The Golden Thread: Keeping Fire Safety Records Up to Date

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced the idea of a golden thread: accurate, up-to-date information about a building that is kept throughout its life and is available to the people who need it.

Who it applies to

The formal golden thread requirements apply to higher-risk buildings, which are generally residential buildings at least 18 metres or seven storeys tall with two or more homes. The principle of keeping good records is sensible for any building.

What it should include

For passive fire protection, that means knowing which doors are fire doors, what products were installed, where compartment lines run, and when each item was inspected or repaired.

Common gaps

Paper certificates get lost, spreadsheets go out of date and contractors change. Information that only exists in one person’s inbox is not much use when a fire risk assessor or regulator asks for it.

Making it practical

OneTrace gives each door and penetration a unique ID, with photographs, product details and inspection history attached. Clients can view and download their records at any time, which makes handover and audits far simpler.

What the law actually says

The Building Safety Act 2022 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 require the Accountable Person for a higher-risk building, one that is at least 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units, to keep prescribed information about the building digitally, keep it accurate and up to date, and provide it to residents, the regulator and the fire service on request. The information must be stored in a way that is secure, accessible and transferable when the building changes hands.

What passive fire protection records belong in it

• The fire strategy and compartmentation drawings showing rated walls, floors and their ratings
• A register of every fire door with its location, rating, certification and inspection history
• A register of fire stopping installations with location, system, installer and date
• Cavity barrier locations and inspection records
• Fire risk assessments and the actions taken against each recommendation
• Records of every Regulation 10 door check and every remedial repair

Buildings below the threshold

Buildings under 18 metres are not legally required to hold a golden thread, but the same records are what a fire risk assessor, an insurer or an enforcing authority will ask for. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 already require door check records in any residential building over 11 metres. Treating every building as if the golden thread applied costs little and removes the scramble when a building is re-measured, re-classified or sold.

Building the record from scratch

Most existing buildings have no usable record. The practical route is a baseline survey of doors and compartmentation, a unique reference for every asset, a photograph and a condition rating, then a rule that every subsequent inspection, repair and installation is logged against the same reference. The record then grows with the building rather than being recreated every few years.

Keeping it current

The golden thread fails the day a contractor cuts a hole and nobody records it. Permit-to-work procedures that require fire stopping to be reinstated and logged, door replacements recorded at the point of installation, and inspection rounds that update the same asset record are what keep it alive. A digital platform makes that routine; a filing cabinet does not.

Frequently asked questions

Does the golden thread apply to commercial buildings?

The statutory requirement applies to higher-risk residential buildings, but the principle, a complete and current record of fire safety information, is good practice for any building and expected by insurers and risk assessors.

Who owns the golden thread?

The Accountable Person during occupation, with duties on the Principal Accountable Person where there are several. It must be handed over when the building changes hands.

What format does it have to be in?

Digital, secure, accessible to those who need it and transferable. The regulations do not prescribe software, but a structured asset record with documents attached meets the test far better than a folder of PDFs.

Related service: Planned Maintenance. Talk to us about what your building needs.

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