Fire Safety in Care Homes

What are the Fire Safety Regulations in Care Homes?

The official government guidance and regulations for fire safety in care homes is set out in the Care Home Regulation Act of 2001. Although this act was amended in 2003, and there were suggested amends in 2008, it has mostly stayed the same as it is a comprehensive piece of legislature that covers all considerations.

The Care Home Regulation Act of 2001 outlines the exact process for ensuring fire safety in care homes by addressing everything from conduct of care homes and condition of the premises to the establishment of Registered Persons.

Fire safety and other related elements are covered throughout the documentation for this act, but the Fitness of Premises section provides specific guidance for Registered Persons which we have summarised below.

The Registered Person should consult the local fire authority and then do the following:

• Take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment.

• Provide adequate means of escape and make adequate arrangements for detecting, containing, and extinguishing fires, as well as for giving warnings of fires.

• Make appropriate arrangements for the evacuation.

• Maintenance of all fire equipment; and for reviewing fire precautions, and testing fire equipment, at suitable intervals.

• Plan for suitable training in fire prevention.

• Ensure, that the persons working at the care home are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005 is another piece of extremely important legislature that helps provide specific guidance on fire safety standards in non-domestic premises. It covers everything from fire detection and fire risk assessments to training and maintenance.

These regulations emphasise the importance of carrying out fire risk assessments and outline some of the best ways to deal with situations of fire emergencies.

Find out more about the importance of fire safety with our article on room integrity. >

How to do a Fire Risk Assessment in a Care Home

Fire risk assessments are an important part of fire safety in care homes because they can help address fire risks and any potential issues before they even happen.

There is official guidance on carrying out a fire risk assessment in care homes. This comprehensive guide is separated into parts which explain what a fire risk assessment is, how you might go about one, and further guidance on fire precautions.

The guide and accompanying documentation outline the process for carrying out a fire risk assessment in a care home:

1. Identify fire hazards. Identify sources of ignition, sources of fuel, and sources of oxygen.

2. Identify people at risk. Identify people in and around the premises, especially those at risk.

3. Evaluate, remove, reduce and protect from risk. Evaluate the risk of a fire occurring and the risk to people from fire. Remove or reduce fire hazards and any risks to people. Steps to consider are:

• Detection and warning

• Firefighting

• Escape routes

• Lighting

• Signs and notices

• Maintenance

4. Record, plan, inform, instruct, and train. Record significant findings and action taken. Prepare an emergency plan. Inform and instruct relevant people. Co-operate and co-ordinate with others.

5. Review. Keep fire risk assessments under review and revise where necessary.

Ensuring Fire Safety in Care Homes

Identifying fire risks and carrying out regular fire risk assessments is important but implementing effective fire prevention is also key to ensuring fire safety. All care homes should have the necessary means to extinguish a fire in the unfortunate case that one does break out.

Passive Fire Protection

Passive Fire Protection is a key part of fire safety and ensuring a building meets the expectations for the prevention of fires. It is a broad area of fire safety which includes:

• Fire Doors

• Fire Dampers

• Room Pressure Venting

• Room Fire Stopping

Water Mist Systems

In addition to passive fire protection, more active forms of fire extinguishing need to be taken into consideration such as High-Pressure Water Mist Systems for fire safety. These systems extinguish fires by the rapid cooling of surface areas and reduction of oxygen at the flame front.

Water expands up to 1700 times in the phase transition from water to steam in the presence of heat, diluting the amount of oxygen available for combustion reactions and extinguishing fires.

Gas Suppression Systems

Gas Suppression Systems are another effective way of extinguishing fires. There are two different types, one using inert gas and the other using synthetic agents.

Inert gas systems are more cost-effective for large spaces and the cylinders can be stored remotely in a designated area. However, these systems have many cylinders which promote footprint storage issues, along with increased ten-year recertification costs.

Fire suppressing with synthetic agents is more cost-effective in smaller spaces and more space-efficient than inert gases (approximately eight inert cylinders equate to one chemical cylinder).

We at Sovereign Extinguishing design, install, and maintain fire suppression systems for a range of applications across the UK, tailored to the relevant regulations and guidelines. Get in touch to find out more about the services we offer.

Condensed Aerosol

Another option for fire safety and fire extinguishing is Condensed Aerosol Fire Suppression. We provide condensed aerosol systems in partnership with FirePro.

When a fire is detected, the condensed aerosol system releases a mixture of gaseous matter and solid particles, such as potassium compounds, which inhibit the chemical reactions required to sustain the fire. In particular, the system interferes with the chemical chain reaction aspect of combustion.