Fire Prevention Week 7 office fire safety checks and how to act on them.
A phone charging beside a pile of paperwork. Delivery boxes waiting to be moved. A concern reported to someone who is away that week.
These are ordinary office situations, and they deserve a place in your fire safety arrangements. For office and operations managers, the challenge is making sure the everyday details are managed alongside everything else that needs doing.
Fire Prevention Week, organised by the National Fire Protection Association, takes place from 4 to 10 October 2026. This year’s theme focuses on charging lithium-ion battery devices safely. Phones, laptops and other rechargeable devices make that relevant to office life too.
We are using the week to look at seven office fire safety checks and what to do with the findings. Alongside practical starting points, we explain how Paula and Your Company Works can help you turn concerns into arrangements that fit your office.
1 Check how devices are charged in your office fire safety checks
Look at where phones, laptops and power banks are plugged in during a normal working day. Use the charger supplied with the device or one approved by its manufacturer. Keep charging devices uncovered on a hard, flat surface with space for heat to escape.
Ask whether staff know what to do if a battery becomes unusually hot, swollen or damaged. Stop using or charging a suspect device if it is safe to do so, report the concern and seek appropriate advice. If there is smoke or fire, raise the alarm, evacuate and call 999. Do not attempt to carry a burning device outside.
If people bring e-bikes or e-scooters to work, include their storage and charging in your fire risk assessment. Charging must not compromise escape routes. Agree a suitable location and arrangements before it becomes an informal office habit.
Paula can assess charging risks within your fire risk assessment and help agree practical rules for personal and company devices. Start by identifying who approves chargers and receives reports of damage.
2 Look beyond the electrical testing sticker in your office fire safety checks
A sticker cannot tell you whether a cable was damaged yesterday. Look for frayed leads, cracked plugs, scorch marks and unsafe use of extension leads. Take faulty equipment out of use safely and report it. Do not connect extension leads to one another or exceed their rated load.
HSE explains that electrical equipment must be maintained safely, but annual portable appliance testing is not a blanket legal requirement. The type of equipment, its use and its environment determine suitable checks and testing.
YCW can help clarify reporting and maintenance responsibilities so faults reach the right person, including concerns with equipment brought in from home.
3 Notice what has accumulated
Paper files, packaging and waste can build up gradually. Keep combustible materials away from heat sources and manage their storage and removal. Check shared kitchens and areas around printers as well as the main office space.
Look at what happens after deliveries or during a busy week. If boxes repeatedly wait in the same unsuitable place, agree where they should go and who moves them. Paula can help turn these findings into clear housekeeping procedures that fit your working practices.
4 Keep escape routes and fire doors effective
Walk the route a colleague or visitor would use to leave the building. Check for obstructions and confirm that exits can be opened easily. Include the space outside the final exit.
Fire doors help restrict the spread of fire and smoke. Never wedge them open; only suitable automatic hold-open arrangements should be used. Report doors that are damaged or fail to close properly.
A fresh look can reveal a storage habit that the regular team overlooks. Your Company Work’s fire risk assessment and review support can help identify concerns and prioritise actions for escape routes and fire doors.
5 Check that the arrangements fit the people present in your office fire safety checks
Make sure staff know how to raise the alarm, leave the building and find the assembly point. Your arrangements also need to cover visitors, contractors and people who may need help to evacuate. Where someone needs an individual evacuation plan, agree and review it with them.
Hybrid working and absence can change who is available to carry out allocated fire safety duties. Check that cover is suitable for the people and activities on site. A list of names needs to reflect how the office actually operates.
Paula can support evacuation planning, including Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans or PEEPs, and help you communicate arrangements clearly. Ask your team whether they know who to tell about a concern.
6 Make follow up part of the process
A concern that has been reported still needs someone to act on it. Give each action a named owner and a timescale suited to its urgency. Deal with immediate hazards promptly and safely rather than leaving them on a routine action list.
In a shared building, establish which matters your organisation manages and which involve the landlord, managing agent or another occupier. Responsible persons need to cooperate and coordinate their fire safety arrangements.
If a shared door does not close properly, agree who arranges the repair, any interim action and how completion is checked. Paula provides guidance for the responsible person and practical support with implementation; the legal duties remain with the responsible person.
7 Check that the fire risk assessment reflects today in your office fire safety checks
The responsible person must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment, keep a written record and implement suitable fire safety measures. The assessment should reflect the premises and the people using them.
Think about changes since it was last reviewed: a new layout, different storage, new equipment, changed occupancy or someone needing assistance to evacuate. Review it when changes affect fire safety or there is reason to think it is no longer valid. Regular review does not mean there is one universal annual timetable for every workplace.
Paula, can carry out or review your fire risk assessment and help you understand the resulting action plan. Your Company Works can also help implement and check arrangements as your office changes, so recommendations continue to move forward.
A useful starting point for this week
Choose one area from the seven office fire safety checks and look at it with a colleague. Record what you find, what action is needed, who will take it forward and when it will be checked. Address urgent concerns immediately through your workplace procedures.
Are our charging arrangements clear and suitable?
Use these questions to start the conversation around office fire safety checks:
- Do people know how to report an electrical fault?
- Are waste and deliveries stored and removed safely?
- Are escape routes clear and fire doors working as intended?
- Do our evacuation arrangements cover the people here today?
- Does every outstanding action have someone following it up?
- Does our fire risk assessment reflect the current workplace?
These prompts support your ongoing checks; they do not replace a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
Whether you need a fire risk assessment, help with evacuation plans and PEEPs, clearer procedures or guidance with outstanding actions, Your Company Works offers support tailored to your office or organisations needs. You can choose help with a specific task or ongoing guidance for the person managing fire safety.
Book a free 20-minute introductory online chat with Paula to talk about your workplace and where support would be useful.
