Nursing Home Fire Risk Assessment
HIQA Regulation 28 - PAS 79-1:2020 - NFRAR Advanced Level - BS 8674:2025 - PI Insured
Request a Nursing Home Fire Risk Assessment
Contact Phoenix STS to arrange a specialist PAS 79-1:2020 fire risk assessment for your nursing home or designated centre.
Specialist Fire Risk Assessments for Irish Nursing Homes
Phoenix STS provides specialist PAS 79-1:2020 compliant fire risk assessments specifically designed for nursing homes and designated centres across Ireland. Our NFRAR Advanced level assessors understand the unique fire safety challenges of healthcare environments - from progressive horizontal evacuation and vulnerable occupant protection to HIQA Regulation 28 documentation requirements. Every assessment is conducted by BEng qualified fire engineers who examine your facility systematically, addressing means of escape, fire detection, compartmentation, fire doors, staff training, and fire safety management. You receive a detailed report with findings categorised by severity and clear, prioritised recommendations. Our assessments meet the BS 8674:2025 competence framework and are covered by professional indemnity insurance.
Why Your Nursing Home Needs a Specialist Fire Risk Assessment
HIQA Regulation 28
Regulation 28 requires registered providers to ensure adequate precautions against fire. A specialist fire risk assessment is the foundation of compliance.
Vulnerable Residents
Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable to fire. A specialist assessment addresses the unique risks associated with residents who cannot self-evacuate.
Compartmentation Focus
Nursing homes rely on compartmentation for progressive horizontal evacuation. Our assessments specifically evaluate compartment boundaries, fire stopping, and fire door integrity.
Documentation for HIQA
HIQA inspectors expect a current, comprehensive fire risk assessment. Our PAS 79-1:2020 compliant reports provide exactly what inspectors look for.
Insurance Compliance
Insurers increasingly require evidence of professional fire risk assessment. Our NFRAR Advanced level assessments meet the highest industry standards.
Prioritised Action Plan
Every assessment includes a clear, prioritised action plan with findings categorised by severity, enabling you to address the most critical risks first.
What We Assess
Our specialist nursing home fire risk assessments cover every aspect of fire safety relevant to healthcare environments.
Means of Escape and Evacuation
Progressive horizontal evacuation strategy, travel distances, protected corridors, stairways, emergency lighting, signage, and evacuation procedures for vulnerable residents.
Fire Detection and Alarm
IS 3218:2024 compliance, system category and type, detector coverage, cause and effect programming, alarm notification, and interface with staff call systems.
Compartmentation and Fire Doors
Compartment boundaries, fire-resisting construction, fire door condition and compliance with BS 8214:2026, fire stopping, and service penetrations through fire-resisting elements.
Fire Safety Management
Fire safety policies, staff training records, fire drill history and performance, maintenance records for fire safety systems, and HIQA documentation requirements.
Fire Prevention Measures
Electrical safety, oxygen storage and management, kitchen fire safety, laundry arrangements, housekeeping standards, smoking policy, and arson prevention measures.
Means of Escape and Evacuation
Progressive horizontal evacuation strategy, travel distances, protected corridors, stairways, emergency lighting, signage, and evacuation procedures for vulnerable residents.
Fire Detection and Alarm
IS 3218:2024 compliance, system category and type, detector coverage, cause and effect programming, alarm notification, and interface with staff call systems.
Compartmentation and Fire Doors
Compartment boundaries, fire-resisting construction, fire door condition and compliance with BS 8214:2026, fire stopping, and service penetrations through fire-resisting elements.
Fire Safety Management
Fire safety policies, staff training records, fire drill history and performance, maintenance records for fire safety systems, and HIQA documentation requirements.
Fire Prevention Measures
Electrical safety, oxygen storage and management, kitchen fire safety, laundry arrangements, housekeeping standards, smoking policy, and arson prevention measures.
Healthcare-Specific Focus Areas
Progressive Horizontal Evacuation
We assess the effectiveness of your compartment-based progressive horizontal evacuation strategy, examining evacuation routes between compartments, the adequacy of refuge areas, and staff procedures for moving residents who cannot self-evacuate. This includes reviewing night-time staffing levels and the availability of evacuation equipment such as ski sheets and evacuation sledges.
Vulnerable Occupant Protection
Our assessment places specific focus on resident mobility profiles, personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs), and night-time evacuation arrangements when staffing levels are lowest. We evaluate how your facility manages residents with cognitive impairment, limited mobility, or medical dependencies such as oxygen therapy to ensure appropriate protective measures are in place.
