Fire Risk Assessments for Care Homes and Supported Living

A care home normally provides accommodation together with personal or nursing care. Staff are usually present at all times, and some or all residents may require help to evacuate.

Supported living is intended to help residents live more independently. Residents may hold their own tenancy while receiving support from a separate care organisation.

These differences affect:

• Who is responsible for the building and fire precautions
• Whether staff are expected to assist evacuation
• Which areas fall within the premises assessment
• Whether individual resident assessments are required
• Which evacuation strategy can work safely

Official residential-care guidance is aimed at staffed premises where many residents would need assistance to reach safety, including residential and nursing homes. It is not intended to cover ordinary private homes receiving out-posted nursing care.

For the wider legal and assessment framework, see Fire Risk Assessments in the UK: The Complete Guide.

In England and Wales, the Fire Safety Order applies to residential care premises and other relevant non-domestic areas. The Responsible Person must ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment is completed, recorded and kept under review.

Supported living requires closer examination because the Fire Safety Order does not generally extend throughout an individual resident’s private domestic premises. It may still apply to workplaces, common areas and parts controlled by a landlord, housing provider or care organisation.

Where more than one Responsible Person controls the premises, they must identify one another, co-operate and co-ordinate their fire-safety measures.

The appointment should therefore establish who controls the building, employs staff, maintains fire-safety systems and manages individual evacuation arrangements.

A residential care fire safety assessment should consider:

• Residents, staff, visitors and contractors
• Individual abilities and evacuation needs
• Daytime and night-time staffing
• Fire hazards arising from care and daily activities
• Detection, warning and emergency lighting
• Escape routes, fire doors and compartmentation
• Evacuation equipment and procedures
• Training, drills and maintenance
• Significant findings and required actions

The report should define the premises, areas inspected, information reviewed and limitations. It should also identify where a person-centred assessment or specialist survey is needed.

See What Should a Fire Risk Assessment Include?.

A fire risk assessment for vulnerable residents must consider individual capability rather than applying one risk level to everyone.

Relevant factors can include:

• Mobility or transfer requirements
• Sensory or cognitive impairments
• Medication affecting awareness
• Dependence on oxygen or electrical care equipment
• Behaviour that may increase fire risk
• Ability to understand and follow instructions

In a care home, personal emergency arrangements should connect the resident’s needs with the premises evacuation strategy and the staff available to assist.

For new care home registration applications in England, current CQC guidance requires applicants to submit a current FRA. It expects the assessment to cover people who need evacuation support, staff training, drills and an action plan, with identified actions completed before registration.

A person-centred assessment does not replace the premises FRA. It examines additional risks and evacuation barriers affecting one resident. See Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments Explained.

In England, statutory Residential PEEPs duties only apply to specified multi-residential buildings that:

• Are at least 18 metres high
• Have at least seven storeys
• Are more than 11 metres high and use simultaneous evacuation

The Regulations came into force on 6 April 2026. They do not apply automatically to every care home or supported-living property.

The evacuation strategy must be achievable with the residents, staff and equipment that will actually be present.

Many care homes use progressive horizontal evacuation, moving residents from the affected area into an adjoining fire-resisting compartment on the same floor before any further movement is attempted.

This approach depends on:

• Effective compartmentation and fire doors
• Suitable detection and warning
• Sufficient trained staff at all times
• Appropriate evacuation aids
• Protected routes and emergency lighting
• Procedures understood by permanent and agency staff

The FRA should test whether night staffing is sufficient, including where residents require two-person assistance. It should also consider how visitors are accounted for and whether drills meaningfully test the plan.

An evacuation strategy that relies on staff, equipment or time that will not be available during a real fire is not suitable. Official residential-care guidance emphasises staff training, staffing ratios, emergency planning and the need to keep physical precautions properly maintained.

The assessment should also examine whether building work, damaged doors or poorly sealed service penetrations could undermine the strategy.

A general FRA does not replace specialist testing or certification. Where emergency-lighting condition or coverage is uncertain, an inspection by suitable Emergency Lighting Contractors may be required.

The assessment must reflect the activities and equipment used within the service.

