Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills from Phoenix STS provide nursing homes and disability services with timed, realistic evacuation exercises that demonstrate compliance with HIQA Regulation 28. Our professional assessors use rescue manikins, smoke simulators, and portable fire extinguishers to create conditions that accurately test your facility’s ability to evacuate residents safely. Each drill is documented with evacuation times and a comprehensive report identifying strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement. This service is a legal requirement under the Fire Services Acts 1981-2003 and essential evidence for HIQA inspections.
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Why Choose Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills from Phoenix STS
Legal Requirement: Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills are a legal obligation under the Fire Services Acts 1981-2003 for all nursing homes and disability services. Regular drills demonstrate compliance with HIQA Regulation 28 (Fire Precautions) and provide essential evidence for inspections.
Realistic Drill Conditions
We use rescue manikins, smoke simulators, and portable fire extinguishers to create conditions that genuinely test your facility’s evacuation capability. Realistic drills reveal true performance under pressure.
Professional Assessment Team
Two qualified assessors attend each session, ensuring accurate timing, thorough observation, and comprehensive documentation. Our assessors have extensive experience in healthcare fire safety.
No Risk to Residents or Staff
All drills use rescue manikins to simulate residents. Staff are never placed on evacuation equipment, and residents are not required to participate unless they wish to and it is safe to do so.
Comprehensive Documentation
Each drill is fully documented with evacuation times, participant records, and a detailed report identifying strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations. This documentation supports HIQA inspection readiness.
High Throughput
Full-day sessions can complete 8-10 drills across different compartments, maximising value and providing a comprehensive assessment of your facility’s evacuation capability.
Tailored to Your Evacuation Strategy
Drills are designed around your facility’s specific evacuation strategy, whether progressive horizontal evacuation or staged vertical evacuation, reflecting your fire risk assessment findings.
Why Complete Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills
Emergency evacuation in nursing homes and disability services is not straightforward. Residents may use walking aids or wheelchairs or may require full assistance to move. Many cannot respond quickly to alarms or follow verbal instructions. Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills assess whether your staff can evacuate residents safely within the timeframes required by your fire safety strategy.
When a fire occurs, evacuation is the responsibility of your staff, not the Fire and Rescue Service. The Fire Service’s role is to tackle the fire and rescue residents only if your predefined evacuation strategy has failed. Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills test whether your evacuation plan works in practice, with realistic resident dependency levels and available staffing.
Department of Environment Guidance: The 1996 “Guide to Fire Safety in Existing Nursing Homes” requires practice fire drills at least twice yearly, rehearsing actions such as raising the alarm, checking escape routes, and conducting simulated evacuations using evacuation aids.
Who Should Use Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills
This service is designed for registered providers and persons in charge of designated centres who need to demonstrate evacuation competency for HIQA compliance.
- Nursing Homes
- Residential Care Centres
- Disability Services
- Respite Care Facilities
- Rehabilitation Centres
- Hospices
Note: Only staff actively engaged in evacuating residents during the drill are recorded as participants. Staff acting as role players or observers are not counted as drill participants.
Understanding Progressive Evacuation
The evacuation strategy in most nursing homes is progressive, in which residents are moved in controlled phases rather than in an immediate, full building evacuation. Compartments and sub-compartments should have sufficient space to temporarily accommodate evacuated persons.
Four Phases of Progressive Evacuation
1 Evacuation from Room of Origin: Remove residents from the immediate fire location to the corridor or adjacent area
2 Evacuation to Place of Relative Safety: Move residents through fire doors into an adjacent sub-compartment on the same floor
3 Evacuation of Parts of the Centre: If fire spreads, evacuate additional compartments horizontally or vertically via protected stairways
4 Total Evacuation of the Centre: Complete building evacuation to external assembly points if all internal refuge is compromised
Phases 1 and 2 involve primarily horizontal movement away from immediate danger. Phases 3 and 4 may involve vertical movement via protected stairways. Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills typically focus on Phases 1 and 2, demonstrating your facility’s ability to clear the largest compartment within required timeframes.
What is a Fire Compartment
A fire compartment is a section of your building constructed to provide a physical fire-resisting barrier preventing the spread of fire and smoke. Compartment walls, floors, and doors provide fire resistance for at least 60 minutes (or 30 minutes in premises with only medium/low dependency residents on the ground floor only).
A compartment can be subdivided into sub-compartments to aid progressive evacuation. Sub-compartment walls and doors provide fire resistance for at least 30 minutes. While a resident bedroom is not itself a sub-compartment, it is a protected area within one, providing temporary safety while the sub-compartment is being evacuated.
Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills test your ability to evacuate the largest compartment within your facility, reflecting realistic dependency levels and available staffing.
What You’ll Receive from Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills
Each drill session includes comprehensive documentation and assessment.
Benefits of Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills
For Resident Safety
- Test Real Evacuation Capability: Realistic drills reveal whether your staff can actually evacuate residents within required timeframes
- Identify Gaps Before Emergencies: Drills expose weaknesses in procedures, equipment, or staff competency that can be addressed before a real fire
- Build Staff Confidence: Regular practice builds muscle memory and confidence, enabling calm and effective responses under pressure
For HIQA Compliance
- Demonstrate Regulation 28 Compliance: Documented drills with evacuation times provide concrete evidence of fire safety competency for HIQA inspections
- Meet Legal Obligations: Satisfy the legal requirement for fire drills under the Fire Services Acts 1981-2003
- Fire Safety Handbook Alignment: Drills conducted in accordance with HIQA’s Fire Safety Handbook (2025) guidance
For Your Organisation
- Independent Assessment: External assessors provide an objective evaluation free from internal bias or assumptions
- Actionable Recommendations: Clear, practical recommendations for improving evacuation procedures and performance
Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills Service Details
Scheduling Options
| Option | Duration | Drills Completed |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Session | 4 hours | 5-6 drills |
| Afternoon Session | 3 hours | 3-4 drills |
| Full Day | 7 hours | 8-10 drills |
Note: The number of drills depends on compartment size and complexity. Larger compartments with higher dependency levels require more time per drill.
