The short answer: If an HZS inspection is approaching and your fire safety records are missing, first check the scope of the inspection, the activities you actually carry out and their fire hazard category. A professionally qualified fire safety specialist or fire safety technician should determine which documents you genuinely need under § 27 of vyhláška č. 246/2001 Sb. Never sign a record with a backdated date or rely on a generic template.
Do not start with a binder full of downloaded templates
When an inspection is announced and records are missing, the quick solution may seem obvious: download fire safety rules, fire alarm instructions and an evacuation plan, enter the company name and print them. However, the inspector does not merely check whether the documents exist. They compare them with how the building is actually used and how the premises operate.
There is no universal package suitable for every company. An office with ten computers, a warehouse holding pallets of cardboard packaging, a service workshop with soldering stations and a room where batteries for power tools or scooters are charged overnight all present different risks. What matters is what actually happens on the premises, not the industry listed in the Commercial Register.
There are two principal regulations: zákon č. 133/1985 Sb., o požární ochraně and its implementing vyhláška č. 246/2001 Sb., o požární prevenci. The inspection procedure is governed by kontrolní řád, zákon č. 255/2012 Sb.
1. Establish the exact scope of the inspection
Look for the following information in the inspection notice or the inspector’s authorisation:
- the inspected entity and the specific premises,
- the buildings or parts of the building covered by the inspection,
- the areas and provisions of the regulations to be examined,
- the documents requested by HZS and the inspection date,
- the type of inspection: comprehensive, thematic or follow-up.
A comprehensive inspection examines compliance with obligations across the full range of relevant requirements. A thematic inspection focuses on a selected area, such as escape routes or training. A follow-up inspection verifies whether you have remedied deficiencies identified during a previous inspection.
If the scope of the inspection is unclear, ask the HZS contact person to clarify it. Do not, however, expect the inspector to advise you which documents you should create retrospectively. The operator is responsible for correctly determining its obligations. If there is doubt as to whether documentation must be prepared or maintained, or to what extent, the state fire supervision authority decides the matter under § 40 odst. 10 vyhlášky č. 246/2001 Sb. This is a separate decision, not advice provided during an inspection.
A document you fail to present during the inspection may be recorded as a deficiency. Depending on the circumstances, the inspector may allow you to submit it later, but you are not entitled to this. A subsequent submission also does not alter the situation that existed on the inspection date. Do you disagree with an inspection finding? Under § 13 odst. 1 zákona č. 255/2012 Sb., o kontrole (kontrolní řád), you may object to a finding stated in the inspection report within 15 days of receiving the report, unless the report specifies a longer period.
2. Have the fire hazard category determined by a specialist
Zákon č. 133/1985 Sb., o požární ochraně (§ 4), distinguishes between three categories of activities:
- activities without an increased fire hazard,
- activities with an increased fire hazard,
- activities with a high fire hazard.
A company is not assigned a single category as a whole. One company may have an office, warehouse and workshop, each belonging to a different category. Relevant factors include the type and quantity of stored flammable substances, how they are stored, work involving open flames, the number of people present, the number of storeys in the building and the conditions for firefighting operations.
You can prepare the supporting information yourself. However, the classification itself and the resulting documentation should be assessed by a professionally qualified fire safety specialist (OZO) or a fire safety technician. For activities with a high fire hazard, the fire hazard assessment must be prepared by a professionally qualified person and, under § 6a zákona č. 133/1985 Sb., submitted in duplicate to the state fire supervision authority for approval. Such an activity may only be carried out if the state fire supervision authority approves the assessment.
Be cautious if an old classification only describes „administrative activities", while a warehouse, service area or battery-charging station has since been added or the use of part of the building has changed. The document will no longer match actual operations, and an inspection can easily reveal the discrepancy.
3. Take an inventory and do not backdate anything
Collect everything you have, even if it is incomplete or outdated:
- fire safety documentation and the fire safety logbook,
- the building fire safety design (PBŘ),
- the occupancy permit and current floor plans,
- the lease agreement and allocation of responsibilities between you and the landlord,
- records of employee training and specialist instruction,
- records of preventive fire inspections,
- inspection records for fire extinguishers, hydrants and fire safety systems,
- inspection reports, manufacturers’ instructions and safety data sheets for stored substances,
- an overview of changes to the premises, technologies and responsible persons.
For leased premises, check the lease agreement to determine what the landlord is responsible for, such as hydrants, fire doors or the electronic fire alarm system in common areas, and what you must provide as the tenant.
Do not fill gaps in training or inspection records by signing them with an earlier date. Complete the training or inspection at the earliest genuine opportunity and record the true date. A retrospectively fabricated record is worse than an openly acknowledged deficiency accompanied by a corrective action plan.
4. Documentation matrix under § 27 of the fire prevention regulation
§ 27 vyhlášky č. 246/2001 Sb. lists the types of fire safety documentation. It is not a checklist that every company must complete in full. Many documents are mandatory only for a particular category of activity or under specific circumstances. For example, fire reporting station rules are required only where such a station has been established. The mandatory documentation is considerably more limited for activities without an increased fire hazard.
