Fire Safety in Care Homes - Complete Compliance Guide

Care homes face some of the most demanding fire safety requirements of any building type. This is not excessive regulation — it reflects the genuine vulnerability of residents who may have limited mobility, cognitive impairment, or be asleep when a fire starts. Getting fire safety right in care homes is quite literally a matter of life and death.

If you manage or own a care home, you are the "responsible person" under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and must ensure robust fire safety measures are in place. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) also expects care homes to demonstrate effective fire safety management as part of their regulatory framework.

Key Point

Key points for care home fire safety:

Care homes are high-risk premises requiring enhanced fire precautions
Fire risk assessments must be "suitable and sufficient" and reviewed regularly
Every resident needs a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)
Staff training must cover all employees and include regular fire drills
Fire detection systems typically need to be L2 or L1 grade
Night-time evacuation procedures require special attention
CQC inspectors actively review fire safety during inspections
Working with your local fire service can improve safety and compliance

Why care homes are higher risk

Care homes present unique fire safety challenges that don't exist in most other building types. Understanding these risks is essential for implementing effective precautions.

Vulnerable residents

The people living in care homes are inherently more vulnerable to fire:

Mobility limitations — Many residents cannot walk unaided, use wheelchairs, or are bed-bound. They cannot simply run to an exit when the alarm sounds.

Cognitive impairment — Residents with dementia or other cognitive conditions may not understand what a fire alarm means, may become confused or frightened, or may actively resist evacuation.

Sensory impairment — Hearing or visual impairments may prevent residents from detecting alarms or finding their way to exits.

Medical conditions — Residents may be on oxygen, have conditions that make smoke inhalation particularly dangerous, or be unable to tolerate being moved quickly.

Sleeping risk

People are most vulnerable to fire when asleep. In a care home, residents are asleep for extended periods, often during the night when staffing levels are lowest. A fire starting at 3am when residents are in deep sleep and fewer staff are on duty represents the worst-case scenario that your fire safety measures must address.

Multiple ignition sources

Care homes contain numerous potential ignition sources:

Kitchens preparing meals for many residents
Laundry facilities with tumble dryers
Medical equipment and oxygen supplies
Residents' personal electrical devices
Heating systems throughout the building

Building complexity

Many care homes are in older buildings, converted properties, or have been extended over time. This can create:

Complex layouts that confuse evacuation
Long travel distances to exits
Hidden voids where fire can spread
Compromised compartmentation from previous alterations

Warning:

Fatal fires in care homes have occurred in the UK, leading to prosecutions of care home operators who failed in their fire safety duties. Courts take these failures extremely seriously, and prison sentences have been handed down for gross negligence.

Fire risk assessment requirements

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, you must have a fire risk assessment for your care home. But for care homes, this assessment must be more thorough than for most other premises.

"Suitable and sufficient"

The law requires your fire risk assessment to be "suitable and sufficient" for your premises. For a care home, this means:

Comprehensive coverage — The assessment must address all fire hazards, all parts of the building, and all people at risk (residents, staff, visitors, contractors).

Care home specific — Generic assessments or templates designed for offices or shops are inadequate. Your assessment must reflect the specific risks of caring for vulnerable people.

Competent assessor — Given the complexity and stakes, care home fire risk assessments should be conducted by someone with specific competence in care settings. This typically means a qualified fire risk assessor with demonstrated care sector experience.

