“The fire brigade is coming to inspect us.” A sentence that reliably triggers one of two reactions in the manager’s office: panic, or a dismissive wave of the hand. Both miss the point. A Fire Rescue Service inspection is not an emergency crew with flashing lights — it is an official check that fire protection regulations are being followed. And unlike a fire, you can prepare for it.
We have already covered labour inspectorate visits — what the Labour Inspection Office checks and how to prepare is the sister article to this one. The inspectorate deals with occupational safety; the fire service deals with fire protection. The paperwork partly overlaps, but the authorities, procedures and penalties are different. Here we walk through the other half: who inspects on behalf of the Fire Rescue Service, what they ask for, how the visit proceeds, what fines the law allows and what you can realistically fix in fourteen days.
Who actually inspects, and under what law
The formal name is state fire supervision. It is carried out by the bodies of the Fire Rescue Service — for ordinary companies usually the regional fire rescue service — and its basis is checking compliance with the duties laid down by fire protection regulations (Section 31 of Act No. 133/1985 Coll., on Fire Protection). Fire safety conditions and the exercise of supervision are then set out in more detail by Decree No. 246/2001 Coll., on Fire Prevention, as amended by Decree No. 467/2025 Coll., effective from 1 January 2026.
In practice, inspections come in several forms: a comprehensive inspection reviews the overall state of fire protection, a thematic inspection focuses on a selected area (documentation only, or storage only, for example) and a follow-up inspection verifies whether the company has remedied previously identified shortcomings. From a readiness point of view it makes no difference — your documents and your operations have to hold up under any of them.
Do not confuse a Fire Rescue Service inspection with a preventive fire inspection. The latter is arranged by the company itself, through its own fire prevention officer or a contractor, and is an internal tool. A Fire Rescue Service inspection is an exercise of state authority, with a report and a possible penalty at the end.
When an inspection comes
Three typical triggers:
- The inspection plan. The Fire Rescue Service selects the entities it inspects according to its own plan — priority tends to go to activities with increased and high fire risk, warehouses, production plants and accommodation facilities. Your turn can come even if nothing has ever happened at your premises.
- A complaint. From an employee, a neighbour on the same site, or perhaps a finding by another authority.
- A fire or emergency event. After a fire, alongside investigating the cause, the authorities typically also examine how the company met its duties — and that is exactly the moment when documentation is hardest to track down.
Comprehensive inspections are in practice usually announced in advance, including a list of documents the company should have ready. That is not a rule you can always count on, though — and the time between the notice and the inspection is precisely the window the checklist below is about.
What fire supervision asks for
The core of the inspection is a comparison of paperwork against reality. A typical list of requested documents looks like this:
| Document | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Classification of activities | which fire risk category the company falls into and why — everything else follows from that |
| Fire protection documentation | fire regulations, alarm instructions, evacuation plan, fire log — depending on the category and operating conditions |
| Records of fire extinguisher checks | annual operability checks, periodic tests, units taken out of service |
| Records of fire safety equipment checks | fire alarm systems, emergency lighting, fire stopping, smoke and heat extraction — depending on how the building is equipped |
| Training records | fire protection training for employees, professional preparation of prevention officers and fire patrols, including syllabuses |
| Proof of professional competence | who drew up the documentation and who performs the specialist tasks |
Fire risk categories and the duties attached to them are covered in our overview of fire protection in companies; what exactly belongs in the documentation folder and who may draw it up is dealt with in the article on fire protection documentation. With extinguishers, a sticker on the cylinder is not enough for an inspector — they want to see the records; we describe what those should look like under fire extinguisher checks in companies.
Beyond the purely fire-related paperwork, inspections in practice also look at the wider context: the condition of electrical installations and flue systems as frequent causes of fires, whether stored goods are blocking a switchboard, and whether actual operations match what the classification claims. A company that is “an office on paper” but has since started storing flammable liquids or charging a fleet of e-bikes is in trouble before the first folder is even opened.
How the inspection proceeds
The inspector identifies themselves and usually works on two levels: documentation and a walk-through of the premises. The walk-through typically covers:
- clear passage and marking of escape routes and exits,
- accessibility of extinguishers and hydrants, their placement and condition,
- posted alarm instructions and an evacuation plan with current details,
- storage of flammable substances, the area around switchboards and heating appliances,
- functioning fire safety equipment and the records for it,
- whether the actual use of the premises matches the documentation.
A report is drawn up on the outcome. Any shortcomings found are described in it and the company is given a deadline to remedy them; written and reasoned objections to the inspection findings can be lodged within 15 days of delivery of the report, unless the report sets a longer deadline (Section 13 of Act No. 255/2012 Coll., the Inspection Code). A fine is not imposed automatically on the spot — it comes in subsequent proceedings and depends on the nature and seriousness of the findings. In practice a simple rule applies: a company that acknowledges the shortcomings, fixes them within the deadline and documents it fares far better than one that plays tug-of-war with the authorities.
