By building type
Sheltered housing schemes serve older or vulnerable residents whose evacuation needs differ from a general residential block. FRA Flow handles the BS 9792 assessment with explicit support for vulnerable resident profiling, PEEPs and the evacuation strategy that fits the operating model.
Scheme categories
Category 1 sheltered schemes typically have minimal on-site staffing, often relying on a community alarm service. Category 2 schemes have a resident or visiting scheme manager and additional shared facilities. Beyond Category 2, extra care and supported housing schemes have higher levels of on-site care provision.
For the FRA, the scheme category drives the fire safety arrangements section. A Category 1 scheme cannot rely on staff prompt during an incident; a Category 2 scheme can during the manager's working hours but not overnight. Extra care schemes have continuous on-site care presence and typically operate progressive horizontal evacuation strategies similar to care homes.
Resident profile
Evacuation strategy
The evacuation strategy in sheltered housing depends on the scheme type, building design, and resident profile. A purpose-built block of self-contained sheltered flats with intact compartmentation may operate a stay-put strategy modified to recognise that vulnerable residents need assistance to remain safely in place. A scheme with shared corridors and communal spaces may operate a simultaneous evacuation strategy with on-site staff and pre-arranged volunteer assistance for residents.
Extra care schemes typically operate a progressive horizontal evacuation strategy, with residents moved into adjacent fire-safe compartments rather than evacuated all the way out of the building. This is the same strategy hospitals use for similar reasons: the risk of evacuating a vulnerable resident outweighs the risk of remaining in a compartment that has been designed to resist fire spread.
PEEPs
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is a tailored evacuation arrangement for a specific resident whose needs are not met by the generic evacuation strategy. In sheltered housing, PEEPs are common: a resident with significantly reduced mobility, a resident on bed care, a resident who has agreed in advance to be moved to a specific safe location.
In FRA Flow, vulnerable resident profiles can be linked to specific flats with PEEP references, without storing identifying personal information in a way that creates a separate data protection liability. The audit trail records that the assessor considered the PEEP arrangement; the underlying PEEP itself sits in the housing provider's resident records system.
In FRA Flow
In FRA Flow, sheltered housing schemes are configured as a property type with the scheme category, on-site staffing arrangement, and evacuation strategy recorded. The assessment workbench surfaces sheltered-specific elements: vulnerability profiling, PEEP references, scheme manager interface, alarm system suitability for the resident profile.
For housing groups operating mixed portfolios (general needs alongside sheltered), the workflow is the same; the assessment shape adapts to the building type. The output report carries the sheltered-specific elements into the section the housing provider uses for action plan close-out.
FAQ
Yes. Each scheme category is configurable on the property record, with the on-site staffing arrangement and evacuation strategy recorded explicitly. The assessment workbench adapts to surface the elements relevant to each scheme type.
Vulnerable resident profiles are recorded against the flat, not against named individuals. The PEEP itself, with the resident's personal details, sits in the housing provider's resident records system. The FRA audit trail records that the consideration was made; the personal information does not duplicate into the FRA dataset.
The Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan Regulations were proposed but not in force as of mid-2026. FRA Flow's vulnerability profiling and PEEP-reference fields are designed to handle the current best-practice position and to extend cleanly if and when the formalised duty comes into force.
Extra care schemes are configured with their elevated care provision and progressive horizontal evacuation strategy. The workbench surfaces the elements relevant to higher care provision: in-room oxygen therapy considerations, third-party carer access patterns, evacuation contingency arrangements.
Yes. The portfolio view shows every property regardless of type. Each property's assessment shape adapts to its building type. Action plans roll up across the whole portfolio for the compliance officer's programme view.
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