What a Fire Stopping Survey Report Should Contain

A fire stopping survey is only as good as the report it produces. The report has to tell a Responsible Person what is wrong, where, how serious it is and what it will take to put right, in a form that a contractor can price from and a fire risk assessor can rely on. Many reports fail that test: a long list of photographs with no locations, no priorities and no sense of what should be fixed first. This article sets out what a good report contains so you know what to ask for.

1. Scope and limitations

The report should start by saying exactly what was surveyed: which buildings, floors and compartment lines, whether ceiling voids and risers were opened, and what could not be accessed. Fire stopping surveys are nearly always sample-based above ceilings, and the report must be honest about the sample so that nobody assumes an area has been cleared when it has only been glanced at.

2. Compartmentation drawings

The surveyor should mark up the fire strategy drawings, or produce new ones, showing the fire-rated walls and floors and their required ratings. Without this, no one can judge whether a breach matters. A hole in a 60 minute compartment wall between a car park and a stair core is a different problem from the same hole in a non-rated partition.

3. Defect schedule

Each defect should have a unique reference, a location on the drawing, a photograph, a description of what passes through the wall or floor, the substrate, the size of the opening and what, if anything, has been used to seal it. Typical defects include unsealed cable and pipe penetrations, inappropriate materials such as expanding foam, damaged or missing cavity barriers, open linear joints at the head of walls, and fire dampers with no access or no evidence of testing.

4. Priority ratings

Not every breach is equal. The report should rate each defect by the risk it creates, typically high for breaches on escape routes, between occupancies or in compartment lines protecting sleeping areas, medium for breaches in service risers and plant areas, and low for minor defects in low-risk locations. The rating drives the order of remedial work and the budget phasing.

5. Remedial specification

For each defect the report should say what tested system will close it: for example a coated batt and sealant system for a mixed services penetration, an intumescent collar or wrap for a plastic pipe, or a fire-rated mastic for a linear gap of a given width. The specification should name a system with test evidence for that substrate and service, not just “fire stop”.

6. Costs and programme

A report that can be priced is worth far more than one that cannot. Quantities per defect type, access requirements and any making-good allow a contractor to give a fixed price, and the priority ratings let the client phase the work across financial years if needed.

7. Digital record

The survey record should become the maintenance record. In OneTrace each defect becomes an asset with its own ID, photographs and location, and when it is remediated the same record gains the installer’s before and after photographs, the product data and the date. That is the golden thread for compartmentation that the Building Safety Act expects in higher-risk buildings. Read more on what to expect from a compartmentation survey and why fire stopping matters.

Our approach

TECS compartmentation surveys produce all seven elements as standard, and because our fire stopping teams work from the same OneTrace record, the remedial programme starts from the survey data rather than a re-survey.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a fire stopping survey take?

A single office floor can be surveyed in a day; a multi-block school or a hospital wing may take a week or more, mostly because of ceiling access. The report usually follows within two weeks.

Is a fire stopping survey a legal requirement?

Not by name. The Fire Safety Order requires the Responsible Person to assess and maintain compartmentation, and a survey is the normal way to do that where records are missing or after building works.

Can the surveyor also do the remedial work?

Yes, and it often saves money because the remedial specification and quantities are already known. Ask for the survey report to be independent of the remedial price so you can tender it if you wish.