Fire Risk Assessment for Care Homes in Hull
Specialist fire risk assessments for care homes and nursing homes in Hull and East Yorkshire. We understand the unique challenges of assessing sleeping risk premises with vulnerable residents — from individual PEEPs to CQC compliance requirements.
Legal requirement: Every care home and nursing home in England and Wales must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. As sleeping risk premises, care homes face heightened scrutiny from both Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and the Care Quality Commission. An inadequate or missing assessment can result in prohibition, prosecution, and CQC enforcement action.
Why It’s Different
Why Care Homes Need Specialist Fire Risk Assessments
A care home or nursing home is one of the most complex environments a fire risk assessor will encounter. Unlike a standard commercial premises, care homes are classified as sleeping risk premises — residents sleep on-site and may have significant physical or cognitive impairments that prevent them from self-evacuating.
This means the standard approach to fire risk assessment simply isn’t sufficient. A care home fire risk assessment must go much further: assessing the individual evacuation needs of every resident, evaluating the structural integrity of fire compartmentation across all floors, assessing whether the fire alarm system is of the right category (typically an L1 system providing full coverage), and verifying that staff training and evacuation procedures match the dependency levels of current residents.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all non-domestic premises, but for care homes the requirements are amplified by Care Quality Commission oversight. The CQC inspects fire safety arrangements under Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and a poor fire risk assessment — or no assessment at all — can directly affect a care home’s CQC rating and regulatory status.
Care home enquiries go to an assessor qualified for complex, sleeping-risk premises who understands the relationship between fire safety compliance and CQC registration. Every care home assessment is carried out in accordance with PAS 79-1:2020 and the Home Office guidance document Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Residential Care Premises.
⚠️ Key Risk Factors in Care Homes
Regulatory Compliance
CQC Compliance & Fire Safety in Care Homes
The Care Quality Commission regulates care homes under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Fire safety is assessed as part of Regulation 12 — Safe Care and Treatment, which requires registered providers to assess and mitigate the risk of fire to service users and others.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the CQC have a formal Memorandum of Understanding, meaning information about fire safety enforcement is shared between the two regulators. A prohibition notice from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service will almost certainly trigger a CQC inspection, and vice versa — CQC inspectors who identify fire safety concerns are required to refer these to the local fire and rescue authority.
In practice, this means that care homes which neglect fire safety compliance are at risk of action from two regulatory bodies simultaneously. A well-documented, current fire risk assessment prepared by a qualified assessor is one of the most important pieces of evidence a care home manager can present to either regulator.
Our care home fire risk assessment reports are structured to clearly demonstrate compliance with both the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the CQC’s Regulation 12 expectations. You receive a comprehensive written report in PAS 79-1:2020 format, a prioritised action plan with clear timescales, and individual PEEP documentation for residents.
What CQC Inspectors Look For
Current fire risk assessment — prepared by a competent, qualified assessor and reviewed within the last 12 months
Individual PEEPs for all residents — documented, kept up to date, and known to all staff on shift
Staff training records — evidence of fire safety induction, annual refresher training, and fire warden training for designated staff
Evacuation drills — carried out at least annually, with records of outcomes and any deficiencies identified and addressed
Fire alarm maintenance records — six-monthly servicing by a competent engineer, weekly test log
Action plan evidence — significant findings from the fire risk assessment have been addressed or are being addressed with documented timescales
Oxygen management policy — safe storage, handling, and risk assessment for oxygen cylinders and concentrators
Assessment Scope
What Our Care Home Fire Risk Assessment Covers
Every care home assessment is carried out in accordance with PAS 79-1:2020 and the Home Office guidance for residential care premises. Here is what the assessor looks at.
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)
Individual PEEP documentation for every resident who requires assistance to evacuate, taking into account their specific mobility, cognitive, and medical needs. PEEPs are provided in a format suitable for handover between shifts.
Progressive Horizontal Evacuation
Assessment of the building’s suitability for progressive horizontal evacuation — the standard approach in care homes where total building evacuation is not practical. We verify that compartmentation is sufficient to support this strategy.
