By building type
Care homes carry the FSO 2005 fire risk duty alongside CQC oversight. FRA Flow handles the FRA component with explicit support for vulnerable resident profiling, progressive horizontal evacuation, and the in-house care staff role in fire safety response.
Two regimes
The Fire Safety Order 2005 imposes the fire risk assessment duty on care homes as non-domestic premises. The methodology is BS 9792:2025; the dutyholder model is the FSO. The competent assessor carries out the FRA on the same basis as for any other building in scope.
Care homes are also regulated by the Care Quality Commission. CQC inspections look at safety as one of five Key Lines of Enquiry, with fire safety as one component. The CQC inspector does not carry out the FRA themselves; they ask to see it and ask about the operational follow-through. A weak FRA, a weak action plan, or weak operational fire safety arrangements all attract attention at CQC inspection.
Progressive horizontal evacuation
Most care homes operate a progressive horizontal evacuation strategy. Vulnerable residents are moved laterally into adjacent fire-safe compartments rather than evacuated all the way out of the building. The compartmentation is designed to resist fire spread for long enough that the fire and rescue service can reach the building and deal with the source compartment.
For the FRA, the evaluation of progressive horizontal evacuation is one of the most important sections. The assessor considers the design assumptions, the current staffing levels (sufficient to assist horizontal movement at all times, including night shifts), the resident profile (movable, with bed-evacuation equipment for those who are not), the equipment provision, and the contingency arrangements.
Resident profile
Care staff
Care home fire safety response depends heavily on in-house care staff. Staff are present on every shift, know the residents, are trained on the evacuation strategy, and are responsible for executing it during an incident. The FRA needs to consider whether the staffing levels at all times of day are sufficient to execute the evacuation strategy with the current resident population.
Night shifts are a particular consideration: care homes typically run with reduced staffing overnight, but the resident profile is the same. The FRA evaluation of staff-to-resident ratios for evacuation purposes needs to reflect the actual minimum staffing position, not the daytime average.
In FRA Flow
Care homes are configured as a property type with the operator-level branding, dutyholder information, and CQC registration recorded. The assessment workbench surfaces care-home-specific elements: progressive horizontal evacuation evaluation, in-house care staff role evaluation, vulnerable resident profiling, night-shift staffing position, oxygen-therapy room considerations.
For multi-home operators, the portfolio view shows every home with current FRA status, action plan position, and CQC inspection-relevant findings. When the CQC inspector asks to see the fire safety position, the report and supporting evidence are one export away.
FAQ
FRA Flow produces the FRA component of the picture. The wider CQC compliance position (training records, drill records, care plan integration) sits in the operator's wider compliance system. The FRA references these elements where relevant.
The evacuation strategy section in the FRA workbench is explicit for care home settings. The assessor records the design assumptions, current staffing levels, resident profile, equipment provision, and contingency arrangements. The output report carries the evaluation into the building description and significant findings sections.
Yes. Vulnerable resident profiles are recorded against the room or bed-space, not against named individuals. Personal details remain in the operator's care planning system. The FRA audit trail records that the consideration was made.
The FRA evaluation of staffing for evacuation purposes is recorded against the actual minimum staffing position. The workbench surfaces the question explicitly so the assessor cannot accidentally rely on the daytime average.
The Consultancy and Enterprise pricing tiers are sized for portfolio operations. Per-home property records carry the operator-level branding and dutyholder information. The portfolio view shows every home; action plans roll up to head office.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough on a care home portfolio sized like yours.
