News — October 2026
Care Home Fire Safety 2026
Care homes represent one of the highest-risk fire safety environments in the UK — sleeping premises with residents who cannot self-evacuate. Fire safety inspectors in 2026 are focusing enforcement activity on PEEP quality, fire door maintenance, and progressive horizontal evacuation planning. Here is what care home managers and responsible persons need to know.
2026 enforcement focus
Fire and Rescue Services are reporting three recurring failures in care home inspections in 2026: PEEPs that are outdated or generic rather than individual; fire doors propped open or with failed self-closers; and fire risk assessments not reviewed following changes in resident dependency levels. These three issues are interconnected — all depend on the quality of the fire risk assessment and its regular review.
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in care homes
Every resident in a care home must have a PEEP. This is not optional — it is a core duty of the responsible person under the RRO 2005. A PEEP must:
- Be specific to the individual resident's actual mobility, cognitive, and medical status
- Name the staff responsible for assisting this person in an evacuation
- Specify any equipment required (transfer board, wheelchair, hoist — and whether the hoist can be used during evacuation)
- Be reviewed whenever the resident's condition changes materially
- Be reviewed at least annually
- Be accessible to night staff — not just the manager
See our fire safety for disabled persons guide and our refuge area glossary entry for the full PEEP framework.
Fire doors: the most common physical failure
Progressive horizontal evacuation depends entirely on fire doors working correctly. A single fire door propped open, or a self-closer that has failed, can compromise an entire compartment and make horizontal evacuation unsafe. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require quarterly checks of all fire doors in high-rise buildings and annual checks in other multi-occupied premises — but care homes should conduct monthly checks given the dependency of residents. See our fire door safety guide for the six-point inspection check.
Fire alarm system requirements
A care home requires an L1 automatic fire detection system (detection throughout all areas of the building) connected to a monitoring centre or with automatic fire brigade notification. The system must be maintained under a service contract with documented testing records. Low-frequency (520 Hz) sounders may be specified in some areas to improve audibility for residents with hearing impairment. See our automatic fire detection entry for the BS 5839-1 grades and categories.
Staff training and drills
Under the RRO 2005, staff must be trained in fire safety and must participate in fire drills. For care homes, this includes training specific to progressive horizontal evacuation — not just general evacuation awareness. Night shift staff, who are frequently fewer in number, must be specifically covered by the evacuation plan and must know the PEEPs for residents in their care. See our fire warden duties guide for the training and competency framework.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