Fire Safety Questions
CITB fire safety questions test whether you know what to do first and which fire needs which response, and the right answer usually raises the alarm first.
The most common question puts you on site as a fire starts and asks what you do first. Others give a list of things found on site and ask which one is not a fuel, or describe a fire and ask which extinguisher to use. Our questions are built on HSE's HSG168, Fire safety in construction, and the fire and emergency rules in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. A common trap: reaching for an extinguisher before anyone has been warned. Take the timed quiz below, then read the 10 sample questions further down, each with a worked explanation. Practise fire safety before your CITB Operatives Test or Specialist test, and check yourself with a free Operatives mock test.
Start the fire safety quiz
The timed fire safety quiz draws from our full fire safety set and explains every answer. The quiz is free: 1 quiz every 7 days without an account, or 30 a day with a free account. A paid plan gives you unlimited quizzes.
Free practice quiz
Fire Safety practice quiz (timed)
- questions
- 20
- questions
- minutes
- 30
- minutes
- to pass (90%)
- 18
- to pass (90%)
- Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
- A fresh set of questions every attempt, drawn across CITB's five core knowledge areas.
- About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
- Every answer comes with a worked explanation.
Ready when you are
Find a quiet 30 minutes. The clock starts when you press start, and you see your score the moment you submit.
How do CITB fire safety questions usually ask it?
Fire safety questions usually start a fire, name a material or describe an extinguisher, then ask what you do first, what burns or which type to use.
| Question pattern | What it looks like, in our words | What the right answer usually does |
|---|---|---|
| Discovering a fire | You find a fire on site, or hear the alarm, and choose what to do first | Raises the alarm so everyone can get out. The typical fire notice in HSE's HSG168 starts with "raise the alarm" and says to tackle the fire only if you feel safe to do so |
| The fire triangle | You are given things found on site and asked which one is not a fuel, or what the three sides of the fire triangle are | Keeps the three sides apart: heat (a source of ignition), fuel and oxygen. HSG168 says that if any one of them is missing, a fire cannot start |
| Choosing an extinguisher | A fire is described, such as burning timber, spilt solvent or a smoking cable, and you pick the extinguisher | Matches it to what is burning. HSG168 gives water, foam or multi-purpose dry powder for wood, paper and cloth, dry powder or foam for flammable liquids, and carbon dioxide or dry powder for electrical items |
Which law and guidance are fire safety questions based on?
Our fire safety questions are built mainly on HSE's HSG168, Fire safety in construction, with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 for the legal duties on emergencies, escape routes and fire-fighting equipment.
| Law or guidance | What the questions take from it |
|---|---|
| HSE HSG168, Fire safety in construction (third edition, 2022) | The fire triangle, hot work permits and fire watches, storing gas cylinders and flammable liquids, escape routes, fire alarms, and choosing and siting extinguishers |
| Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 | Steps against fire, explosion and asphyxiation (regulation 29), emergency and evacuation arrangements that everyone knows and that are tested (regulation 30), emergency routes kept clear and signed (regulation 31), and fire-fighting equipment, alarms and instruction in using them (regulation 32) |
| BS EN 2, Classification of fires, and BS EN 3-7 for portable fire extinguishers | The fire classes by what is burning (A for solids, B for flammable liquids, C for gases, D for metals, F for cooking oils), and the red extinguisher body with a coloured zone that shows what is inside, such as blue for dry powder |
| HSE INDG347, Basic advice on first aid at work (2017) | Your priorities when you reach an emergency, starting with not putting yourself in danger |
CDM 2015 requires emergency routes and fire-fighting equipment to be shown by suitable signs, and Safety Signs Questions covers how those signs look.
Fire safety sample questions with worked explanations
Here are 10 fire safety practice questions, each with the answer and a worked explanation.
Sample question 1 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Which of these must be taken into account when making emergency arrangements?
- The insurance policy held by the contractor who is carrying out the work
- The programme dates on which the works are due to be completed
- The qualifications held by the site manager for that site
- The number of persons likely to be present on the site at one timeCorrect answer
Why D: Regulation 30(2) lists the type of work, the characteristics and size of the site, the work equipment, the number of persons likely to be present, and the properties of substances on site.
Sample question 2 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
What does regulation 31(4) require about emergency routes?
- That they are swept and cleaned at the end of the working day by cleaners
- That they are marked out on the ground using yellow line paint
- That they are covered over to protect users from falling objects
- That they are kept clear and free from obstruction at all timesCorrect answer
Why D: Regulation 31(4) requires the route or exit, and any traffic route giving access to it, to be kept clear and free from obstruction, with emergency lighting where necessary.
Sample question 3 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Under BS EN 3-7, what colour is the body of a modern portable fire extinguisher?
