Short answer: A fire-stopping logbook records, for every penetration through a compartment wall or floor, where it is, which product sealed it, the fire resistance of that product, who installed it and when, with photos as evidence. During construction the principal contractor or fire-stopping contractor keeps it. At handover it passes to the building owner and the Responsible Person.
Is a fire-stopping logbook a legal requirement in England?
In England, the Building Regulations 2010 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 do not require a document called a fire-stopping logbook. They do require effective compartmentation, fire safety information at handover and maintenance of fire safety measures, and a logbook is the most practical way to show that all three are in place.
You know the situation: the fire risk assessor asks how the penetrations above the second-floor corridor ceiling were sealed. Without a logbook someone has to lift ceiling tiles or rely on memory, while with a logbook you answer straight away, because every penetration is recorded with a photo and its details.
Requirement B3 of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010 asks for measures to inhibit fire spread within the building, such as subdivision with fire-resisting construction. Regulation 38 requires the person carrying out the work to give fire safety information to the Responsible Person on completion. Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order then requires the Responsible Person to keep fire safety facilities under a suitable system of maintenance, which is hard to do when nobody knows where the penetrations are.
What should the logbook record for each penetration?
For each penetration, record at least the location, the type of penetration, the sealing product, its fire resistance classification, the installer, the date and a photo. With those details a fire risk assessor, facilities manager or new contractor can find and assess every penetration without opening finished work.
| Detail | Example | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Unique code | FS-0142 | Links the penetration on site to the logbook |
| Location on the drawing | Block B, level 2, compartment 2.04 | Find it without searching |
| Type of penetration | Cable tray with cable bundle | Determines which sealing system is suitable |
| Sealing product | Coated batt with sealant | Can be checked against the manufacturer's tested details |
| Fire resistance | EI 60 (example) | Must match the rating required for that compartment wall or floor |
| Installer and date | Fire-stopping contractor, 8 October | Shows who is accountable and since when |
| Photos before and after | Open opening, then sealed | Evidence of the installation |
The photo after sealing is the most important entry, because a penetration often disappears behind a suspended ceiling or inside a riser, while a photo before sealing shows how large the opening was and what passes through it.
Who keeps the logbook during construction and after handover?
During construction the principal contractor or the appointed fire-stopping contractor keeps the logbook, and M&E installers and fire-stopping installers add their own work to it. At handover it goes to the client, building owner and Responsible Person, because they must keep fire safety measures maintained once the building is occupied.
| Phase | Who makes the penetration | Who seals it | Who manages the logbook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | M&E or services installer | Fire-stopping contractor | Principal contractor or fire-stopping contractor |
| Handover | Handed to the client and the Responsible Person | ||
| Occupation and refurbishment | Services installer or in-house maintenance team | Fire-stopping contractor or trained in-house team | Building owner, facilities manager or Responsible Person |
UMC Utrecht, one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands, is refurbished continuously, with fire safety firm HooVos handling larger renovations. Jan Linnebank, project manager Safe Working Environment: "Small holes are sealed by our own in-house fire team, which is specially trained for this" (translated from Dutch). Both parties work in the same logbook, so the hospital can give the fire service the complete picture.
Paper logbook or digital logbook: what is the difference?
A digital logbook records each penetration on site as the work is done, with a photo and a location on the drawing, while a paper or spreadsheet logbook is usually updated afterwards in the office. That makes it more current, easier to search and less dependent on 1 person keeping everything up to date.
| Paper or spreadsheet | Digital logbook in Ed Controls | |
|---|---|---|
| Recording | Afterwards, in the office | On site, also offline |
| Location | Text description | Pin on the drawing |
| Evidence | Loose photos in a folder | Photos linked to the penetration |
| Responsible party | Often not recorded | A responsible party per penetration |
| Status | Unclear | Created, Started, Completed |
| Handover | Collecting files | Export as a report |
Fire Prevent, a Dutch firm that builds fire-stopping logbooks for its clients, works this way. Jessica van de Braak of Fire Prevent: "We simply send the logbook on by email" (translated from Dutch).
How do you build a penetration logbook in Ed Controls?
Ed Controls, project management and quality control software for construction, turns every penetration into a ticket at a fixed location on the drawing. Each ticket has a unique TicketID, photos, the product used, the fire resistance and a responsible party. Together those tickets form the logbook, which you can export as a report at any time.
- Upload the drawings that show the fire compartments.
- Create a ticket on the drawing for each new penetration, with the status Created.
- Assign it to the fire-stopping contractor as the responsible party, and it moves to Started.
- The fire-stopping contractor seals the penetration, adds a photo and the product, and sets the ticket to Completed.
- Export the logbook as a report at handover or whenever someone asks for it.
UMC Utrecht prints the TicketID on a sticker next to each penetration, and if a sticker goes missing the penetration can still be found through the drawing. Read more in the case study Managing fire safety.
Who is a digital fire-stopping logbook suitable for?
A digital fire-stopping logbook suits teams where several parties make, seal and check penetrations, and where the record has to survive handover. It adds less value for one-off advice work, because that work ends with a report and nobody needs to track individual penetrations over the life of the building.
Suitable for:
- Principal contractors who coordinate penetrations made by several M&E installers and fire-stopping contractors
- Fire-stopping contractors and passive fire protection specialists who build logbooks for their clients
- Owners and facilities managers of hospitals, schools and offices with frequent refurbishments
Less suitable for:
- Companies looking only for a one-off fire strategy or fire engineering advice
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the fire-stopping logbook?
During construction the principal contractor or fire-stopping contractor manages the logbook. After handover it belongs with the building owner and the Responsible Person, who under article 17 of the Fire Safety Order must keep fire safety facilities under a suitable system of maintenance. A logbook tells them exactly which seals they are maintaining and where they are.
How long should you keep a fire-stopping logbook?
The legislation covered here sets no fixed retention period, so keep it for as long as the building is in use. Every new or altered penetration belongs in it, including those made during later refurbishments. A logbook that stops being updated after handover quickly loses its value as evidence during a fire risk assessment or inspection.
Is a spreadsheet good enough as a logbook?
A spreadsheet can work as a logbook, but it usually lacks the link between photo, location on the drawing and responsible party, so during an inspection you still have to search for photos and drawings. A digital logbook in Ed Controls captures that link on site, so every penetration can be found with a single code.
What is a TicketID sticker?
A TicketID sticker carries the unique code of a penetration and is fixed to the wall or floor next to it. Anyone who sees the sticker can look up that code in Ed Controls and find the photos, the product used and the full history of that penetration, even years after the original installation was completed.
Does the fire and rescue service need to see the logbook?
In most premises the local fire and rescue authority enforces the Fire Safety Order, and its inspectors can ask the Responsible Person to show how fire safety is maintained. An up-to-date logbook is the quickest way to do that, because it shows a photo, product and installer for each penetration without opening a ceiling or riser.
Read more
- Who is responsible for fire-stopping penetrations?
- What do the Building Regulations say about compartmentation and fire-stopping?
- Fire safety software from Ed Controls
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B3
- legislation.gov.uk, Building Regulations 2010, regulation 38 (fire safety information)
- legislation.gov.uk, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 17 (maintenance)
- legislation.gov.uk, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 25 (enforcing authorities)
- Ed Controls, Managing fire safety (UMC Utrecht)
- Ed Controls, Fire Prevent case study (in Dutch)
- Ed Controls, Brandveiligheid in beeld (in Dutch)
Last updated: 12 October 2026
