Most building managers we work with know they are supposed to run fire drills. Far fewer can tell us how often, who is meant to run them, or what a fire inspector expects to see in the binder afterwards. The rules sit in Section 2.8.3 of the BC Fire Code, and they are shorter than most people expect. This guide covers what the code actually requires, what it leaves to you, and how to keep drill records that stand up at inspection.

Where the fire drill rules come from

The BC Fire Code 2024 took effect on March 8, 2024. It adopts the National Fire Code of Canada 2020 with a short list of BC amendments, and none of those amendments touch the fire drill subsection. Drills are part of the emergency planning rules in Division B, Section 2.8, and the link is direct: any building that needs a fire safety plan needs fire drills, because the plan itself must describe how drills are held.

That covers a long list of buildings, including:

• every building the BC Building Code requires to have a fire alarm system
• care, treatment and detention occupancies
• schools, colleges, universities and daycare facilities
• buildings with a licensed restaurant or licensed beverage establishment
• most other assembly occupancies with an occupant load of more than 30
• construction and demolition sites, and certain storage and hazardous process areas

If you are not sure whether your building is on that list, our guide to what a BC fire safety plan must list walks through it.

How often fire drills must be held

The baseline: at least once every 12 months

For most buildings, fire drills must be held for supervisory staff at intervals not greater than 12 months. Read that wording carefully. The requirement is aimed at supervisory staff, meaning the people the fire safety plan gives fire safety duties to. It does not say that every tenant in an office tower or every owner in a strata building must walk out of the building once a year.

Daycares and Group B occupancies: every month

In daycare centres and in Group B major occupancies, drills must be held at intervals not greater than one month. Group B covers care, treatment and detention occupancies, which takes in hospitals, many care homes and correctional facilities. These are the buildings where staff have to move people who cannot get out on their own, so the code wants that response practised constantly.

Schools: three total evacuations per term

In schools attended by children, the code requires total evacuation fire drills at least three times in each of the fall and spring terms. This is the one category where the code clearly expects everyone to leave the building, not just staff.

High-rise buildings: every two months

Buildings within the scope of Subsection 3.2.6 of the BC Building Code, the high building requirements, must hold supervisory staff drills at intervals not greater than two months. High-rise plans also cover voice communication, elevator procedures and smoke control, and those systems need hands that know them.

Laboratories: every three months

Fire drills in a laboratory must be held at intervals not greater than three months.

Who runs the drill

Article 2.8.3.1 says the procedure for conducting fire drills is determined by the person in responsible charge of the building. That person has to take six things into account:

• the building occupancy and its fire hazards
• the safety features provided in the building
• how far occupants other than supervisory staff should take part
• the number and experience of the supervisory staff taking part
• the fire emergency systems in high buildings
• the requirements of the fire department

Legally, the BC Fire Code puts the responsibility for carrying out its provisions on the owner or the owner’s authorized agent. In practice, the drill is usually planned and led by the Fire Safety Director named in the plan, with the deputy and floor wardens doing the sweeps. The explanatory notes in the code suggest that the level of occupant participation be worked out with the fire department, and that night and weekend staff be drilled too, since they need to know the procedure as well as the day shift does. Our article on fire warden responsibilities covers the warden side in more detail.

What a good drill actually tests

The code’s explanatory note describes a fire drill as, at minimum, a review of the fire safety plan by supervisory staff. That is a useful way to think about it. A drill is a test of the plan, not a test of whether people can find the front door. A useful drill checks that:

• staff know how to sound the alarm and who calls the fire department
• wardens sweep their floors, check washrooms and stairwells, and report back
• the list of persons requiring assistance is current and someone is assigned to each person
• the headcount at the assembly area actually works
• keys and devices for the fire alarm panel are where the plan says they are
• in high-rises, staff can use the voice communication system and know the elevator procedures

Not every drill has to be a full evacuation. A tabletop walk-through with supervisory staff can meet the baseline requirement in many buildings, as long as the plan describes it that way and the fire department accepts the approach.

What to record after every drill

The fire drill subsection does not prescribe a log form. Even so, an undocumented drill is very hard to prove at inspection, and the fire department guidelines used across the Lower Mainland expect a reports and checklists section in the plan binder. We recommend recording:

• date, start time and duration
• type of drill (tabletop, partial or total evacuation)
• who led it and which supervisory staff took part
• whether the alarm was activated, and from which device
• time to clear the building or floor, where relevant
• problems found, such as a door that would not latch or a warden who did not know their route
• corrective actions, who owns them and when they were closed
• the signature of the Fire Safety Director

Keep the log with the fire safety plan in the building, usually in the fire safety plan box. Elsewhere, the code says records of fire safety system tests may not be destroyed within two years of being prepared, and it makes sense to keep drill logs at least that long as well.

Common mistakes we see

• Treating the annual fire alarm test as the fire drill. They are different obligations.
• Drilling only the day shift in a 24-hour building.
• Running drills from a supervisory staff list that is two property managers out of date.
• Holding the drill but never writing down what went wrong, so the same problem shows up the next year.

Frequently asked questions

Do residents of an apartment building have to take part in fire drills?

The BC Fire Code drill frequency is written for supervisory staff. Whether residents or tenants take part, and how far, is something the person in responsible charge decides with the fire department, based on the occupancy. Many residential buildings run staff and warden drills and keep resident participation voluntary.

Should we warn occupants before a drill?

Usually, yes. Notify your fire alarm monitoring company before you activate the alarm, so the fire department is not dispatched, and give occupants notice when the alarm will sound. An unannounced drill can be useful in some occupancies, but plan it with the fire department first.

Does the fire department have to attend our drill?

No. The code requires the fire department’s requirements to be taken into account, not its attendance. Some departments will observe a drill on request, which can be worth asking for in a large or complex building.

Need a fire safety plan that makes drills simple?

We have been writing BC fire safety plans since 2003, with more than 1,000 delivered across the Lower Mainland and beyond. Every plan we write includes a site-specific drill procedure and the record sheets your fire inspector will want to see, priced upfront and with approval guaranteed. Request a quote through our contact page or call us at (778) 574-2895.