Select one status for each row. If a specialist determines that a document does not apply to you, mark it „not applicable" and state the reason.
| Type of documentation | What to verify | Available and valid | Outdated | Missing | Refer for specialist assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification into an activity category | activity, location and decisive conditions | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire hazard assessment | only for high fire hazard activities; prepared exclusively by an OZO | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Definition of fire safety arrangements | responsibilities, inspections and operation outside working hours | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire safety rules | rules for specific high-risk workplaces | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire alarm instructions | reporting a fire, raising the alarm and current contact details | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire evacuation plan | people, routes, assembly points and evacuation management | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire response documentation | operational plan or fire response card, where required | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire reporting station rules | only if a fire reporting station has been established | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Training syllabus and schedule | content appropriate to activities and job roles | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Training and specialist instruction records | attendance, content, knowledge checks and trainer authorisation | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Fire safety logbook | inspections, defects, fires, training and changes | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Company fire brigade documentation | only if a fire brigade has been established | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Supporting documents | PBŘ, safety data sheets, instructions and inspection reports | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
The problem may not be limited to missing documents. An expensive package of documents that does not apply to your operations and that nobody follows should also be regarded as a deficiency.
5. Compare the documents with actual operations
Reviewing signatures and dates is not enough. Walk through the premises with the documentation in hand and verify:
- whether rooms are used for the same purposes stated in the PBŘ and occupancy documents,
- whether the marked escape routes match the actual layout and are not obstructed by boxes or pallets,
- whether fire extinguishers, hydrants, main shut-off points and emergency exits are freely accessible,
- whether fire doors have been wedged or otherwise secured in the open position,
- whether the locations of technologies and fire safety systems match the drawings,
- whether the stored materials, their quantities or storage methods have changed,
- whether the names, roles and telephone numbers in the fire alarm instructions are current.
Inserting a new floor plan into an old document is not enough if no specialist has assessed the change. By contrast, you can remove a wedge from a fire door or clear an obstructed escape route today without needing a specialist.
6. Document training, inspections and completed changes
An attendance sheet alone may not prove that proper training took place. The record should correspond to the training syllabus and specify the date, content, duration, participants, method used to verify knowledge and the person who delivered the training.
Match every inspection and maintenance record to a specific device and location. An invoice stating only „fire safety inspection" is insufficient. The document must make clear what was inspected, the result, which defects were found and whether they were remedied.
Under § 40 odst. 4 vyhlášky č. 246/2001 Sb., the fire safety documentation listed in § 27 odst. 1 písm. a) až i) of the same regulation must be reviewed as part of preventive fire inspections, at least once a year, after every fire and after every change affecting its contents. The review must include a record of its outcome. A document dated five years ago with no evidence of annual reviews is therefore deficient, even if its content remains accurate.
Inspections of electrical installations and appliances are a separate obligation with their own intervals. The overview of electrical appliance inspection intervals explains when they are required and what their scope should be.
7. What you can prepare yourself and what requires a specialist
You can gather contracts, design documents, lists of workplaces, equipment, employees and stored substances, as well as records of the most recent training and inspections. You can also remedy obvious operational defects yourself: clear an escape route, make a fire extinguisher accessible and stop wedging fire doors open.
An OZO or fire safety technician will assess the classification of activities, determine the actual scope of the required documentation, prepare or update it and verify that it reflects real operations. For activities with a high fire hazard, certain tasks may only be performed by a professionally qualified person.
A good quotation separates the initial assessment, preparation of documentation, correction of technical defects and subsequent regular inspections. The resulting documentation should identify the specific premises, activities, responsible persons, versions and reasons why each document is required. Without inspecting the site or receiving precise operational information, nobody can honestly promise the scope, completion date or outcome of an inspection.
Fire safety is a different area of compliance from occupational health and safety. For related obligations, use the labour inspectorate inspection checklist and the overview of occupational health and safety for offices and IT companies. Occupational health and safety documentation does not replace fire safety documentation, and vice versa.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small company need every document listed in § 27?
No. The required scope depends on the activities carried out, their fire hazard category, the building and its operating conditions. Some documents are mandatory only under specific circumstances.
What happens if I do not present the documentation during an inspection?
HZS may treat the failure to present it as a deficiency. The inspector may allow you to submit it later, but is not required to do so. You may object to an inspection finding stated in the inspection report within 15 days of receiving it, unless the report specifies a longer period (§ 13 odst. 1 kontrolního řádu).
Is downloading a fire safety rules template enough?
No, not if the template does not reflect your specific activities, premises, responsible persons and risks. A template can be useful as a working document, but it cannot replace a specialist assessment.
Can I prepare the missing documentation myself?
You can prepare operational information, records and an equipment inventory yourself. However, fire safety documentation under § 27 is generally prepared by a professionally qualified fire safety specialist or a fire safety technician. Stricter requirements apply to activities with a high fire hazard.
When must the documentation be updated?
Documents under § 27 odst. 1 písm. a) až i) vyhlášky č. 246/2001 Sb. must be reviewed at least once a year, after every fire and after any change affecting their contents. Such changes may include a new layout, technology, stored substances, responsible persons or a different use of the building.
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