Fire safety documentation in practice: How to keep track of all your records
Fire safety is one of the most sensitive and highly regulated topics in construction. Hardly any other area is so relevant to liability and at the same time so prone to errors in daily documentation.
Whether in new buildings, existing buildings or renovations: fire protection measures must not only be implemented, but also documented in a fully verifiable manner.
If this proof is missing or incomplete, there is a risk of delays, additional costs, conflicts with authorities – and, in the worst case, criminal consequences.
Why fire safety documentation is essential
In fire protection, the following applies: a measure without documentation is often considered not to have been taken.
Regulations, standards and authorities require that all relevant steps be recorded in a traceable manner – from planning and execution to the ongoing operation of a building.
A distinction is made between two areas:
1. One-off documents during planning and construction
- Fire protection concept & fire protection certificate
- Proof of conformity and usability
- Test reports, acceptance reports
- technical documentation for systems (e.g. smoke and heat extraction systems, fire alarm systems)
2. Ongoing documentation during operation and construction phase
- regular fire safety inspections
- Maintenance & inspections
- Documentation of defects and deviations
- Tracking deadlines
- Training & Instruction
- Changes to usage, fire compartments or escape routes
Ongoing documentation is particularly challenging in practice: many people involved, many trades, many photos, little time.
Why fire safety documentation fails in practice
Despite clear guidelines, many companies struggle with the same problems:
1. Photographs and notes are scattered about
Mobile phone photos, emails, Excel lists, paper files – nothing is centralised, and much gets lost.
2. The exact location of a defect is missing
Without a clear position in the plan, it is often necessary to search again during the next inspection.
3. Recurring inspections are difficult to track
What was discovered six months ago?
Has that been fixed?
Does it need to be checked again?
Many companies do not have a clean history in this regard.
4. Minutes are time-consuming
Sorting photos, compiling comments, formatting reports – often hours of work.
5. Specialised software is often too complicated
Many fire protection tools offer countless modules, settings and specialist functions.
The result: no one uses them properly.
Teams fall back on Excel, Word or WhatsApp – and documentation suffers.
A simple alternative: document fire safety with a building documentation app
Not every company needs an overloaded specialised solution.
For many, an easy-to-use, mobile, audit-proof documentation platform that does exactly what they need in their everyday work is sufficient:
- record defects
- take photos
- set position in plan
- assign responsibilities
- define deadlines
- create minutes
- prove history
This is precisely what docu tools does – opening up a completely new approach to fire safety documentation.
Practical example: A fire protection company documents every six-monthly inspection by the authorities using docu tools.
One of our client companies conducts official fire safety inspections on ongoing construction sites twice a year. It uses docu tools exclusively for this purpose – without any additional fire safety software. And this works perfectly because the company has built its own streamlined system.
The categories used:
- Note
- Conceptual change
- deficiency
- project note
- examine
- Internal consultation
- Overview
- Available
These categories are not specific to fire safety, but they cover the entire inspection workflow:
- Deficiency → fire safety-related deviation
- check → recurring checks
- Note → minor abnormalities
- Internal consultation → Clarification with main contractor/subcontractor
- Available → Evidence of a correctly implemented measure
- Overview → Meta PINs for entire areas/fire compartments
No complicated modules, no training days, no cluttered menus – just clear, mobile construction documentation.
This is how a fire safety inspection with docu tools works
1. Open plan – start inspection
The examiner uses a smartphone or tablet (iOS, Android), which is fully offline-capable.
2. Set pin – Categorise findings
Click on the plan: Set pin, select category (e.g. ironing or checking).
3. Add photos & notes
Recorded directly on site – everything automatically stored in the correct pin.
4. Create tasks
If necessary, each finding is converted into a task with:
• Responsible person
• Due date
• Priority
5. Documentation with 360° photos (optional)
For room conditions or fire compartments, 360° photos can also be created – significantly faster than tours à la Holobuilder or OpenSpace, but ideal as an interim solution.
6. Export logs immediately
Thanks to Word templates, companies can:
• Fire safety inspection reports
• Defect reports
• Evidence of fire compartments
Create directly – including on-site signature on tablet or smartphone.
7. Reuse history at the next appointment
During each subsequent six-month inspection, the inspector will immediately see:
• what has already been done
• what needs to be re-examined
• what is still open
This creates audit-proof, complete documentation – without any additional effort.
Why companies use docu tools instead of specialised software
1. Easy to use
No months of training. Most users are productive within minutes.
2. Built for the construction site
Tablet and smartphone, offline-capable, fast and robust.
3. Not overloaded.
No 50 fire protection modules, no unnecessary settings.
4. Extremely flexible
Every company can define categories, workflows and reports itself.
5. One system for everything
Instead of ‘fire protection software + building documentation + defect management’, a single tool is used.
6. Audit-proof
Nothing can be deleted, every change is traceable – crucial for authorities, clients and insurance companies.
Conclusion: Fire safety documentation does not have to be complicated
The market clearly shows that many companies are struggling with overly complex solutions or no system at all.
Fire safety documentation can be very simple – if you choose a tool that:
- works on mobile devices,
- works offline,
- Photos & pins neatly organised,
- Clearly displays tasks and deadlines,
- Reports created automatically,
- and offers a complete history.
It is precisely this combination that makes docu tools so valuable for fire protection companies, site managers, general contractors, operators and testing organisations.
If you want to document fire safety in a practical, quick and clean way – without special software – docu tools is the ideal solution.
👉 Contact us at sales@docu-tools.com for more information.