FIRE SAFETY INSPECTIONS
Fire safety inspections, on schedule and on record
Keep a register of every piece of fire equipment in a building, with its service and replacement dates. Extinguishers, alarms, fire doors and emergency lighting each carry their own record, so you always know what's due, what's overdue and what was checked last. When your fire safety officer runs the annual check, the evidence is a look-up, not a search.
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The inspections get done. Proving they were done is the part that costs you.
Every extinguisher, alarm and fire door on its own service schedule
Extinguisher and alarm records on a spreadsheet, accurate only if everyone remembers to update it.
A wall chart, checked only by whoever happens to be standing in front of it.
A facilities manager's memory, gone the day that person's off sick or leaves.
Papertrail.io
PaperBuilt around the service and replacement cycle
Schedule Manager
Set service and replacement dates for each item: extinguishers, alarms, emergency lighting, with alerts before anything expires.
Checklist Editor
Build a fire safety inspection checklist once, and use it across every building or area, with the Checklist Editor on Expert and Enterprise.
Certificates
Every service produces a shareable certificate, filed against the right item automatically.
Schedule Manager
Set service and replacement dates for each item: extinguishers, alarms, emergency lighting, with alerts before anything expires.
Checklist Editor
Build a fire safety inspection checklist once, and use it across every building or area, with the Checklist Editor on Expert and Enterprise.
Certificates
Every service produces a shareable certificate, filed against the right item automatically.
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Checklist Editor
Inspect
Use manufacturer-approved checklists for any equipment type, from lifting gear to PPE inspection records. Build your own with the Checklist Editor on Expert and Enterprise.
Your fire safety records, visible to whoever needs them
PartnerHub connects your account to the organisations you work with, so they see the records you share, and every update to them, in their own workspace.
Invite
Invite a landlord, an insurer, an auditor or your servicing contractor into a PartnerHub partnership
See
They see the live record in their own workspace, with its full inspection history, not a certificate emailed after the fact
Withdraw
Withdraw access at any time: they keep a read-only copy of the record as it stood, with no further updates
Every fire check on time, and on record
You're responsible for keeping your fire equipment maintained. Fire alarms need testing every week and servicing every six months, and extinguishers need checking every month and servicing every year. Your own staff can do the weekly and monthly checks, but the servicing needs a competent engineer.
Papertrail puts each check on its own schedule, assigns it to the right person, and records who did it and when.
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Common questions
Will my team actually adopt it?
Papertrail is built around the inspection your team already does: scan the tag, work through the checklist, save. RWE's technicians are working in it after a half-hour session, and Hogan Group runs it across a team aged 18 to 79 on minimal training. When questions come up, our support team's average first response time is under 8 minutes.
Can you migrate us from spreadsheets or another system?
Our team handles the data migration for you, so your fire safety register is ready to work with rather than waiting on you to key it in. We set up your folder structure, frequencies and states with you first, and help bring your existing extinguisher, alarm and fire door records across from a spreadsheet or your current system.
How often does a fire extinguisher need to be serviced?
BS 5306-3 sets three intervals: a monthly visual check, which your own staff can do, an annual service from a competent engineer, and a longer-interval extended service or overhaul. Papertrail schedules all three against each extinguisher and alerts you before any of them falls due.
Do fire alarms need weekly testing?
Yes. BS 5839-1 calls for a weekly test of one call point, rotating through your building's zones so every point gets tested over time, alongside a six-monthly professional service and an annual full-system test. Papertrail runs this as its own schedule, separate from your extinguisher checks, so the two schedules don't get mixed up.
Who is the "responsible person" RRFSO 2005 talks about?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places the duty on whoever has control of the premises, commonly an employer, owner, occupier or facilities manager, to maintain fire safety equipment and be able to show it was done. Papertrail is where that evidence lives: a schedule, a checklist and a certificate for every item, ready when your fire safety officer, an insurer or an inspecting authority asks for it.
Your fire safety register, always ready for inspection
Book a demo and we'll walk through it with your own building, or start for free and add your first extinguisher, alarm or fire door.
26 million inspections recorded· No obligation.
Last reviewed on . MJB.