Fire safety audits in India happen on three triggers: before NOC renewal, after an incident, or as a surprise inspection. The third is what really tests you — and the only defence is a building that's ready every day.
This is the working checklist our engineers use on site visits. Sixty items, grouped by category. Print it, walk your building, and tick honestly. Anything unchecked is a gap an inspector will find.
A. Fire extinguishers (10 items)
- ☐ One ABC extinguisher per 600 sq ft (office/retail); one per 400 sq ft (industrial)
- ☐ Mounted with handle at 1.0 m above floor
- ☐ Refill date sticker visible on every cylinder
- ☐ Next-due date within 3 years (ABC), 5 years (CO₂), 2 years (Foam)
- ☐ Pressure gauge needle in the green zone
- ☐ Safety pin and tamper seal intact
- ☐ BIS / ISI mark visible on the cylinder
- ☐ Operating instructions decal in English + local language
- ☐ Travel distance to nearest extinguisher ≤ 22.5 m
- ☐ Class-K (Wet Chemical) unit near every commercial kitchen hood
B. Hydrant system (10 items)
- ☐ Wet-riser line pressure ≥ 3.5 kg/cm² at topmost outlet under flow
- ☐ Yard hydrant pressure ≥ 5.25 kg/cm² static
- ☐ Hose-reel cabinet complete — hose, branchpipe, valve, key
- ☐ No perished rubber on hose drum
- ☐ Hydrant valves open / close smoothly, no leaks
- ☐ Fire-service inlet accessible to a fire-brigade tender
- ☐ Static water tank at code-required volume; low-level alarm working
- ☐ Main fire pump auto-starts on pressure drop
- ☐ Jockey pump cycling under normal demand
- ☐ Diesel pump completed 30-minute load test within last month
C. Sprinklers (8 items)
- ☐ All sprinkler heads visible, unpainted, unobstructed
- ☐ No furniture / partitions within 450 mm below any head
- ☐ Glass-bulb / fusible-link intact on every sample
- ☐ Control valves at every floor are OPEN and lock-tagged
- ☐ Flow switches wired to the alarm panel
- ☐ Pressure-test certificate on file (annual)
- ☐ Pre-action / deluge systems have detector tie-in tested
- ☐ ESFR heads (warehouses) match the rack-storage profile
D. Detection & alarm (10 items)
- ☐ Manual Call Point at every exit and at 22.5 m corridor intervals
- ☐ Smoke / heat detectors in corridors, kitchens, electrical rooms
- ☐ Multi-sensor detectors in mixed-use spaces
- ☐ Alarm panel battery backup tested (24-hour standby)
- ☐ Hooter audibility ≥ 75 dB at bed-head (residential) / 65 dB elsewhere
- ☐ Strobes wired in noise-sensitive zones
- ☐ Panel zone-by-zone trigger test complete
- ☐ Detector cleaning record (annual)
- ☐ Addressable panel with current site map loaded
- ☐ Panel located in a visible, attended area
E. Means of egress (8 items)
- ☐ Every floor has at least 2 independent exits
- ☐ Exit doors swing in the direction of egress
- ☐ Exit doors openable from inside without a key
- ☐ No locks, chains, or storage blocking any exit
- ☐ Travel distance from remote point to exit ≤ 22.5 m (or 30 m with sprinklers)
- ☐ Emergency lighting on every exit route, 90 min battery backup
- ☐ Photoluminescent signage at every exit + direction change
- ☐ Stair enclosures are 2-hour fire-rated; lobby smoke-stop intact
F. Compartmentation (6 items)
- ☐ Floor compartments above 750 m² separated by 2-hour fire-rated walls
- ☐ Service shafts sealed with fire stops at every floor
- ☐ Cable trays passing through fire-rated walls have intumescent collars
- ☐ HVAC dampers tested and labelled
- ☐ Lift lobbies smoke-stopped
- ☐ Refuge areas marked and signed (high-rise residential)
G. Documentation (8 items)
- ☐ Valid fire NOC within renewal cycle (1 / 2 / 3 yrs depending on occupancy)
- ☐ Active AMC contract with a licensed agency
- ☐ Quarterly service reports for the past year, photographed
- ☐ Equipment invoices with BIS licence numbers
- ☐ Drill records for the past 5 years (B / C / D occupancies)
- ☐ Electrical safety audit within last 12 months
- ☐ Designated fire safety officer with training certificate (high-rise / large occupancy)
- ☐ Insurance certificate referencing fire-safety compliance
How to use this list
If you tick all 60: book your NOC renewal inspection. If you can't tick all 60: fix those items first — even a single “no” is enough for an inspector to issue a compliance notice.
If walking this list yourself feels overwhelming, that's exactly what a free site visit is for. Our engineer brings a clipboard, ticks honestly, and gives you a written report you can act on.