So last week I was concentrating on carrying out fire risk assessments of residential care homes in Peterborough as well as providing a fire strategy report on a new proposed residential care premises.
The requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment of a residential care premises is no different to the requirement for any standard non-residential premises. In other words, the requirement is for at least an annual review.
Fire safety in residential care premises can be different in several ways to that in normal commercial or residential properties. Not least because many of the occupants will be infirm, immobile, and could present other challenging conditions (including dementia). In general, staff are also available on the premises 24 hours. It is rarely the case that an immediate (or simultaneous) evacuation would be carried out of any residential care home. Rather that a ‘managed safe evacuation strategy’ would be adopted with the support of staff present on the premises.