Healthcare Fire Safety and Health & Safety Specialists

Fire Safety and Health & Safety Support for Healthcare Providers in Ireland

Phoenix STS is a fire safety and health and safety consultancy and training provider for the Irish healthcare sector. We carry out fire risk assessments, evacuation planning, compartment fire evacuation drills, safety statements, policies and staff training. Our clients include nursing homes, hospitals, day services, disability services and designated centres. We are based in Longford and deliver on site nationwide, across all 26 counties.

A designated centre is a residential care service registered and inspected under the Health Act 2007. Nursing homes for older people are the most common example. In plain terms, if HIQA registers and inspects your centre, the care and welfare regulations apply to you.

Regulation 28 of the Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 415 of 2013) requires registered providers to take adequate precautions against the risk of fire. In plain terms, you must be able to show that the building, the systems, the staff and the evacuation arrangements would protect residents if a fire started today.

Most of our healthcare work starts with one of the services below. Each page explains the service, the legislation behind it and what you receive.

You can also browse our healthcare online courses for eLearning options.

The Regulatory Landscape for Healthcare Fire Safety in Ireland

Four pieces of legislation and guidance shape fire safety and health and safety duties in Irish healthcare settings. Here is what each one asks of you in plain terms.

Regulation 28: Fire Precautions in Designated Centres

Regulation 28 of S.I. No. 415 of 2013 requires adequate precautions against the risk of fire in designated centres. It covers means of escape, fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting and fire-fighting equipment. It also covers staff training, fire drills, evacuation arrangements and the maintenance and review of fire precautions. What this means for you: HIQA inspectors assess Regulation 28 at every inspection of a designated centre. You must be able to evidence each element, not just hold certificates.

HIQA National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People (2016)

The National Standards describe what a good, safe residential service looks like. HIQA monitors designated centres against these standards alongside the regulations. What this means for you: inspectors judge whether your fire safety arrangements actually work for your residents and your building, not just whether the paperwork exists.

Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003

Section 18(2) of the Fire Services Acts places a general duty on every person having control over premises. They must take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire and ensure the safety of persons on the premises in the event of fire. What this means for you: this duty applies to healthcare providers directly and is enforced by the local fire authority, separately from HIQA.

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

The 2005 Act requires every employer to prepare a written safety statement, carry out risk assessments and give staff suitable instruction and training. What this means for you: your safety statement and risk assessments must reflect how care is actually delivered in your facility. They sit alongside your HIQA obligations rather than replacing them.

Fire safety is one part of the picture. We also provide healthcare health and safety consultancy covering risk assessments, safety statements and policies for nursing homes and designated centres.

Night-Time Evacuation Capability: The Test That Matters

Night-time is usually the most demanding scenario in a nursing home. Residents are asleep, staffing levels are lower and the first few minutes depend on the judgement of the staff on duty. A plan tested on a weekday afternoon may not work at 3am with a smaller team.

Adequate precautions cannot be judged by looking at the building alone. Providers need to know who can self-evacuate, who needs prompting, who needs physical assistance and who needs a ski sheet or evacuation mattress. These details should feed into personal emergency evacuation plans, fire drills, night-time planning and staffing decisions.

HIQA inspectors may ask staff what they would do if the alarm sounded, where they would move residents and how they would use evacuation equipment. If the answers are vague, the presence of training certificates may not be enough. Our compartment fire evacuation drills test this capability under realistic conditions and document the results.