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Fire drill report template

A fire drill report is the written record of one practice evacuation: when the alarm sounded, how long it took to get everyone out and accounted for, who was missing and why, and what has to be fixed before the next one. In India and some other countries the same exercise is usually called a mock drill, and this is a mock drill report format too. The template has five landscape pages: the drill details and scenario with a timeline counted from the alarm and a head count against the shift list and sign-in sheet, an observer checklist with Yes, No and N/A for each check, the problems found with an owner and a date plus sign-off, a drill log for the year, and a worked example. The Excel version works out the minutes from the clock times, the people missing and the result against your own target time, counts the No answers, marks overdue actions, and shows the last drill and the next one due for each shift. It is a general starting point, not legal advice.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the fire drill report templateDrill details, a timeline counted from the alarm, the head count and the result.
Drill details and scenarioTimeline from the alarmHead count against the listObserver checklistActions with ownersSign-offYearly drill logWorked example
Filled-in Fire drill report template: an evening drill where one room missed the alarm
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 5 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to fill in a fire drill report

  • Every time you run a fire, evacuation or shelter drill, including a mock drill held for an audit or the fire service.
  • When an insurer, customer or auditor asks for drill records and all you have is a date in a logbook.
  • After a real or false alarm, to record how people actually left and what got in the way.
  • After the layout, the shifts or the number of people on site change, to check the plan still works before you need it.
  • At the end of the year, to see from the drill log whether every shift has been drilled and whether the times are improving.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Plan the drill and brief the observers

    Pick the scenario, the shift and the day, and decide whether people will be told in advance. Give each observer page 2 and the area or exit they watch. Have the shift list and the visitor and contractor sign-in sheet ready for the head count.
  2. 2

    Write the clock time at each step

    Note the time the alarm sounds, the last area where it was heard, the last person out, the last area reported clear, the head count complete and the all clear. The minutes are counted from the alarm, so a slow step shows up on its own.
  3. 3

    Count against the list, not by eye

    Expected is everyone on the shift list plus every visitor and contractor on the sign-in sheet. Compare it with the people counted at the assembly points. If anyone is missing, the drill is not over until they are found, and the report says how.
  4. 4

    Collect the observer checklists

    Every No needs a note of what the observer saw. Each one becomes a problem on page 3, with the area, the action to fix it, an owner and a due date.
  5. 5

    Compare with your target and share the result

    Set your own target time from your plan and your first drills; no single number fits every building. Record whether the drill was within target, over target, or the count did not match, and tell people what will change.
  6. 6

    Log the drill and close the actions

    Add one line to the drill log. Check that every shift, the weekend and the night shift get drilled, and that some drills are not announced. A drill is closed when its last action is closed, not when people are back at work.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a made-up plant of about 150 people on two shifts runs an unannounced fire drill on the evening shift.

  • The alarm sounds at 21:10. Everyone who heard it is out of the building at 21:14, 4 minutes later.
  • The head count is complete at 21:19, 9 minutes against the plant's own target of 8. It counts 64 of the 66 people expected: 61 employees on the shift list and 5 visitors and contractors on the sign-in sheet.
  • The sign-in sheet shows two contractors working in the compressor room. The utilities lead finds them still at work at 21:24: the alarm cannot be heard over the compressors, and the room is on no warden's list.
  • The observers mark 4 checks No: the alarm was not heard everywhere, a pallet was standing against exit door C, the contractors were not guided out, and one area had no warden. Each becomes an action with an owner and a due date.

The time to get out looked good; the head count found the real problem. The numbers are invented to show how the form is used, not a benchmark.

Common mistakes

  • Timing only the evacuation

    Minutes to the last person out can look fine while someone is still inside. Time the head count too, and do not close the drill until everyone on the list is found.

  • Counting heads by eye

    A warden saying the area looks empty is not a count. Count against the shift list and the sign-in sheet, and include visitors, contractors and drivers.

  • Drilling only the day shift, and always telling people

    The night shift, the weekend and the contractors are where drills find problems. Cover every shift over the year and run some drills unannounced.

  • Observers with nothing to look for

    An observer without a checklist and an area watches the crowd and remembers little. Give each one page 2, an area or exit to watch, and a watch to note the times.

  • Filing the report with the actions open

    A blocked exit written down and never fixed will block people in a real fire. Give every problem an owner and a date, and check them at the next safety meeting.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite safety procedures start from marketplace templates, including risk assessments; anyone reports a hazard as a tag from a QR code, and a serious hazard can become a CAPA project with root cause analysis.

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FAQ

Fire drill report template: common questions

  1. A fire drill report is the record of one practice evacuation: the date, shift and scenario, the time of each step from the alarm to the all clear, the head count against the people expected, what the observers saw, and the problems found with an owner and a date to fix each one.

  2. It is the same document under the name used in India and some other countries, where a practice emergency is called a mock drill. A good format has the drill details, a timeline, the head count, an observer checklist, the actions and a sign-off, which is what this template has. It works for fire, chemical release and shelter drills.

  3. The site, date, shift and type of drill, whether people were told in advance, the scenario, the clock time of each step, the people expected and counted including visitors and contractors, how anyone missing was found, every check that failed, and the actions with owners and due dates, signed off by the drill coordinator.

  4. There is no single answer. OSHA's emergency action plan standard (29 CFR 1910.38) asks for a plan and training but does not set how often to drill. Set the interval from your local rules, your fire service, your insurer and your own plan, and cover every shift. The Excel version shows the next drill due for each shift from the interval you set.

  5. No single time fits every building: it depends on the layout, the number of people, the routes and who needs help to leave. Set your own target from your plan and your first drills, then track the time to a complete head count, not only the time to the last person out.

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