We visit lots of buildings every year for a number of reasons. There are three main types of visit that we perform, all with a slightly different purpose.
Firefighters carry out Home Fire Safety Visits across London. These visits are for anyone, but we prioritise visits for those people who are high risk. We come out to your home, or the home of someone you care for, to provide personalised advice about fire safety. Visits usually take about 90 minutes. And yes, we almost always turn up in fire engine!
Request a Home Fire Safety Visit
Familiarisation visits, sometimes known as 7(2)d visits, are designed to help firefighters learn about the buildings in their area.
Firefighters visit larger properties on their ground to look around the buildings to see what fire safety measures are in place, what firefighting equipment is installed and any immediate fire risks.
These familiarisation visits consist of a visual inspection of the building. For residential buildings the visits cover access to the building and communal areas. Familiarisation visits do not cover an inspection of people’s homes. Firefighters record what they see and the information is stored on mobile data terminals, which are fitted to all fire engines so all firefighters can look at the notes if they’re attending an incident at the building.
Our Fire Safety Inspection Officers also carry Fire inspections on commercial properties throughout London.
We can visit premises unannounced at any time although we generally make appointments. During these types of visits the Fire Safety Inspecting Officer will ensure the rules are being followed and employees and members of the public are kept safe.
If firefighters come to your property for a Home Fire Safety Visit, either you or another person will have booked the visit, so hopefully you’ll be expecting us, but you can ask to see our identification at any time.
This is a London Fire Brigade Identification card. All firefighters and inspecting officers carry these.
Fire Safety Inspection Officers usually wear black trousers/skirt and a white shirt with LFB branding on it. However if they aren't please don't worry, this will probably mean that they are no-uniform staff but are still authorised Fire Safety Inspection (FSI) Officers. They will always carry identification such as a hologram protected photo ID and a linked authorisation card describing their powers. If a Fire Safety Inspection Officer arrives at your property unannounced, you can ask to see their identification and you can also call us on 0208 555 1200 to check their details.
If were visiting for a familiarisation visit we’re usually accompanied by the building management, but we’ll be in uniform and we always carry identification. Our firefighters are always willing to show identification and let you know what they’re doing, so please feel free to ask
