Safety Act 2021 / Building Safety Act 2022 duties that apply.
Checks on this requirement
- Is the correct fire-safety legislation identified for this premises?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.6
Fixed and portable electrical installations and equipment must be maintained in a safe condition, free from overload, damage and overdue inspection.
Checks on this requirement
- Is electrical equipment in good condition with no overload, damage or overdue inspection?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.7
Controls over smoking (designated areas, signage, safe disposal) must be in place and effective.
Checks on this requirement
- Are smoking controls in place and being observed (area, signage, safe disposal)?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.8
The risk of deliberate ignition (arson) must be reduced — secure perimeter, access control and no external accumulation of combustibles.
Checks on this requirement
- Are measures to prevent deliberate ignition adequate?
PAS 79-1:2020 A.9
Heating appliances and HVAC installations must be maintained, adequately guarded and kept clear of combustible materials.
Checks on this requirement
- Are heating/HVAC installations maintained and clear of combustibles?
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FireCite summarises published law and standards; it is not legal advice and not a substitute for a competent fire risk assessor or the authority having jurisdiction. Regulation changes: every citation carries the edition it was checked against.
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