Fire Alarm System (Category L1)
Assessment of the fire detection and alarm system, including coverage, category rating (typically L1 for full coverage), call point locations, sounders, and connection to the fire alarm receiving centre.
Compartmentation Survey
Detailed inspection of fire doors, door closers, intumescent strips, smoke seals, ceiling integrity, and service penetrations throughout the building. Compartmentation is critical in multi-floor care homes to allow horizontal evacuation.
Commercial Kitchen Hazards
Assessment of cooking equipment, gas supply, extraction systems, suppression systems (where fitted), and kitchen management practices. Commercial kitchens are statistically the most common source of fire in care homes.
Oxygen & Smoking Risk
Assessment of oxygen cylinder and concentrator storage, including quantities, locations, and ventilation. Where smoking is permitted on-site, the assessor looks at the controls in place for resident smoking risk.
Means of Escape
Assessment of all escape routes, final exit doors, corridor widths, travel distances, emergency lighting, and fire exit signage throughout the building.
Fire-Fighting Equipment
Assessment of fire extinguisher provision, type, and location relative to identified hazards. The assessor also looks at hose reels, fire blankets in kitchens and laundry areas, and dry/wet riser systems where present.
Staff Training & Procedures
Review of fire safety training records, fire warden designations, evacuation procedures, and out-of-hours staffing levels relative to the evacuation needs of residents.
Legal Framework
Key Legislation for Care Home Fire Safety
Care homes are subject to multiple overlapping pieces of legislation. Understanding how they interact is essential for compliance.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The primary fire safety legislation for all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. Places the duty on the responsible person to carry out and keep up to date a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. Enforced by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.
Health and Social Care Act 2008 — Regulation 12
Requires care home providers registered with the CQC to assess and mitigate all risks to service users, including the risk of fire. Failure to meet Regulation 12 can result in CQC enforcement action including suspension or cancellation of registration.
Fire Safety Act 2021
Extended the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to include the structure, external walls, and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings.
Building Safety Act 2022
Introduced new requirements for higher-risk buildings (18m+). Section 156 amended the Fire Safety Order to require all fire risk assessments to be recorded in writing regardless of employee numbers — in force from October 2023.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Extended responsible person duties in multi-occupied residential buildings, including requirements to share fire safety information with residents.
Home Office Guidance — Residential Care Premises
The definitive guidance document for fire risk assessment in residential care premises. Assessors use this guidance as the benchmark for every care home assessment.
Staff Requirements
Staff Training & Fire Safety Requirements
In a care home, staff are the first line of defence in the event of a fire. Unlike a standard commercial premises where occupants can self-evacuate, care home staff must be capable of assisting residents with their individual evacuation needs.
This places a significant responsibility on the responsible person to ensure all staff receive appropriate fire safety training at induction, refresher training at least annually, and that fire warden training is provided to designated staff on every shift.
Our fire risk assessment includes a review of current training arrangements and identifies any gaps. The report gives clear recommendations on training requirements as part of the prioritised action plan.
The assessor also looks at whether staffing levels — particularly at night — are sufficient to carry out the evacuation procedures described in your fire emergency plan, given the current dependency levels of your residents.
Staff Training Checklist
- Fire safety induction for all new staff before starting work
- Annual refresher fire safety training for all staff
- Fire warden training for designated staff — minimum one warden per floor per shift
- PEEP familiarisation — all staff know the evacuation plan for each resident on their shift
- Fire alarm response training — what to do when the alarm sounds, including night-time procedures
- Fire extinguisher training — how and when to use extinguishers safely
- Evacuation drill participation — at least annually, with records maintained
- Oxygen safety training — all staff who handle or are present near oxygen equipment
- Smoking risk procedures — where resident smoking is permitted
Transparent Pricing
Care Home Fire Risk Assessment Cost in Hull
We believe in transparent, fixed-price quotes. Here is our indicative pricing for care home fire risk assessments in Hull and East Yorkshire.
Care Home & Nursing Home Assessments
Prices include full on-site inspection, PAS 79 report, PEEPs, and action plan
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions from care home managers and registered providers in Hull.
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Whether you manage a small residential care home or a large nursing home with multiple floors, you can get a free, no-obligation quote for all premises in Hull and East Yorkshire.