If you own, manage, or occupy a building in British Columbia, you’ve probably heard the term — but what exactly is a fire safety plan, and why does it matter?
A fire safety plan is a legal document required under the BC Fire Code. It outlines how your building responds to a fire emergency: who’s in charge, how occupants evacuate, where fire equipment is located, and what procedures staff must follow. It’s not a pamphlet. It’s not a checklist you print off the internet. It’s a site-specific document prepared for your building — and it has to be accepted by your local fire department before it’s valid.
What the BC Fire Code Actually Says
Under the British Columbia Fire Code (Division B, Section 2.8), every building to which the Code applies must have a fire safety plan prepared and approved by the building owner or their representative. The plan must be kept on site, made available to the fire department on request, and reviewed at least annually.
The Code doesn’t give you a template. It gives you a list of what the plan must cover — and getting every element right, in a format the fire department will accept, is where most plans fail on the first submission.
What a Fire Safety Plan Must Include
A compliant BC fire safety plan covers:
People and responsibilities
- The name and contact information of the Fire Safety Director (FSD) — the person legally responsible for fire safety in the building
- Deputy FSD and alternates
- Duties of building staff in a fire emergency (superintendents, security, front desk)
Emergency procedures
- Step-by-step evacuation procedures for all occupants, including those with mobility limitations
- Procedures for investigating and responding to a fire alarm
- Instructions for staff before the fire department arrives
Building systems and equipment
- Location of fire alarm control panels, pull stations, and annunciators
- Sprinkler system shutoff locations
- Fire extinguisher locations and types
- Emergency lighting and exit signage
- Standpipe and hose cabinet locations (where applicable)
Floor plans and evacuation routes
- CAD-drawn floor plans for each floor showing exit routes, fire equipment locations, and assembly areas
- Accessible exit routes for occupants with disabilities
Training and drills
- Fire drill schedule and records
- Staff training requirements and frequencies
Building-specific details
- Hazardous materials storage (if applicable)
- HVAC shutdown procedures
- Elevator use restrictions during fire emergencies
This is why fire safety plans aren’t something you write in a Word document and submit. One missing element — one floor plan with the wrong exit marked — and the fire department sends it back.
Who Prepares a Fire Safety Plan?
The building owner is legally responsible for having a fire safety plan in place. In practice, that means hiring someone who knows what they’re doing.
A professional fire safety plan includes CAD-drawn floor plans, accurate equipment inventories, properly assigned FSD contacts, and procedures written to BC Fire Code standards — not generic language copied from a template.
At GetFirePlan.com, we’ve prepared over 100 fire safety plans a year for 20+ years across Metro Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, and across BC. Every plan we deliver is specific to your building. Every plan comes with our approval guarantee.
How a Fire Safety Plan Gets Approved
Once the plan is drafted, it’s submitted to your local fire department for review. In Vancouver, that’s the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. In Surrey, it’s the Surrey Fire Service. Each department has its own submission process, preferred format, and review timeline.
Common reasons plans get rejected:
- Missing or outdated FSD contact information
- Floor plans that don’t match the current building layout
- Evacuation procedures that don’t account for mobility-impaired occupants
- Missing equipment locations
- Procedures that reference building systems that no longer exist
When we submit your plan, we handle all correspondence with the fire department and revise until it’s accepted. That’s what “approval guaranteed” means — we don’t walk away until it’s done.
What Happens After Approval?
Approval isn’t the end. A fire safety plan is a living document.
BC Fire Code requires the plan be reviewed annually. Contact information — especially the Fire Safety Director — must be kept current. If there are staff changes, the plan gets updated. If the building undergoes renovations, new equipment is installed, or the layout changes, the plan needs to be revised accordingly.
At GetFirePlan.com, we provide free updates for contact changes: new FSD, deputy FSD, property manager, and service contractors (fire alarm, sprinkler, extinguisher companies). Structural changes, floor plan redraws, or new equipment installations are handled as separate scoped work.
One Plan. One Fee. Approved.
GetFirePlan.com charges one flat fee per building. No per-revision charges during the approval process. No surprise invoices. If the fire department asks for changes, we make them.
We serve buildings across Metro Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, and beyond.
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