Fire evacuation plan template: a premises-specific form

A fire evacuation plan should tell people how a fire will be reported, how the alarm will be raised, where to go, who helps anyone needing assistance and who confirms the premises is clear without putting themselves at risk. It must follow the building's fire risk assessment and actual fire strategy. This copyable form helps the person responsible record those arrangements for a workplace or other non-domestic premises in Great Britain. It is not a generic instruction to leave every building immediately and is not a design for a block-of-flats strategy, healthcare progressive evacuation or an individual Residential PEEP.

In England and Wales, the workplace fire-safety guidance says the responsible person needs an emergency fire evacuation plan. In Scotland, the Scottish Government's non-domestic fire-safety guidance places evacuation arrangements on those who control or have safety obligations for the premises. The underlying regimes differ: England and Wales principally use the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, whereas Scotland uses the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Do not copy an England-only legal citation into a Scottish plan. The common practical task is to make the plan work for all people who may be present.

The proposed route owns a fillable evacuation arrangements form. It should link the Complys fire risk assessment software page only after the page's actual implementation and whole-page claims pass verification. A software record cannot determine a building's safe escape strategy or perform a drill.

Check whether this form fits your premises

Use the current fire risk assessment to identify the building layout, occupancy, detection and alarm arrangements, travel routes, exit capacity, assembly position, people needing assistance and any special fire hazards. An office with a single exit and a small team may need a simple plan. A multi-tenanted building, school, place of assembly or care premises may need coordinated arrangements and specialist advice. A landlord or manager should not take an office template and apply it to a block of flats with a “stay put” strategy. The 2026 England Residential PEEP duties are a separate regime for specified residential buildings; this template does not replace it.

Before completion, confirm who has fire-safety duties and who controls common routes, alarms and neighbouring areas. In a shared building, one occupier's plan must not contradict the building-wide strategy. If the fire risk assessment is missing, outdated or silent on evacuation, obtain a competent assessment rather than inventing a route in this document. If people cannot use the current escape route, resolve the physical and management issue; writing “assist as required” is not enough.

Copyable fire evacuation plan form

Replace each bracket. Add a marked building plan and any individual assistance arrangements through the appropriate restricted process. Explain the plan in a format staff and visitors can understand. The responsible person should approve it only after checking it against the actual premises and arrangements.

A. Premises, responsibility and scope

Describe the actual people, not only the payroll. Consider visitors, contractors, cleaners, security, people working alone and occupants present outside normal hours. Name any part of the site where normal assembly or escape is disrupted by building work. Identify what happens when the usual fire warden or manager is absent; a plan that depends on one named person is fragile.

B. Discover, alarm and call for help

A worker discovering a fire needs a clear first action: raise the alarm using the actual system and alert others without delaying escape. State who calls emergency services and the exact address/access point to give them. Do not assume an automatic alarm signal means a call is always made or that a monitored alarm works in every failure scenario. Any temporary change while an alarm is impaired needs a separate risk decision and communication.

C. Escape routes, exits and safe destination

Show routes on an attached plan with “you are here” orientation where useful. Check that doors, stairs and paths can be used by the people and numbers expected. Do not send evacuees into a vehicle route or choose an assembly area where people obstruct appliance access. State the alternative if the main exit is affected by fire or smoke. In Scotland, the 2022 non-residential guidance discusses means of escape and management arrangements. In England and Wales, the appropriate Home Office premises guide collection should be selected for the actual occupancy.

D. Assistance and accessible evacuation

Plan for people with mobility, hearing, sight, cognitive or other needs, and for temporary impairments. Consult the person where appropriate and record a workable arrangement rather than assigning a generic “buddy”. Do not presume a lift can be used in a fire; follow the building's approved fire strategy and equipment design. The Home Office guide to means of escape for disabled people and the Scottish Government's non-domestic guidance provide jurisdiction-specific context. Keep personal details accessible to the people who need them, while limiting wider circulation. This form does not substitute for a person-specific plan where one is needed.

E. Roles, sweep and accountability

An area sweep should only occur where it is safe under the plan. Nobody should re-enter smoke or a dangerous area to complete a headcount. Decide how visitors and contractors are accounted for without relying on an inaccurate sign-in list. Note what information the coordinator will give arriving firefighters: suspected location, people unaccounted for, known hazards and access. Do not claim the coordinator can certify the whole building empty where that has not been verified.

F. Sequence on alarm

1. Discover/report: [how to raise alarm, warn people and leave the immediate area].
2. Alert/call: [who contacts emergency services and what address/site entry is given].
3. Evacuate: [which routes and exits apply, including alternative and assisted routes].
4. Control hazards only if safe and authorised: [any limited process shutdown or compartment action; never delay escape to protect property].
5. Assemble and account: [where people gather, visitor/contractor process, missing-person escalation].
6. Meet firefighters: [who provides plans, known hazards and missing-person information].
7. Prevent re-entry: [who controls the boundary until the appropriate authority gives clearance].
8. Recover and review: [who records what happened, checks systems and authorises a safe return].

Replace this outline with the actual strategy. A site that uses phased or progressive evacuation needs a competent, premises-specific sequence. Do not write “use the nearest exit” if that could lead into a hazardous area; staff need routes and alternatives that match the assessment. In a shared building, align alarm stages and communications with the controlling dutyholder.

G. Training, drills and changes

A drill is useful only if its lessons change the arrangement. Record blocked routes, slow alarm recognition, uncertain roles, missing visitor information and difficulty with assisted evacuation. Correct the problem, update the plan and brief those affected. The person responsible should revisit the plan after material changes to building layout, use, occupants, staffing or fire precautions. Do not impose a made-up universal drill interval in this form; use the legal and risk requirements applicable to the premises.

Worked example: small multi-tenant office

Two businesses occupy different floors of a small office and share a stair. The building manager maintains the common alarm and stair; each tenant controls its own staff and visitors. A workable plan identifies the common alarm signal, which tenant calls emergency services, alternative route limitations, visitor records, assistance arrangements and a safe assembly position away from the fire-service entrance. Each tenant briefs staff on the shared strategy and names cover for absences. A drill reveals that one reception team assumes the other calls the fire service, so the parties amend the procedure and repeat the briefing. This is an illustration; the actual fire risk assessment may require a different strategy.

Typical defects to fix before approval

• The plan uses an address or assembly point from another site.
• Routes on the map are blocked, locked, under construction or inaccessible to someone expected to use them.
• No one is responsible for the emergency call or for out-of-hours occupants.
• Visitors, contractors or people needing assistance are missing.
• The plan relies on firefighters to perform the ordinary evacuation arrangements.
• Staff are told to fight a fire or shut down plant without an assessment, training or a safe exit.
• A premises with a special strategy has been reduced to a generic “everyone out” instruction.
• The plan is filed without briefing, a drill or a process to fix findings.

If any of these applies, keep the plan open and get competent help. A blank or generic document is not evidence that the evacuation will work.

Internal links and Complys boundary

The Complys fire risk assessment software page is a possible destination for storing a premises assessment and actions, subject to verification of the current product implementation and every claim on the live page. The observed fire-door inspection page addresses one part of fire precautions; it does not own this evacuation-plan form. This template can be completed outside Complys. Software cannot select or validate the safe evacuation strategy for a specific building, decide individual assistance needs, run a drill or certify that routes remain clear. Complete the form from the fire risk assessment, review it with the people who control the building and train those who must use it.

Source, claim, owner, product, links and writer-side QA

Terminal writer-side disposition: READY.