Fire Safety Regulations Parts A, B, and C: Structure, Obligations, and Preparation

The fire safety regulations are a mandatory operator obligation under Section 4 para. 1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) and the Technical Rule for Workplaces ASR A2.2. DIN 14096 specifies a three-part structure: Part A is directed at all persons present in the building; Part B at all employees; Part C at persons with specific fire protection duties. Without all three parts, fire protection in the operation is considered incompletely documented.

This article explains the normative framework, describes the content and format of each part, identifies typical errors in preparation, and shows how an appointed fire protection officer (BSB) drives the process. At the end you will find a structured approach with which SMEs can establish all three parts in a legally secure manner.

The obligation to prepare fire safety regulations arises from Section 4 para. 1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG), which obliges employers to implement occupational health and safety measures. Technical Rule ASR A2.2 for workplaces gives further precision to this obligation and prescribes written fire safety regulations for workplaces with elevated fire risk or more than one unit of use. DIN 14096:2014-05 prescribes the three-part structure and defines the minimum content for each part.

In addition, state building regulations (e.g. HBO, BauO NRW) must be observed: for projects requiring planning permission, they require a fire protection concept of which the fire safety regulations form the organisational component. Professional associations also check whether a current, complete fire safety regulation exists during site inspections. DGUV Information 205-023 describes the requirements for the fire protection officer as the lead person responsible for preparation and maintenance.

The accident prevention regulation DGUV Regulation 1 additionally obliges operations to carry out regular instruction, for which Part B of the fire safety regulations forms the substantive basis. For operations with hazardous substances, TRGS 800 (fire protection measures) and Section 14 of the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) apply additionally. An external fire protection officer is familiar with this normative framework and can apply it in an operation-specific manner.

Part A of the fire safety regulations is the publicly visible notice. Under DIN 14096, it must be placed so that all persons in the building can see it — including visitors, delivery personnel, and persons without any connection to the operation. Typical display points: entrance areas, corridors, stairwells, and common rooms. DIN A3 is the minimum format; larger formats are recommended for extensive buildings.

In terms of content, Part A under DIN 14096 must cover: conduct in the event of fire (rescue, alert, extinguish — in that order), description of escape and rescue routes with graphic representation, location of fire extinguishing equipment, and emergency number. The presentation must be comprehensible without specialist knowledge; pictorial symbols under ISO 7010 aid understanding and are indispensable in multilingual operations.

A common error: Part A is prepared once and not updated for years, despite changes to escape routes, emergency numbers, or building use. Every material change triggers an update obligation. Outdated notices are treated as a documentation deficiency during inspections. The fire protection officer must also check the condition of displayed Part A documents in the review cycle — at minimum annually — and document changes with versioning.

Part B of the fire safety regulations is directed exclusively at the employees of the operation. It is not a public display obligation but the basis for the annual fire protection instruction under DGUV Regulation 1. New employees must be instructed before commencing work; instruction must be documented in writing.

The content of Part B goes significantly beyond Part A. It describes the operation-specific conduct in the event of a fire in the various areas of the company, identifies fire safety assistants and their duties, lists internal alarm systems (building alarm, fire alarm system activation), explains the function of fire suppression systems, and regulates conduct when leaving the workplace (shutting down machinery, closing doors). Operations with shift working must adapt Part B separately for early, late, and night shifts.

Instruction documentation belongs directly to Part B: date, instructor, participant signatures, and where applicable the result of a knowledge test. These records must be retained for at least five years. In the CIVAC workspace, training modules with test questions, automatic certificate generation, and complete participant tracking can be set up, ensuring that no employee falls out of the cycle and that evidence is immediately presentable during an inspection.

Part C of the fire safety regulations is directed at persons who assume active duties in the event of a fire: fire safety assistants, the fire protection officer themselves, persons with authority over the fire alarm system or sprinklers, shift supervisors, and plant managers. It is the technically most demanding part and presupposes detailed knowledge of building technology and operational procedures.

Part C contains under DIN 14096 among other things: duties of fire safety assistants upon alarm; operation of the fire protection system (BMA, smoke and heat extraction, sprinklers); briefing of the fire brigade (handover point, fire brigade route card, fire brigade plan location); measures for evacuating persons with limited mobility; and the procedure for false alarms and following fire events (fire cause investigation, return to operation). Operations subject to the 12th Federal Immission Control Ordinance (BImSchV) integrate Part C into the internal emergency plan.

Regular drills are not optional for the persons named in Part C but are recommended under DGUV Information 205-023. The fire protection officer plans, documents, and evaluates these drills. Deficiencies identified in drills must lead to amendments in Part C; continuing unchanged would be difficult to justify in a subsequent inspection. Audit-proof, documented, Section 4 ArbSchG-compliant.