Particular risks may include:

• Smoking
• Emollient-contaminated clothing or bedding
• Medical oxygen
• Mobility scooters and battery charging
• Portable heaters
• Cooking in bedrooms or private flats
• Electrical care equipment

Controls should be practical and consistently followed. For example, emollient residue can increase the ignitability of fabrics, particularly where residents smoke or are exposed to other ignition sources.

Scottish care-home guidance addresses these risks alongside oxygen, electrical equipment and other dangerous substances that may be present in care premises.

Supported living can involve a landlord, managing agent, care provider and commissioner, with each controlling different parts of the building or service.

The assessment process should establish:

• Who maintains alarms, doors and emergency lighting
• Who assesses risks within residents’ homes
• Who prepares individual evacuation arrangements
• Who receives and closes remedial actions
• How information is shared when residents’ needs change

A premises FRA may not fully assess an individual resident’s behaviour or ability to evacuate. Equally, a person-centred assessment cannot confirm whether the building’s compartmentation and common fire precautions are suitable.

See Who Is Responsible for a Fire Risk Assessment?.

Yes.

In England and Wales, the Fire Safety Order applies to relevant care premises, workplaces and common areas. Registration and care-regulation requirements may sit alongside fire-safety law.

Scotland uses the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and related regulations. Scottish guidance covers both premises-based and person-centred assessment in care homes and distinguishes these premises from specialised housing.

Northern Ireland operates under separate fire-safety legislation. NIFRS provides residential-care guidance for permanently staffed premises and directs specialised or supported housing towards guidance appropriate to those premises.

For a fuller comparison, see Fire Risk Assessment Legal Requirements Across the UK.

The assessor should have experience of premises containing sleeping and vulnerable occupants. Experience limited to offices or simple workplaces may not be sufficient for a care home with assisted evacuation.

When comparing Fire Risk Assessment Companies, provide:

• Resident numbers and dependency profile
• Day and night staffing levels
• Building plans and evacuation strategy
• Existing FRA and action plan
• Fire alarm, door and emergency-lighting records
• Details of oxygen, mobility and care equipment
• Known concerns and access arrangements

The proposed scope should confirm whether the assessor will review individual evacuation arrangements, staffing assumptions and the evidence supporting the building’s compartmentation.

For formal or portfolio appointments, see What Clients Should Include in a Fire Risk Assessment Tender Pack.

The wider appointment process is covered in How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works and Fire Protection Tenders in the UK: The Complete Guide.

The Responsible Person should address urgent risks, assign each action and retain evidence of completed work.

The assessment should be reviewed when changes affect:

• Residents’ needs or dependency
• Staffing levels
• Building layout
• Care or medical equipment
• Evacuation arrangements
• Fire doors, alarms or compartmentation

It should also be reviewed after a fire, serious near miss or significant remedial work. Official guidance requires assessments to remain current and to be revised where significant changes or incidents call the existing conclusions into question.

See Understanding a Fire Risk Assessment Action Plan and What Happens After a Fire Risk Assessment.

Care providers, landlords and supported-housing organisations can compare Fire Risk Assessment Companies with relevant care-sector and vulnerable-occupant experience.

Fire risk assessors and consultancies can view Fire Risk Assessment Tenders for defined assessment opportunities.

Does a care home need a professional fire risk assessor?

Professional assistance is normally appropriate because care homes contain sleeping and vulnerable occupants and rely on staffing, compartmentation and assisted evacuation. The assessor should have experience of comparable premises.

Is supported living treated the same as a care home?

No. Supported living may involve separate housing and care providers, private domestic premises and different levels of resident independence. The assessment must reflect who controls each part of the building and service.

Does every resident need an individual evacuation plan?

The premises FRA must identify people who need assistance. Care homes should connect individual arrangements with the overall evacuation strategy. Separate statutory Residential PEEPs duties only apply to specified English residential buildings.

How often should the FRA be reviewed?

It must be reviewed regularly and whenever changes to residents, staffing, equipment, layout or evacuation arrangements could affect the existing findings.

Does the FRA include system testing?

It may review records and identify visible concerns, but detailed alarm, emergency-lighting and other system inspection normally requires competent specialist contractors.