What the assessment must cover

A care home fire risk assessment should include:

Identification of fire hazards:

Sources of ignition (electrical equipment, cooking, smoking, heating)
Sources of fuel (bedding, furniture, stored materials, medical supplies)
Sources of oxygen (medical oxygen, ventilation systems)

People at risk:

Detailed consideration of each resident's evacuation needs
Staff working patterns including night shifts
Visitors and contractors

Existing fire safety measures:

Fire detection and alarm systems
Emergency lighting
Fire doors and compartmentation
Means of escape
Firefighting equipment
Staff training and procedures

Evaluation of risk:

Likelihood of fire starting
Consequences if fire occurs
Adequacy of existing measures

Action plan:

Improvements needed with clear priorities
Responsible persons for each action
Target completion dates
Review schedule

Review frequency

Care home fire risk assessments should be reviewed:

At least annually — This is the minimum for care homes
After any fire, near-miss, or false alarm
When the building is altered — extensions, refurbishment, changes to escape routes
When resident population changes significantly — new residents with different needs
When the fire service or CQC raises concerns
After any relevant regulatory changes

Key Point

Your fire risk assessment is a living document. If it sits in a folder and is never updated, it is not protecting your residents. Regular review and action on findings is essential.

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

Every resident in a care home needs a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. This is not optional — it is a legal requirement under both the Fire Safety Order and the Equality Act 2010.

What a care home PEEP should include

For each resident, document:

Personal details:

Name and room number
Mobility status (can walk unaided, needs assistance, wheelchair user, bed-bound)
Cognitive status (understands instructions, confused, dementia)
Sensory impairments (hearing, vision)
Medical considerations (oxygen use, conditions affecting evacuation)

Evacuation method:

Can the resident walk to safety with verbal guidance?
Do they need physical assistance to walk?
Do they need a wheelchair or evacuation chair?
Do they need to be evacuated in their bed using ski sheets?
How many staff members are needed to evacuate this resident?

Evacuation route:

Primary route from their room to safety
Alternative route if primary is blocked
Location of nearest refuge area (if applicable)

Communication:

How will the resident be alerted to a fire? (standard alarm, personal alert, staff notification)
Can they understand and follow instructions?
Any specific communication needs?

Equipment needed:

Wheelchair, evacuation chair, ski sheet, or other equipment
Where is this equipment stored?
Is it immediately accessible?

Reviewing PEEPs

Care home residents' conditions can change rapidly. PEEPs must be reviewed:

When a new resident arrives (create PEEP immediately)
When a resident's condition changes
After any evacuation drill involving the resident
At least every six months
As part of care plan reviews

Linking PEEPs to night staffing

Your PEEPs must be realistic given your staffing levels, particularly at night. If your assessments show that evacuating all residents would require more staff than you have on duty at night, you must either:

Increase night staffing
Improve compartmentation to allow phased evacuation
Install additional protective measures (sprinklers, enhanced detection)
Review whether your building is suitable for the level of care provided

Note:

The fire service and CQC will want to see that your PEEPs are achievable with your actual staffing levels. Theoretical plans that cannot be implemented in practice will not satisfy regulators.

Learn more about PEEPs in our detailed guide: Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

Night-time evacuation challenges

Night-time fires present the greatest risk in care homes. Your procedures must specifically address this scenario.

Reduced staffing

Most care homes operate with fewer staff at night. Your fire safety planning must account for:

The actual number of staff on duty at the quietest times
How those staff will be alerted (are they always awake?)
Whether night staff have the physical capability to evacuate residents
How long evacuation will realistically take with available staff

Sleeping residents

Evacuating sleeping residents is far more challenging than evacuating awake people:

Residents may be disoriented when woken
Those with dementia may be particularly confused at night
Some residents may resist being moved
Residents are often in nightwear and may be cold or distressed

Horizontal evacuation strategy

For most care homes, immediate full evacuation is not realistic. Instead, a horizontal evacuation or progressive horizontal evacuation strategy is typically used:

Immediate danger zone — Residents in the room or area where fire is detected are moved first
Adjacent compartment — Residents are moved to a protected compartment on the same floor (behind fire doors and compartment walls)
Further evacuation — If fire spreads or smoke enters the refuge area, further evacuation occurs
Full evacuation — Only if necessary, all residents are evacuated from the building

This strategy relies entirely on effective compartmentation. If your compartment walls have breaches, or fire doors don't close properly, horizontal evacuation will fail.