Responsibility for preparing the fire safety regulations lies with the employer. In practice, the appointed fire protection officer coordinates the process; they prepare the parts or provide expert support for their preparation. The process follows a clear sequence.

Inventory: Inspection of all areas, recording of fire loads, review of escape and rescue routes, inventorying of fire suppression systems, and preparation of a current site plan. Without this inspection, an operation-specific fire safety regulation is not possible.

Standard alignment: Requirements from ASR A2.2, DIN 14096, the relevant state building regulations, and where applicable industry-specific regulations (TRGS 800 for hazardous substances, VDE 0100 for electrical installations) are compared and incorporated into the regulation.

Preparation of the three parts: Part A as a notice, Part B as an instruction handout, Part C as an operational manual for key personnel. Each part receives a version number and a date of preparation.

Coordination with the fire brigade: Many fire brigades offer advisory appointments and comment on drafts. This coordination should be documented.

Approval and distribution: Management signs off. Recipients acknowledge receipt. Outdated copies are recalled. The BSB maintains the change log in a compliance workspace.

Inspection records from professional associations and fire brigades reveal recurring deficiencies in fire protection documentation. The most frequent:

Outdated content: Conversion works, new uses of rooms, new employees in key roles, or amended emergency contact lists fail to find their way into the fire safety regulations. Every material change to the operation or building triggers a revision obligation.

Single document instead of three separate parts: Some operations maintain a single fire protection document that conflates notice, employee handout, and operational plan. DIN 14096 requires a clear substantive and formal separation; Part A as a standalone notice is non-negotiable.

Missing instruction records: Part B without a complete signature list and instruction log cannot be used in an official inspection. The record must unambiguously demonstrate the identity of those instructed, the date, and the content of the instruction.

No defined review cycle: Without a scheduled revision routine, the fire safety regulations gradually become outdated. DGUV Information 205-023 recommends a review at least every two years and upon changes. In the CIVAC workspace, this cycle can be set up as a recurring task with a due date, reminder, and evidence upload.

The fire safety regulations do not stand in isolation. In operations with projects requiring planning permission or special building regulations (assembly venues, hospitals, industrial buildings under the Industrial Buildings Guideline IndBauRL), they form part of a broader fire protection concept. The concept defines protection objectives and compensatory measures; the fire safety regulations implement the organisational component of these measures in the operation.

Documents that must be aligned with the fire safety regulations: risk assessment under Section 5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) (fire protection section), alarm and emergency response plan under Section 11 ArbSchG, hazardous substance register under Section 6 of the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) for flammable or explosive substances, and fire brigade plan under DIN 14095. The hazardous substances officer should feed fire-protection-relevant substances from the hazardous substance register directly into Parts B and C of the fire safety regulations.

In operations subject to permit requirements under the 12th Federal Immission Control Ordinance (BImSchV) (major accident establishments), the fire safety regulations must be embedded in the internal emergency plan. BSB and major accident officer must coordinate their documents. The CIVAC workspace supports multiple officer roles simultaneously; joint projects can be documented across roles without conflating reporting lines.

The qualification requirements for fire protection officers are demanding: DGUV Information 205-023 requires a basic training course of at least 64 teaching hours and regular continuing education. Anyone unable to maintain this qualification internally, or unable to release the internal officer from other duties, relies on an external BSB.

The formal appointment of the external BSB follows the same pattern as an internal appointment: written appointment document, task description with powers, clear reporting line to management, and a provision on the demarcation of liability. Without an appointment document, responsibility formally remains with the employer even if the external officer is actually working. Appointment document, signed, filed, verifiable.

An external BSB typically brings broad operational experience: knowledge of the requirements of various professional associations, experience preparing fire safety regulations for different types of operation, and regular exchange with fire brigades. CIVAC operates a compliance platform and an Officer-as-a-Service: licence the workspace for your internal officers, or appoint our officers. In the Officer-as-a-Service model, appointment takes two working days — contract, person, and document included.

Reviewing an existing fire safety regulation is possible in ten minutes. Five questions suffice: Is Part A currently displayed as a notice at all relevant locations? Does Part B incorporate all structural and organisational changes of the past twelve months? Are the persons named in Part C still actually in the operation and in the relevant role? Are training records available for all employees for the past twelve months? Is there a written appointment document for the BSB?

Anyone who must answer no to any of these questions has a concrete need for action. The risk is not confined to inspections by authorities: insurers review the documentation position when fire damage occurs. Gaps in fire protection documentation may give rise to recourse claims or reduce coverage.

CIVAC supports both routes. Operations with an internal BSB use the CIVAC workspace for structured task management, training planning, and audit-proof archiving; 37 ready-to-use audit templates are available. Operations without an internal BSB can appoint a qualified external fire protection officer via the Officer-as-a-Service model, who prepares the fire safety regulations, maintains them, and can represent the operation during inspections.

Turn reading into action. Write to info@civac.de or use the contact form on civac.de.