Fire, insurance & risk
One ordered record that proves the extract system is kept safe - certificates, readings, photos, damper and suppression records and a closed-out actions log, ready to hand over.
The short answer
A fire-safe ductwork maintenance file is a single, ordered record that proves the extract system has been kept safe: every TR19 certificate and post-clean report, the readings and photographs, the schedule and its justification, damper and suppression records, contractor accreditation, and a recommendations log closed out. Kept on the premises and current, it is what you hand an inspector, insurer or loss adjuster on request.
The core of the file
At the heart of the file are the TR19 Grease certificates for every clean of the whole system, kept in date order so the interval is visible at a glance. Each should sit with its post-clean verification report and the pre and post grease-thickness readings in microns that prove the clean drove deposits down to target, plus the before-and-after photographs from that visit. Together these turn a claim of maintenance into demonstrable evidence of it.
Add the cleaning schedule itself and a short note justifying the interval - the use band, or the policy's stated frequency, whichever is stricter - so anyone reading the file can see the cadence was chosen deliberately, not by accident.
The supporting sections
Around that core sit the records that show the rest of the fire strategy is maintained. Where dampers exist in the run, keep their drop-test records; keep an access-panel register so it is clear the system can actually be reached and cleaned; keep fixed-suppression and wet-chemical servicing records and any Class F extinguisher and staff-training evidence. Keep the contractor's accreditation on file too - proof the work was done by a BESA-qualified operative and properly notified.
Then the recommendations log: every action a report raised, tracked to completion. An open recommendation is a live risk and a clear weakness in any later investigation, so closing each one out - and recording that you did - is what makes the file defensible rather than merely full.
How to keep it
The structure matters as much as the contents. Keep everything as one consolidated record - a bound, ordered folder or a controlled digital equivalent - held on the premises and retained for years, so nothing has to be reconstructed under pressure after an incident. Cross-reference it to the fire risk assessment, which should name the extract system as a hazard and point to where the cleaning evidence lives, and to the policy's cleaning condition, so the assessment, the cover and the records all point at each other.
Done that way, the file answers the two questions every enforcing officer and insurer asks - is the system maintained, and can you prove it - in one place, in minutes. That readiness is the whole point: the evidence is built quietly over time, not scrambled together after a fire.
Questions
TR19 certificates and post-clean reports for every clean, the pre and post micron readings, before-and-after photographs, the cleaning schedule with its interval justification, damper drop-test and access-panel records, suppression servicing, contractor accreditation, and a recommendations log tracked to completion.
As one consolidated record - a bound, ordered folder or controlled digital equivalent - kept in date order, held on the premises and retained for years, so a complete trail can be handed over in minutes.
Readings in microns prove the clean actually drove grease deposits down to target rather than simply taking place. They turn a claim of maintenance into demonstrable evidence of it.
Yes. Cross-reference the file to the FRA - which should name the extract system as a hazard and point to where the cleaning evidence lives - and to the policy's cleaning condition, so all three point at each other.
An unactioned recommendation is a live risk and an obvious weakness in any later investigation. Tracking each one to completion, and recording that you did, is what makes the file defensible.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Every clean we do adds dated, certified evidence to your file. Start a scheduled TR19 Grease contract and keep the record complete.