Equipment Provided by Phoenix STS
- Rescue manikins: Realistic weight simulation for evacuation practice
- Smoke simulators: Create realistic visibility conditions without risk
- Portable fire extinguishers: For demonstration of correct response procedures
Facility Requirements
- Access to compartments/sub-compartments to be drilled
- Availability of staff at normal operating levels for the shift being simulated
- Facility evacuation equipment (ski sheets, ski mats, ski pads) is available for use
- Brief in advance on compartment layout, fire doors, and assembly points
Drill Process
- Preparation: Staff briefing on resident conditions and scenario
- Setup: Placement of manikins in required locations
- Drill: Timed evacuation exercise with full documentation
- Debrief: Immediate feedback on performance and observations
Deliverables
Following completion of Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills, you receive:
- Drill Report: Comprehensive documentation of each drill, including scenario, participants, timing, and observations
- Evacuation Times: Recorded times for compartment clearance against target benchmarks
- Participant Confirmation: Attendance confirmation for all staff who actively participated in drills
- Findings Summary: Strengths identified and areas requiring improvement
- Recommendations: Actionable recommendations for improving evacuation procedures and performance
Our Instructors
Our instructors bring extensive fire safety experience and hold memberships with leading professional bodies:
- NAHFO (National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers)
- IFE (Institution of Fire Engineers)
- IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health)
- IIESMS (Irish Institute of Emergency and Safety Management Services)
- IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management)
- IHEEM (Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management)
- L&DI (Learning & Development Institute)
Our instructors combine theoretical knowledge with practical application, ensuring participants gain skills they can use immediately.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The Fire Services Acts 1981-2003 require nursing homes to conduct fire drills. The 1996 “Guide to Fire Safety in Existing Nursing Homes” specifies that fire drills be conducted at least twice a year. HIQA Regulation 28 requires registered providers to demonstrate staff competency in evacuation procedures.
The Department of Environment guidance recommends fire drills at least twice a year. HIQA expects regular documented drills demonstrating evacuation of the largest compartment with reflective dependency levels and realistic staffing. Many facilities conduct quarterly drills to maintain readiness.
No. Drills use rescue manikins to simulate residents. Residents who cannot be moved for health reasons or who may be distressed by participation are not required to take part. If a resident wishes to participate and management assesses the risk as low, their involvement may be encouraged.
Using staff as simulated residents poses significant safety risks and does not provide realistic weight or handling characteristics. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires employers to avoid unnecessary risks. Rescue manikins provide a safe, realistic simulation for effective drill assessment.
Drills should reflect realistic staffing levels for the shift being simulated. Nighttime drills should use nighttime staffing numbers. The purpose is to test actual evacuation capability, not ideal conditions. Our assessors will discuss appropriate staffing before scheduling.
The purpose of drills is to identify weaknesses before a real emergency. Poor performance provides valuable learning. Our report includes specific recommendations for improvement, and follow-up drills can be scheduled to verify progress. Identifying gaps is the first step to fixing them.
Yes. We conduct nighttime scenario drills during normal daytime hours, simulating nighttime conditions by using your actual nighttime staffing numbers and reflecting nighttime resident dependency patterns. There is no necessity to conduct drills at 4:00 AM. Waking residents in the middle of the night would cause unnecessary distress, confusion, and anxiety, particularly for residents living with dementia or cognitive impairment. It could also pose genuine health risks for vulnerable residents. The critical factors being tested are staffing levels and evacuation capability, not the time on the clock. By running a nighttime scenario during the day with manikins and reduced staffing, we can accurately assess your nighttime evacuation capability without impacting resident well-being.
Each drill cycle takes approximately 30-40 minutes, including preparation, briefing, drill execution, and debrief. The actual evacuation portion is timed from alarm activation to compartment clearance. Larger compartments with higher dependency levels take longer to run.
You receive a comprehensive drill report including scenario details, participant list, evacuation times, observations, strengths identified, areas for improvement, and actionable recommendations. This documentation supports HIQA inspection readiness and continuous improvement.
No. Evacuation Equipment Training teaches staff to operate ski sheets and evacuation aids. Compartment Fire Evacuation Drills assess whether trained staff can execute evacuations effectively under realistic conditions. Staff should complete equipment training before participating in drills.
Related Services
- Nursing Home Fire Safety Training Course – Comprehensive fire safety training for all nursing home staff
- Evacuation Equipment Training Course – Hands-on training with ski sheets and evacuation aids
- Evacuation Planning – Development of evacuation procedures tailored to your facility
- Nursing Home PAS 79-1 Fire Risk Assessment – Comprehensive fire risk assessments for residential care facilities
- Emergency Management Systems – Complete fire safety and emergency planning for nursing homes
- Patient Handling Manikin – Purchase rescue manikins for internal drill practice
Page last updated: January 2026