Night-time drill requirements

You should conduct fire drills that specifically test night-time procedures:

At least some drills should occur during night shifts
Test whether night staff know where evacuation equipment is stored
Practice moving residents using evacuation equipment
Time how long evacuation actually takes
Identify and address any problems discovered

Fire detection systems

Care homes typically require more sophisticated fire detection than standard buildings. The British Standard BS 5839-1 categorises fire detection systems, and care homes usually need:

L2 or L1 systems

L2 (Category L2) — Detection in escape routes plus all rooms where fire might start that present a risk to people in escape routes. For care homes, this typically means detection in:

All corridors and escape routes
Bedrooms
Kitchens
Laundry rooms
Plant rooms
Storage areas

L1 (Category L1) — Detection throughout the building. This provides the highest level of protection and may be required for:

Large or complex care homes
Buildings with challenging evacuation
Where horizontal evacuation strategy is used
Where the fire risk assessment indicates enhanced detection is needed

Detector types

Different areas need different detector types:

Optical smoke detectors — most circulation areas and bedrooms
Heat detectors — kitchens and areas where smoke detectors would cause false alarms
Multi-sensor detectors — increasingly used for better discrimination and fewer false alarms

Alarm sounders

The alarm must be audible throughout the building and wake sleeping residents. Consider:

Volume and positioning of sounders
Visual alarm beacons for hearing-impaired residents
Vibrating pillow alerts for deaf residents
Staff pagers and alert systems

Monitoring and response

Many care homes have their fire alarm systems monitored:

Staff on-site monitoring — trained staff respond immediately
Remote monitoring — alarm company monitors and calls fire service
Direct connection — alarm directly connected to fire service (rare)

Your fire risk assessment should specify what level of monitoring is appropriate.

Key Point

False alarms are a significant issue in care homes and can cause distress to residents. Work with your alarm installer to minimise false alarms through appropriate detector selection and positioning, while maintaining the detection coverage you need.

Staff training requirements

Every member of staff in a care home must receive fire safety training. This is not limited to senior staff or designated fire wardens — it includes care assistants, kitchen staff, cleaners, maintenance staff, and anyone else working in the building.

Initial training

All new staff must receive fire safety training during induction, covering:

Fire hazards in the care home
How to prevent fires
What to do if they discover a fire
What to do when the alarm sounds
Location of fire exits and assembly points
How to use fire extinguishers (if appropriate)
Evacuation procedures and their specific role
Location and use of evacuation equipment
Understanding residents' PEEPs

Ongoing training

Fire safety training must be refreshed regularly:

At least annually for all staff
More frequently for staff with specific fire safety roles
After any changes to procedures, building, or equipment

Fire drills

Regular fire drills are essential:

At least twice per year (quarterly is better practice)
Include day and night scenarios
Practice using evacuation equipment
Test that all staff know their roles
Time the evacuation
Debrief afterwards to identify improvements

Specialist training

Some staff may need additional training:

Fire wardens — more detailed training on coordination and decision-making
Night staff — specific training on reduced-staffing scenarios
Staff using evacuation chairs or ski sheets — practical hands-on training
Kitchen staff — specific training on kitchen fire hazards and suppression

Warning:

CQC inspectors will ask staff about fire safety during inspections. If your staff cannot explain the evacuation procedures or demonstrate knowledge of fire safety, this will raise serious concerns about your compliance.

Fire doors and compartmentation

Compartmentation — dividing the building into fire-resistant sections — is the foundation of care home fire safety. Fire doors are a critical component of compartmentation.

Why compartmentation matters in care homes

In a care home using horizontal evacuation, compartmentation is what keeps residents safe:

Fire and smoke are contained in the compartment where they started
Residents are moved to an adjacent protected compartment
The compartment walls and fire doors buy time for evacuation and fire service response

If compartmentation fails, the horizontal evacuation strategy fails with it.