What fines the Fire Protection Act allows
The upper limits are set by Section 76 et seq. of Act No. 133/1985 Coll. and depend on the category of the activity carried out:
| Situation | Maximum fine |
|---|---|
| Activities without increased fire risk (Section 76(1)) | up to CZK 250,000 |
| Activities with increased fire risk | up to CZK 500,000 |
| Activities with high fire risk (Section 76(3)) | up to CZK 1,000,000 |
| Most serious cases (Section 76c) — e.g. carrying out an activity with high fire risk without an approved fire risk assessment | up to CZK 10,000,000 |
Where a duty is breached repeatedly and a fine has already been imposed for it in the previous three years, the next fine can be up to double (Section 76(5)). These are upper limits — the actual amount depends on the seriousness, the consequences and the company’s approach.
And the fine may not be the most painful part. If a thing or an activity poses an immediate risk of fire and other measures are not enough to remove it, the state fire supervision authority will order the item excluded from use, ban the activity or shut down operations (Section 36 of the Act). Halted production or a closed warehouse hurts more than administrative proceedings — and operations can only resume once the shortcomings have been remedied, and then only with the written consent of the authority that ordered the measure (Section 38 of the Act).
Getting ready in 14 days: a checklist
Fourteen days is a realistic period for an ordinary company to get its fire protection affairs into a state that will hold up during an inspection — provided something already exists and it is only a matter of tracking it down and updating it.
Days 1–2: take stock. Find what you have: the classification, fire protection documentation, the fire log, records of checks and training. Write down what is missing or clearly out of date.
Days 3–5: classification and documentation. Verify that the classification matches today’s operations — new technology, a warehouse or a charging room can shift the category. Check that the fire regulations and alarm instructions describe actual operations and contain valid phone numbers and names.
Days 6–8: inspection records. Compare the due dates for extinguisher and fire safety equipment checks. Order anything overdue straight away — service companies tend to have waiting times, and a record dated after the inspection will not help you retroactively.
Days 9–10: training. Track down the records of fire protection training and the professional preparation of prevention officers or fire patrols. If any are missing, schedule a date — we can combine the training with other obligations as part of employee training.
Days 11–12: walk your own premises. Go through the company with an inspector’s eyes: escape routes, signage, access to extinguishers and switchboards, posted instructions, storage. Most of the shortcomings you find on such a walk take an hour to fix and cost nothing — you just have to spot them in time.
Days 13–14: buffer and records. Record the rectified defects in the fire log. That shows the inspector exactly what they want to see: that fire protection at your company is alive, not something that came into being last week.
Who can prepare you
If you do not have your own professionally qualified person for this, you do not have to hire one. A review of your fire protection documentation before an inspection — from the classification through missing documents to the schedule of checks and training — is part of our fire protection for companies service. We go through your premises, compare the paperwork against reality and tell you straight what would not hold up during an inspection. The quickest route is to send us a no-obligation enquiry with the address of your premises and a brief description of your activity — we will come back with a proposed scope and a date.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Fire Rescue Service have to give notice? Comprehensive inspections are in practice announced in advance, including a list of the documents required. You cannot rely on it, though — readiness pays off continuously, not only once the notice arrives.
Does an inspection apply to a small office without increased fire risk? It can. Mandatory fire protection documentation is not drawn up for the category without increased risk, but the general duties — working extinguishers, clear escape routes, records of checks — apply to everyone. And a written classification is the simplest proof of why nothing more applies to you.
What should I do if the inspection finds shortcomings? Use the deadline, remedy them and document it. Written objections to findings you disagree with can be lodged within 15 days of delivery of the report, unless the report sets a longer deadline. The worst strategy is to file the report away and wait for the follow-up inspection.
Sources for this article
- Fire protection – the SOHE service for companies: classification, fire protection documentation, training and inspection readiness.
- Labour inspectorate inspections – the sister article on Labour Inspection Office checks in the field of occupational safety.
- Fire protection in companies – fire risk categories, inspection intervals and an overview of penalties under Section 76.
- Fire protection documentation: when and who draws it up – what belongs in the folder an inspector asks for.
- Fire extinguisher checks in companies – what records need to look like to hold up during an inspection.
- Act No. 133/1985 Coll. – the Fire Protection Act; in particular Section 31 (exercise of state fire supervision), Section 36 (exclusion of items from use, prohibition of activity and shutdown of operations) and Section 76 et seq. (fines).
- Decree No. 246/2001 Coll. – the Fire Prevention Decree; fire safety conditions and the exercise of state fire supervision.
- Act No. 255/2012 Coll. – the Inspection Code; Section 13 (written objections to inspection findings within 15 days of delivery of the report, unless the report sets a longer deadline).
The legal position is based on regulations verified in the SOHE register as of 3 August 2026 against the e-Sbírka collection of laws (Act No. 133/1985 Coll. as in force from 30 August 2025). Decree No. 246/2001 Coll. is used as amended by Decree No. 467/2025 Coll., effective from 1 January 2026.
This text is informational and does not replace legal advice. The course of any particular inspection and the amount of any penalty depend on the category of activities, the state of affairs found and the circumstances of the operation.
Suspect your fire protection folder would not survive an inspection? We will go through it with you before the Fire Rescue Service does — from the classification to the records of checks. Send us a no-obligation enquiry or write to info@sohe.cz and we will arrange a review tailored to your premises.