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Fire prevention plan checklist: sources and guidance

A review of a workplace fire prevention plan against the minimum elements in OSHA's general industry rule, plus a walk-through of housekeeping, ignition controls and extinguishers. Where an OSHA standard requires a plan, it must be in writing, kept in the workplace and available to employees [18] [19].

How often: Inform employees of their fire hazards when first assigned to a job. Portable extinguishers get a monthly visual inspection and an annual maintenance check. How often to review the whole plan is set by your organization.[27][8][9]

Purpose

Use this fire prevention plan checklist to review your plan against the minimum elements in OSHA's general industry rule, then walk the workplace to see whether the plan is working. Where an OSHA standard requires a fire prevention plan, it must be in writing, kept in the workplace and made available to employees for review [18] [19]. The walk-through adds the housekeeping and portable fire extinguisher checks that keep a plan from being paper only.

Who should use it

The person responsible for the plan, usually a safety coordinator, facility manager or maintenance manager, together with the people the plan names as responsible for ignition sources and fuel source hazards [25] [26].

How often

Employees are informed of the fire hazards they are exposed to when first assigned to a job [27]. Portable extinguishers are visually inspected monthly [8] and get an annual maintenance check [9]. How often to review the whole plan with this checklist is set by your organization; a review after any change in processes, materials or the building is good practice.

How to use this checklist

  1. Have the current plan in hand. Enter the headcount first: an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally [20].
  2. Read the plan and answer the contents and employee information sections.
  3. Walk the workplace with the plan's hazard list and check storage, waste, heat-producing equipment, fire safeguards and extinguishers.
  4. Record each gap with an owner and a date, then update the plan and brief affected employees.

No item on this page is marked critical. The checks review a plan and the conditions it covers, and no single gap is, by itself, a reason to stop work; each failed check is a gap to close.

What the rules say

A fire prevention plan must include:

  • a list of all major fire hazards, handling and storage procedures for hazardous materials, and potential ignition sources and their control [21];
  • the type of fire protection equipment needed to control each major hazard [22];
  • procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste [23];
  • procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards on heat-producing equipment [24];
  • the name or job title of the employees responsible for maintaining equipment that prevents or controls ignition sources and fires, and for controlling fuel source hazards [25] [26].

The employer also reviews with each employee the parts of the plan they need for self-protection [28].

What this checklist does not cover

  • Deciding which OSHA standards require your workplace to have a fire prevention plan.
  • Emergency action plans under 29 CFR 1910.38, which have their own checklist.
  • Detailed storage rules for flammable liquids, compressed gases and combustible dust in other OSHA standards.
  • Hydrostatic testing of extinguishers and inspection of sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm systems by qualified contractors.
  • Local fire code and insurer requirements.
  • Rules of State Plan states that differ from federal OSHA.

Questions

What is the difference between a fire prevention plan and an emergency action plan?

A fire prevention plan is about stopping fires from starting: it lists fire hazards, ignition sources and their control, and waste and maintenance procedures [21] [23]. An emergency action plan covers what people do when an emergency happens, such as reporting it and evacuating [16] [17].

Who needs a fire prevention plan?

An employer must have one when an OSHA standard in Part 1910 requires it [18]. For example, the portable fire extinguisher rule exempts an employer whose written fire safety policy requires immediate and total evacuation when the fire alarm sounds [1], with no extinguishers in the workplace, but only if that policy includes both an emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan meeting 1910.38 and 1910.39; the exemption does not apply where another Part 1910 standard requires an extinguisher [2].

Can a small business have an oral fire prevention plan?

Yes. An employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally to employees [20].

What do employees have to be told?

The fire hazards they are exposed to, when first assigned to a job [27], and the parts of the plan they need to protect themselves [28].

How often do fire extinguishers need to be inspected?

A visual inspection every month [8] and a maintenance check every year [9]. The annual maintenance date is recorded and the record kept [10].

How far apart should fire extinguishers be?

For Class A fires, the travel distance from any employee to an extinguisher is 75 feet (22.9 m) or less [5]. For Class B hazards, the travel distance from the hazard area to an extinguisher is 50 feet (15.2 m) or less [6].

Sources

Each cited excerpt was found word for word in the official text on the date shown.

  1. [1]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (b)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  2. [2]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (b)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  3. [3]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (c)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  4. [4]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (c)(4) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  5. [5]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (d)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  6. [6]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (d)(4) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  7. [7]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (d)(6) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  8. [8]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (e)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  9. [9]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (e)(3) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  10. [10]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (e)(3) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  11. [11]29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers (g)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  12. [12]29 CFR 1910.176 Handling materials: general (c) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  13. [13]29 CFR 1910.252 Welding, cutting and brazing: general requirements (a)(2)(iv) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  14. [14]29 CFR 1910.252 Welding, cutting and brazing: general requirements (a)(2)(iv) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  15. [15]29 CFR 1910.37 Maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for exit routes (a)(4) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  16. [16]29 CFR 1910.38 Emergency action plans (c)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  17. [17]29 CFR 1910.38 Emergency action plans (c)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  18. [18]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  19. [19]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  20. [20]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  21. [21]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  22. [22]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  23. [23]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  24. [24]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(3) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  25. [25]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(4) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  26. [26]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (c)(5) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  27. [27]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (d) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  28. [28]29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans (d) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.

Guidance, not legal advice. It does not replace the law, the manufacturer's instructions or your organization's competent people.