Fire door requirements

Fire doors in care homes must:

Be certified to the required rating (typically FD30 or FD60)
Have intumescent strips and smoke seals in good condition
Close fully into the frame and latch
Have self-closing devices that work reliably
Have no gaps greater than 3mm
Not be wedged or propped open

Bedroom doors

Resident bedroom doors are particularly important and challenging:

They should be fire doors to protect residents in their rooms
Self-closers can be difficult for frail residents to operate
Doors should not be wedged open, but residents may want their doors open

Solutions include:

Magnetic hold-open devices linked to the fire alarm (door releases automatically when alarm sounds)
Free-swing door closers that allow easy opening but close the door on alarm
Regular checks to ensure doors are not being wedged

Maintaining compartmentation

Common compartmentation failures in care homes include:

Holes around pipes and cables not fire-stopped
Fire doors with damaged seals or missing closers
Ceiling panels removed and not replaced
Building alterations that breach compartment walls
Service penetrations through fire-resistant walls

Regular inspection of compartmentation is essential. Include this in your fire risk assessment review and after any building works.

Learn more: What is Compartmentation?

Working with the fire service

Your local fire and rescue service is a valuable resource, not just an enforcement body. Building a constructive relationship can improve safety and help you demonstrate compliance.

Fire service visits

Fire and rescue services can visit care homes to:

Conduct fire safety audits under the Fire Safety Order
Carry out familiarisation visits (learning the building layout for response planning)
Provide advice and guidance on fire safety
Investigate following a fire or serious concern

What to expect from an audit

If the fire service conducts a fire safety audit, they will typically:

Review your fire risk assessment
Inspect fire detection and alarm systems
Check fire doors and compartmentation
Review evacuation procedures and PEEPs
Check staff training records
Observe a fire drill (sometimes)
Inspect means of escape
Review maintenance records

Enforcement action

If serious deficiencies are found, the fire service can issue:

Informal advice — for minor issues
Notification of deficiencies — written record of concerns
Enforcement notice — legal requirement to remedy problems within a specified time
Prohibition notice — immediate restriction on use of all or part of the building
Prosecution — for serious offences, potentially leading to unlimited fines and imprisonment

Proactive engagement

Consider inviting the fire service for a familiarisation visit:

They learn the building layout, which helps if they ever need to respond to a fire
They can provide informal feedback on your fire safety measures
It demonstrates a proactive approach to fire safety
It builds a constructive relationship

CQC expectations around fire safety

The Care Quality Commission regulates care homes and expects providers to demonstrate effective fire safety management. Fire safety falls under the "Safe" domain of CQC's inspection framework.

What CQC looks for

During inspections, CQC will assess:

Whether you have a current, suitable fire risk assessment
Whether the fire risk assessment action plan is being implemented
Whether all residents have PEEPs that are appropriate and current
Whether staff are trained in fire safety and know evacuation procedures
Whether fire safety equipment is maintained and tested
Whether fire drills are conducted and documented
Whether lessons are learned from drills and incidents
Whether night-time evacuation is achievable with staffing levels

Documentation CQC may review

Be prepared to provide:

Fire risk assessment and action plan
PEEPs for all residents
Staff training records
Fire drill records and debrief notes
Fire alarm test records (weekly and periodic)
Emergency lighting test records
Fire door inspection records
Fire extinguisher and equipment service records
Correspondence with fire service

Common CQC concerns

Issues that frequently arise in CQC inspections include:

Fire risk assessments that are out of date or generic
PEEPs that don't reflect residents' current needs
Staff who cannot explain evacuation procedures
Fire doors wedged open or not closing properly
No evidence of regular fire drills
Training records incomplete or missing
Maintenance not documented

Note:

CQC does not have fire safety enforcement powers — that remains with the fire service. However, CQC can rate you as "Requires Improvement" or "Inadequate" for poor fire safety, take regulatory action, and share information with the fire service.

