Compliance

Building a passive-fire golden thread

A useful passive fire record lets a future reviewer understand the defect, agreed solution, installed system and final condition. This guide sets out a practical handover checklist. For buildings subject to England's statutory golden-thread requirements, these contractor records contribute to the wider building information managed by the relevant dutyholders; they do not constitute the whole golden thread.

Understand the statutory scope

In England, the golden-thread duties apply to defined higher-risk building projects and high-rise residential buildings, with responsibilities allocated to the relevant client, designers, contractors and accountable persons. The information covers more than passive fire installation records. Use the current official guidance to establish the requirements and dutyholders for the particular building. The record-keeping principles below are also useful on other projects, without suggesting that every building has identical statutory obligations.

Confirm whether the statutory regime applies to the building and work
Identify who maintains the building information
Agree how contractor evidence will enter the wider record

Before work starts

Capture the asset or location, existing construction, required performance, defect and agreed solution.

Drawings or location references
Survey photographs
Fire strategy or rating requirement
Approved product and tested detail
Design queries and exceptions

During installation

Photographs and checks taken before concealment are often the only lasting evidence of critical components.

Substrate and opening preparation
Fixings, supports and backing materials
System depth, overlaps and annular gaps
Installer and date
Inspection hold points

At handover

Close the loop by linking completion records to the original action and documenting anything unresolved.

Final status by asset
Before, during and after photographs
Product and test references
Certificates and inspection records
Access failures, departures and residual actions

A practical evidence-pack checklist

Agree the pack before mobilisation, then check it against the completed scope rather than accepting an unstructured collection of files. Use consistent asset or location references across plans, photographs and records. Distinguish scheme certificates from worksheets, service results and product documents, and describe their actual scope. Do not substitute a contractor's company certificate for the record of an individual repair or installation.

Project name, address, work scope, dates and contractor details
Asset register or marked-up plan with consistent location references
Original findings, agreed scope and authorised changes
Installed product, system detail and relevant evidence reference
Location-linked photographs, including stages before concealment where applicable
Inspection or test results and the final recorded condition
Applicable installation or maintenance certificates, worksheets or service records
Outstanding items, access failures, exclusions and technical queries
Named recipients and confirmation of handover

Make the information usable after handover

Set out a file index and naming convention that the receiving team can maintain. Check that the recipient can open the files, find a location and match the record to the asset. Where the statutory regime applies, follow its requirements for digital storage, security, authorised access and version control. Keep subsequent repairs and alterations linked to the same references so earlier evidence is not mistaken for the current condition.

Indexed files and a consistent naming convention
Recipient can locate and open the information
Current records distinguished from superseded versions
Future alterations linked to the original asset

Next steps

Relevant services and guidance

Continue with the FireX service, sector or location information most relevant to your building.

Original sources and further reading

GOV.UK: keeping information about a higher-risk building

General guidance

This article is general information, not legal, fire-engineering or product-design advice. Follow the building fire strategy, current official guidance, tested system evidence and competent professional advice.

Talk to FireX

Have a fire-safety action that needs resolving?

Send us the survey, FRA action or outline scope. We’ll review the requirement and set out a practical next step.

Request a quotation info@firex.uk