How to Carry Out a Fire Drill in Your School

Rachel Gordon

November 5, 2018

6 min read

Fires can have devastating effects and cause significant harm to both people and premises. Schools can be especially susceptible to fires as they are often filled with numerous fire hazards and hundreds of people at any given time. The high number of people can also make evacuation procedures during a crisis difficult, impacting the speed with which people can reach safety and a fire can be tackled. Fire drills are therefore crucial in helping schools to establish a clear step-by-step evacuation plan that explains exactly what will happen in the event of a fire. Regular fire drills ensure that everyone knows the evacuation process so that they can act calmly and quickly in an emergency. In this article we will outline why fire drills are so important, explore a school’s fire safety responsibilities and provide guidance on how you can carry out a fire drill in your setting.

Why are School Fire Drills Important?

Whilst school fires in the UK are relatively rare, they still accounted for around 6.3 % of all workplace fires in 2024/25. The rarity of school fires does not make their potential effects any less devastating. A fire can be incredibly disruptive, putting teachers and students at risk and causing significant damage that can affect a child’s education for a notable period of time. Fire drills play an important role in helping to reduce the harm that a fire could cause by highlighting escape routes and providing people with clear instructions that they can follow to stay safe.

A fire alarm can be a discombobulating experience for everyone involved. Loud noises and the sight of fire, or smoke, can cause confusion, panic and disorderly behaviour. School fire drills are therefore important as they help people, especially young students who may not have the emotional capacity to handle unexpected situations well, to become accustomed to the process of evacuating the building. Regularly practising these processes in a fire drill ensures that if a real emergency arises students feel confident in their knowledge of what to do and where to go, reducing panic and confusion and helping to maintain a calm order that will keep people safe.

School fire drills are also important as they help teachers and other members of staff with safeguarding responsibilities to familiarise themselves with their role during an emergency. All school staff have a duty to help students to safely evacuate during a fire. It’s therefore crucial that they know what steps to take and what steps they are expected to take. School fire drills help staff to remain calm and organised during a real fire, whilst upholding their responsibilities to keep their students safe.

It’s important to note that all schools have a legal responsibility to uphold fire safety and to have preventative measures and evacuation procedures in place. We will explore schools’ legal responsibilities pertaining to fire safety law later in this article. However, it’s vital that schools recognise that they have a legal duty to provide everyone with information and instruction relating to fire safety.

School fire drills are important as they:

Familiarise students and staff with the sound of fire alarms, the location of escape routes and assembly points and specific fire safety procedures
Test that fire safety measures work as intended
Assess how quickly people can evacuate the building
Identify areas where alarms or signs are not clear enough
Ensure that emergency routes and exits are free from obstructions
Provide fire wardens with the opportunity to practice their duties
Test the efficacy of personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs)

School Fire Drills Regulations

All schools are legally required to have a fire safety plan called a Fire Safety Risk Assessment (FSRA). Whilst each school’s FRSA will be different, there are core elements that they should all have. One of those elements is regular fire drills that ensure students and staff have a clear understanding of evacuation procedures.

Schools are also subject to other fire safety laws and regulations. These include:

These Acts cover different specificities, however they encompass the legal responsibilities that a school has to keep students and staff safe from fire. Under these regulations the responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and put suitable fire safety measures in place. Schools must also ensure that staff have adequate fire safety training and that emergency evacuation procedures are established and practised so as to familiarise people with the procedures. Fire drills are an effective way for schools to uphold this legal duty and ensure that evacuation procedures work in practice.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and as part of their individual FSRA, schools must also appoint fire wardens. A school’s FSRA should clearly name who the fire wardens for the school are.

It’s important to note that whilst Ofsted is not a fire authority they consider the efficacy of a school’s fire safety procedures in their inspection. They also liaise with fire rescue authorities to ensure compliance with fire safety legislation. You can learn more about the relationship between Ofsted and fire rescue authorities here.

Looking for More?

Fire safety training is not only a legal requirement, it helps to keep people safe. Our accredited Fire Safety for Schools training provides staff with the knowledge to uphold fire safety, follow evacuation procedures and minimise common fire safety risks. This will help your school to remain legally compliant whilst ensuring the safety of all students and staff.

School Fire Drill Procedures

School fire drills are only effective when they are well-planned and regular. Preparation for a school fire drill should therefore begin before the test bell ever goes off. Comprehensive school fire drill preparation entails making sure everyone knows their responsibilities, planning evacuation routes, assigning assembly points and reviewing any PEEPs.

