Site fire plan builder

A site fire plan is not a premises fire risk assessment

These two documents are often confused. A fire risk assessment (FRA) is the legal duty of the “responsible person” for an occupied or completed building under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO). A site fire plan sets out the fire safety arrangements for the construction phase — the period while the building is being built, refurbished or demolished, when ignition sources, combustibles and escape routes change week to week.

On a construction site the controlling duties sit under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, with HSE’s HSG168 ‘Fire safety in construction’ as the principal guidance. The construction phase plan that CDM requires should describe how fire risk is managed; this builder helps you set those arrangements out clearly.

What HSG168 expects you to cover

HSG168 frames construction fire safety around removing or controlling ignition sources (hot works, temporary electrics and charging, heaters, smoking, bitumen boilers, refuelling), keeping combustibles and fuel away from the building, and making sure that if a fire does start, people can be warned and can escape while the fire service is called and can reach the site. The plan should be reviewed as the works progress, because the risks and the available escape routes change as the building goes up or comes down.

Hot works are the highest-risk activity on most sites. HSE expects a permit system, removal or protection of combustibles, and a dedicated fire watch. A continuous fire watch must be kept for at least 60 minutes after the last flame, with a further check two hours after work stops, and all hot works finished well before the end of the working day so those checks can be done before the site is left empty.

Timber-frame and refurbishment work carry elevated risk

Fire risk is far higher on timber-frame construction and on refurbishment of existing buildings — exposed structural timber, combustible insulation, voids that let fire spread unseen, and in refurbishment work an occupied or partly occupied building next door. A serious timber-frame or refurbishment fire can destroy the structure and spread to neighbouring buildings, so these projects warrant extra controls (tighter hot-works limits, faster detection, separation distances) and, where the building is occupied or complex, a proper fire risk assessment by a competent assessor in addition to the site plan.

What this builder does — and does not — do

This tool helps you document the arrangements for a construction site fire plan in a clear, printable form. It does not certify that those arrangements are adequate: whether your controls suit the actual site, building stage and surroundings is a competent-person judgement. Occupied, high-rise or complex premises need a separate fire risk assessment carried out by a competent assessor.

Further reading: HSE’s fire safety in construction and hot works / process fire pages, and the full guidance in HSG168.