Where should fire roll call be carried out?

A fire roll call is carried out at your designated assembly point: a pre-agreed location a safe distance from the building, upwind of the prevailing wind where possible, and clear of both general traffic and the routes emergency vehicles need. It should be far enough away to keep everyone clear of smoke, heat and any falling debris, but not so far that people are reluctant to walk to it. There is no single legal distance. The right spot is the one your fire risk assessment identifies for your building.

How far from the building should the assembly point be?

UK law does not set a fixed distance. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that escape routes lead to a place of safety and that you have procedures to account for people, but it leaves the distance to your fire risk assessment.

The widely used rule of thumb is at least one and a half times the height of the building. For a 12 metre building, that points to an assembly point at least 18 metres away. The reasoning is simple: if the structure is compromised, everyone who has evacuated needs to be well clear of radiant heat, thick smoke and the collapse zone. Taller buildings need more distance, which is exactly why a fixed number in law would not work.

What makes a location safe

Distance is only the first test. A good assembly point also has to be safe to stand in and easy to reach under stress. When you assess a location, check it against each of these:

Upwind where possible. Positioned so the prevailing wind carries smoke away from the assembled people rather than over them.
Clear of emergency access. Off the routes and entrances fire engines will use, so evacuees are never in the way of vehicles arriving at speed.
Away from moving traffic. Not in a live car park or beside a busy road, where you would simply be swapping one hazard for another.
Reachable by a clear route. Connected to the building’s exits by a direct, unobstructed path that works for wheelchair users and anyone with limited mobility.
Firm underfoot and well marked. On hard standing rather than a boggy verge, and signed to BS EN ISO 7010, the green and white running-figures symbol that anyone recognises regardless of language.

A point that is close enough to feel convenient but sits in the collapse zone, or one that is technically far enough away but reached by crossing a service road, is the kind of gap a fire risk assessment is meant to catch.

Do you need more than one assembly point?

Many premises manage with a single assembly point. You need more than one when occupants leave from opposite sides of a building, when the prevailing wind could blow smoke across the only point you have, or when the site is large or complex enough that funnelling everyone to one place is impractical.

The rule with multiple points is absolute: every person must know in advance which one they go to. If people scatter to whichever point is nearest on the day, no marshal can reconcile their list, and the roll call fails at the one moment it has to work. Assign each area or department to a named point, and make it part of induction.

The location is only half the job

Choosing the right spot is necessary, but it does not tell you whether everyone got out. That depends on the roll call, and a roll call is only as good as the list you check against. A paper register is out of date the moment a visitor signs in or someone leaves early, it relies on one person grabbing the right folder on the way out, and it cannot include people who were on site but never on that sheet. A correctly chosen assembly point with an inaccurate register still leaves you telling the fire service “we think that’s everyone.”

A fire roll call system closes that gap. It builds the assembly-point list from live data, everyone currently clocked in plus signed-in visitors and contractors, and makes it available on a phone or tablet outside the building, with no dependence on mains power or a folder left at reception. Because it draws on the same records as your time and attendance system, the list is accurate by default rather than by someone remembering to reprint it, and everyone is accounted for in minutes rather than guessed at.

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Frequently asked questions

Where should a fire roll call be carried out?
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A fire roll call is carried out at your designated assembly point: a pre-agreed location a safe distance from the building, upwind of the prevailing wind where possible, and clear of both general traffic and the access routes emergency vehicles will use. It should be far enough away to be clear of smoke, heat and any falling debris, but not so far that people are reluctant to use it. The exact spot is set by your fire risk assessment, not by a fixed legal distance.

How far should a fire assembly point be from the building?
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UK law sets no fixed distance. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a safe place of assembly but leaves the distance to your fire risk assessment. A widely used rule of thumb is at least one and a half times the height of the building, so a 12 metre building would suggest an assembly point at least 18 metres away. The aim is to keep everyone clear of smoke, radiant heat and the collapse zone.

Do you need more than one assembly point?
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Often, yes. A single assembly point suits many premises, but you may need more than one where occupants leave from opposite sides of a building, where the prevailing wind could carry smoke across a single point, or where the site is large or complex. Where there is more than one, every person must know in advance which point they go to, otherwise the roll call cannot be reconciled.

Who is responsible for the roll call at the assembly point?
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The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order 2005 must ensure a roll call happens, and in practice it is carried out by fire marshals or wardens at the assembly point. They check the list of everyone who should be on site against the people present and report anyone unaccounted for to the fire and rescue service. The roll call is only as reliable as the record of who was on site when the alarm sounded.