As school fire drills are a good way for schools to evaluate their fire safety processes, it can be helpful to have members of staff who do not take part in the drill and instead observe. They can help to identify any issues and support any changes to improve evacuation procedures. Schools may also consider asking a random member of staff to set off the nearest alarm without being shown which alarm is the closest to their classroom. This tests their knowledge of alarm locations and how to activate them. Finally, schools could consider carrying out a drill with the assumption that one of the usual escape routes is blocked. This tests both students and teachers’ knowledge of routes, especially those they wouldn’t normally use.

When planning a school fire drill it’s essential that staff understand their specific fire safety responsibilities. The primary responsibility of staff during a fire drill is to guide students calmly and quickly out of the building, paying attention to those who may have difficulty evacuating. Other duties include sweeping rooms and corridors for students, supervising assembly points, acting as a fire warden for designated zones and taking registers. Whilst school fire drills may be unannounced to staff, all roles must be decided and designated beforehand and staff must be made aware of their role well in advance.

Each school will have their own specific school fire drill, however, there are core steps that a fire drill should have in order to effectively test everyone’s responsibilities as well as all evacuation routes and assembly points. These steps include:

Sound the fire alarm to signal to everyone that they must evacuate immediately. Teachers should stop teaching immediately and students must stop what they are doing, leave all belongings and form quiet, orderly lines.

Teachers in charge of classes should guide students through the nearest evacuation route to the assembly point. They must keep everyone calm and orderly to ensure that the evacuation is as safe and quick as possible. Before they leave, teachers should check that no one has been left behind.

Staff not in charge of a class should sweep rooms and corridors for any students who may have been left behind, such as those exiting toilets, and guide them to the assembly point.

Designated fire wardens should check that evacuation routes are clear whilst minimising risks, such as by closing windows and doors, searching areas to check that everyone has been evacuated and where necessary helping vulnerable people to evacuate.

Those who have a PEEP should be assisted to evacuate safely whilst those with responsibility to provide assistance should practice providing it and report any issues to a fire warden.

Everyone should walk quietly and calmly to the assembly points. Students must be reminded not to run and to stay quiet. This is because running could cause people to knock one another over and fall, overcrowding hallways and exits, whilst loud noises make it hard for people to hear further instructions.

Upon reaching the designated assembly points students should line up as instructed for a roll call. A register should be taken as quickly as possible and if anyone is missing it’s crucial that a responsible person finds out why, makes a note and resolves the issue as soon as possible.

Reviewing the efficacy of a fire drill is an important part of fire safety. A fire drill highlights issues such as alarms that are not working, evacuation routes that are unsafe or PEEPs that do not work. At the end of each fire drill it can be beneficial to ask staff a range of questions to gather honest feedback on how it went. Record any findings and agree to corrective actions to rectify anything that did not go to plan.

All organisations should carry out a fire drill at least once a year. However, the Department for Education (DfE) notes that all schools must have regular drills to ensure students and staff have a clear understanding of evacuation procedures. As such it is recommended that schools conduct fire drills at least once per term.

School Fire Drill Process Checklist

Conducting a school fire drill doesn’t need to be an overly complicated process but it should be regular and consistent. A checklist can help to summarise all core requirements thereby making conducting a school fire drill a smooth and valuable experience.

Below you will find a checklist that will support you to conduct a school fire drill.The checklist serves as a useful reminder or what you need to do each time you wish to carry out a school fire drill.

Inform necessary teachers and/or staff that there will be a fire drill
Inform teachers and/or staff of any additional roles they may need to take, such as asking certain members of staff to observe and make notes
Conduct the fire drill, this should be done at least once a term
Conduct fire drills at different times each term to test staff and student familiarity and adaptability
Ensure staff know how to help students evacuate
Test and review any PEEPs in place
Make sure fire wardens are prepared to practice their duties
Make sure people know what to report, such as blocked routes or quieter alarms and who to report to
Test your roll calling procedure
Correct any issues identified during the drill

Following these steps can help to make your fire drill as thorough as possible, ensuring that your school, staff and students get the most out of the process.

Schools have a legal requirement to uphold fire safety laws in order to keep all students and staff safe. Regular fire drills support this duty by familiarising everyone with evacuation procedures that could one day save their lives. Effective fire drills embolden students by reaffirming evacuation routes and showing them the process by which they will be kept safe. This enables them to remain calm and orderly in the event of a real fire ensuring they reach safety in a timely manner.