Fire Safety in Residential Care Premises

This guide gives advice about completing a fire safety risk assessment for all employers, managers, occupiers and owners of premises where the main use of the building (or part of the building) is to provide residential care.

It is intended for non-domestic residential premises with staff in attendance at all times and where many, most, or all of the residents would require carer assistance to be safe in the event of a fire (ie where residents would not be able to make their way to a place of safety unaided). These could include:

• residential and nursing homes
• rehabilitation premises providing residential treatment and care for addiction
• care homes and care homes with nursing (as defined by the Care Standards Act 2000)

The guide is not intended for day-care centres with no residential clients, sheltered accommodation where no care is provided, hospitals, out-posted nursing care in single private dwellings.