- The body colour varies with the type, such as cream, blue or black
- A colour the manufacturer chooses to match its product range
- Silver, with a printed label describing the contents of the unit
- Predominantly red, with a coloured band identifying the typeCorrect answer
Why D: Extinguisher bodies are predominantly red under the standard, with a colour-coded band or panel identifying the extinguishing medium. The older all-over body colours were withdrawn.
Sample question 4 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
What does Class B cover?
- Solid materials such as timber, paper, card and textiles
- Flammable gases such as propane and butane
- Flammable liquids such as petrol, diesel and solventsCorrect answer
- Metals such as magnesium, sodium, lithium and aluminium
Why C: Class B is flammable liquids. Confusing B with C is one of the most common errors, since gases are Class C.
Sample question 5 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Which extinguisher is generally suitable where live electrical equipment is involved?
- Water, because it cools the equipment fastest of all the types
- Foam, because it forms a blanket that excludes all the oxygen
- Carbon dioxide, which does not conduct and leaves no residueCorrect answer
- Wet chemical, which is designed for use on cooking oil fires
Why C: Carbon dioxide is non-conductive and leaves no residue, which is why it is the usual choice near live electrical equipment. Water conducts and is the classic wrong answer.
Sample question 6 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
What is a hot works permit used for?
- To record which operatives have completed fire awareness training
- To control work producing heat, sparks or flame that could start a fireCorrect answer
- To authorise the storage of gas cylinders within the site compound
- To confirm that the site fire extinguishers have all been serviced this year
Why B: Regulation 29 requires suitable and sufficient steps to prevent fire or explosion. A permit controls the ignition source, the fire watch and the checks afterwards.
Sample question 7 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Why is LPG particularly dangerous in a trench or basement?
- Because it is lighter than air and rises out of the space quickly
- Because it is heavier than air and collects in low lying spacesCorrect answer
- Because it becomes more flammable as the temperature falls
- Because it reacts with groundwater to produce a toxic vapour cloud
Why B: Being denser than air, LPG pools at low level where it can reach an explosive concentration and where it also displaces oxygen, which is the asphyxiation limb of regulation 29.
Sample question 8 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Which extinguisher type is identified by a blue band?
- Water, which is the most common type found on building sites
- Foam, which is effective on both solids and flammable liquids
- Dry powder, which is effective across several fire classesCorrect answer
- Carbon dioxide, which is used near live electrical equipment
Why C: Dry powder takes the blue band. It is versatile but creates a residue and reduces visibility, which is why it is often restricted indoors.
Sample question 9 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Why does regulation 29 group asphyxiation with fire and explosion?
- Because they are all caused by the same substances on a site
- Because gases and vapours can suffocate as well as igniteCorrect answer
- Because asphyxiation is a legal subcategory of fire injury
- Because the fire brigade attends all three types of incident
Why B: A substance such as LPG or carbon dioxide can displace oxygen and asphyxiate without ever igniting, so both outcomes need preventing.
Sample question 10 · Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures
Who do the emergency arrangements under regulation 30 have to reach?
- Only the directly employed workforce of the principal contractor
- Each person to whom the arrangements extend, who must be familiarCorrect answer
- Only those workers who have been on the site longer than a week
- Only the appointed fire marshals and the first aiders working on the site
Why B: Regulation 30(3)(a) requires steps to ensure each person to whom the arrangements extend is familiar with them, which includes visitors and subcontractors.
Which fire safety answers catch people out?
The traps are answers that feel helpful but put people at risk: fighting the fire before warning anyone, mixing up fuel and oxygen, and refuelling plant in the wrong place.
Raise the alarm before you do anything else. CDM 2015 requires emergency arrangements that include evacuating the site, and everyone they cover must be familiar with them. HSG168 says an extinguisher is meant to stop a small fire before it grows, and that calling the fire and rescue service must not wait while someone tries to put a fire out.
Oxygen is a side of the fire triangle in its own right. HSG168 says a fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. Fuel is anything that burns, such as timber, rubbish, paint or a flammable gas cylinder. Oxygen comes mainly from the air, and extra oxygen from welding cylinders or oxidising agents helps a fire burn. Keep the two apart when a question asks you to pick out a fuel.
Petrol-fuelled plant has set places to refuel. HSG168 limits refuelling to designated refuelling areas, outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, away from ignition sources and after the plant has cooled. It must never be refuelled on a scaffold, in an escape route or in a high-risk area.
Where does fire safety sit in the CITB test?
Fire safety is part of the core knowledge you practise for the CITB Operatives test. The Specialist tests include the core questions too, so the same knowledge counts there.
Fire safety FAQs
What should you do first if you discover a fire on site?
Raise the alarm so everyone is warned, and make sure the fire and rescue service is called. HSE's guidance says to tackle a fire with an extinguisher only if it is small and you feel safe to do so.
Are these the real CITB test questions?
No. These are practice questions written for this site, each tied to the law or HSE guidance it tests; CITB does not publish its test questions.