Common failures found in care home inspections

Based on fire service and CQC inspection findings, these are the most frequent fire safety failures in care homes:

1. Inadequate fire risk assessment

Assessment conducted by someone without care home competence
Generic template not tailored to the specific premises
Not reviewed after changes to building or residents
Action plan items not completed
No evidence of regular review

2. PEEP deficiencies

PEEPs missing for some residents
PEEPs not updated when residents' needs change
PEEPs that are unrealistic given staffing levels
Staff not aware of individual residents' PEEPs

3. Fire door failures

Self-closers removed or not working
Doors wedged open
Intumescent strips missing or damaged
Gaps too large
Bedroom doors that are not fire-rated

4. Compartmentation breaches

Holes around service penetrations not fire-stopped
Alterations that have breached compartment walls
Ceiling tiles missing
Loft spaces not properly separated

5. Inadequate staff training

Staff unable to explain evacuation procedures
No training records
Training not refreshed annually
Night staff not specifically trained

6. Insufficient fire drills

Fewer than two drills per year
No night-time drills
No documentation of drills
No learning or improvement from drills

7. Detection and alarm issues

System not appropriate category for care home
Detectors missing from areas that need coverage
System not maintained or tested properly
False alarm management creating risk

8. Means of escape problems

Escape routes obstructed
Exit doors difficult to open
Emergency lighting not working
Signage missing or inadequate

Frequently asked questions

At minimum annually, but also after any fire or near-miss, when the building is altered, when resident needs change significantly, or when concerns are raised by regulators. Given the vulnerability of care home residents, more frequent review is good practice. Many care homes review quarterly or whenever there are significant changes.

Yes, every member of staff must receive fire safety training. This includes care assistants, kitchen staff, cleaners, maintenance staff, administrative staff, and anyone else working in the building. Training should be provided during induction and refreshed at least annually.

Care homes typically need an L2 category system (detection in escape routes and rooms presenting a high risk) as a minimum, with many requiring L1 (detection throughout). The specific requirement depends on your fire risk assessment, building layout, evacuation strategy, and resident needs. A competent fire safety professional should specify the appropriate system.

Yes, but only if the hold-open devices are linked to the fire alarm system and automatically release the door when the alarm sounds. Simple wedges or props are never acceptable. Magnetic hold-open devices or free-swing closers are appropriate solutions that allow doors to be open during normal use while ensuring they close in an emergency.

Taking action on care home fire safety

Fire safety in care homes is not a one-time exercise. It requires ongoing attention, regular review, and continuous improvement. The consequences of failure are too severe to accept complacency.

Immediate priorities:

Review your fire risk assessment — Is it current, comprehensive, and conducted by someone competent in care settings? If not, commission a new assessment from a qualified assessor with care home experience.
Audit your PEEPs — Does every resident have a PEEP? Are they current and realistic? Do staff know and understand them?
Check your compartmentation and fire doors — Are fire doors closing properly? Are there any breaches in compartment walls? Commission a survey if you're unsure.
Review staff training — Is everyone trained? Are records complete? When was training last refreshed?
Plan your next fire drill — Include night-time scenarios and test that procedures actually work.

Use our Fire Safety Checker to assess your current fire safety compliance and identify areas that need attention.

Read our comprehensive Fire Safety Compliance Guide for detailed guidance on all aspects of fire safety law and practice.

Concerned about fire safety in your care home? A qualified fire risk assessor with specific care sector experience can conduct a thorough assessment, review your PEEPs and procedures, and provide a clear action plan for achieving and maintaining compliance.

Speak to a professional

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This article provides general guidance on fire safety requirements for care homes under UK law. It is not legal advice. Fire safety requirements can vary based on specific circumstances, building characteristics, and regulatory expectations. Always consult with a qualified fire risk assessor and engage with your local fire service and CQC for advice specific to your premises.