Online Workshop — 8 July 2027, 10:00–12:30 BST
Fire Safety for Care Homes Workshop
A free 2.5-hour workshop tailored for care home managers, fire wardens, and registered providers. Covers progressive horizontal evacuation, individual PEEPs, fire risk assessment, staff training obligations, and CQC compliance expectations.
Why care home fire safety is distinct
Care home residents cannot self-evacuate. Standard advice — "get out, stay out" — must be replaced with structured progressive horizontal evacuation, individual PEEPs, and trained staff available at all times, including nights. This workshop provides the framework to meet those obligations.
Workshop agenda
Progressive horizontal evacuation: the four stages
Residents in the room of fire origin are moved immediately to adjacent compartment zone
Residents in rooms adjacent to the fire compartment are moved one zone further
If fire spreads beyond Stage 2, all residents on the fire floor are evacuated
Fire service may order total evacuation if containment fails or structural risk identified
Each stage requires fire-resisting compartment construction between zones. A typical care floor is divided into 2–3 zones with FD60S doors and 60-minute-rated walls. See the fire resistance rating glossary for rating explanations.
Who should attend?
- Registered care home managers and deputies
- Fire safety leads and fire wardens in care settings
- Facilities managers responsible for care buildings
- Domiciliary and supported living service managers
- NHS estate teams managing community inpatient facilities
Night shift: the highest-risk period
Most serious care home fires that result in fatalities occur at night, when staffing is lowest. A progressive horizontal evacuation that takes 4–6 staff during the day may require the same outcome with 2. This workshop includes tabletop scenarios for night-time incidents and helps managers calculate minimum safe staffing for fire emergencies.
Agency staff present particular challenges — they may be unfamiliar with the building layout, alarm system, and resident PEEPs. The workshop covers induction requirements and how to document compliance evidence for CQC inspection.
Fire doors in care buildings
Compartmentation is the foundation of progressive horizontal evacuation. A fire door propped open between zones invalidates the strategy entirely. This is one of the most common — and most serious — findings in care home fire inspections.
The session covers: checking fire door specification, identifying non-compliant door modifications, maintenance records, and why electromagnetic hold-open devices must be connected to the fire alarm. See our fire door safety guide for inspection checklists and our fire resistance rating entry for FD30S vs FD60S requirements.
For the broader disability and evacuation context, see our fire safety for disabled persons guide.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