HIQA Documentation Review
We conduct a thorough review of all fire safety documentation against HIQA Regulation 28 expectations, including fire safety policies, evacuation procedures, drill records, staff training records, and maintenance logs. This ensures your documentation is comprehensive, current, and ready for inspection at any time.
Compartmentation Integrity
Our assessment includes a detailed evaluation of fire-resisting construction, compartment boundaries, fire stopping around service penetrations, and the integrity of fire-resisting elements throughout your building. Effective compartmentation underpins progressive horizontal evacuation in nursing homes and must be maintained to the required standard of fire resistance.
Fire Door Condition
We assess all fire doors in your facility, examining gaps, intumescent seals, cold smoke seals, self-closing devices, and hardware condition against BS 8214:2026 requirements. Fire doors are critical components of compartmentation and are frequently identified as deficient during HIQA inspections, making regular assessment essential.
Staff Training Assessment
We evaluate the effectiveness of your staff fire safety training programme, fire warden arrangements, and drill performance records. This includes assessing whether staff are competent in operating fire extinguishers, activating the fire alarm, executing progressive horizontal evacuation, and managing residents during an emergency.
Healthcare Facilities We Serve
Nursing Homes
Complete HIQA Regulation 28 compliant fire risk assessments for residential care facilities.
Hospitals
Fire risk assessments for acute hospitals and specialist healthcare facilities.
Disability Services
Fire risk assessments for residential disability services and supported living facilities.
Mental Health Centres
Fire risk assessments for mental health residential centres and approved centres.
Respite Care
Fire risk assessments for respite care facilities with variable occupancy.
Day Care Centres
Fire risk assessments for day services and community healthcare facilities.
Hospices
Specialist fire risk assessments for palliative care and hospice facilities.
Designated Centres
HIQA compliant fire risk assessments for all designated centres under the Health Act 2007.
Our Process
Free Consultation
We discuss your facility, current fire safety arrangements, and any specific concerns. We recommend the appropriate scope of assessment for your nursing home.
Site Assessment
Our NFRAR Advanced level fire risk assessor conducts a thorough on-site inspection, examining every aspect of fire safety in your nursing home.
Detailed Reporting
You receive a complete PAS 79-1:2020 compliant fire risk assessment report with findings categorised by severity and clear, prioritised recommendations.
Implementation Support
We help you understand and implement the recommendations, providing guidance on prioritisation, timescales, and cost-effective solutions.
Annual Review
We schedule your annual fire risk assessment review to ensure your nursing home maintains ongoing compliance with HIQA Regulation 28.
Free Consultation
We discuss your facility, current fire safety arrangements, and any specific concerns. We recommend the appropriate scope of assessment for your nursing home.
Site Assessment
Our NFRAR Advanced level fire risk assessor conducts a thorough on-site inspection, examining every aspect of fire safety in your nursing home.
Detailed Reporting
You receive a complete PAS 79-1:2020 compliant fire risk assessment report with findings categorised by severity and clear, prioritised recommendations.
Implementation Support
We help you understand and implement the recommendations, providing guidance on prioritisation, timescales, and cost-effective solutions.
Annual Review
We schedule your annual fire risk assessment review to ensure your nursing home maintains ongoing compliance with HIQA Regulation 28.
Legislative Framework for Nursing Home Fire Risk Assessments
Fire risk assessments for nursing homes in Ireland must address a complete legislative and standards framework.
Why Choose Phoenix STS
HIQA Regulation 28 Specialists
Our team has deep expertise in nursing home fire safety compliance, with extensive experience supporting designated centres through HIQA Regulation 28 inspections. We understand exactly what inspectors look for and ensure your fire safety arrangements meet every requirement.
BEng Fire Engineers
Our fire engineers hold BEng degrees and are members of the IFE and IFSM.
Ireland's First CPD Provider
The first CPD Standards Office certified fire safety training provider in Ireland.
25+ Years Healthcare Experience
Decades of experience working with nursing homes, hospitals, and designated centres.
Nationwide Coverage
Based in Longford with consultants throughout Ireland. We serve nursing homes in all 26 counties.
PI Insured
Complete professional indemnity insurance covers all our work.
Nursing Home Fire Risk Assessments Across Ireland
What a nursing home fire risk assessment must consider
A nursing home fire risk assessment is different from a standard commercial premises review. The assessor has to consider sleeping risk, progressive horizontal evacuation, resident dependency, cognitive impairment, oxygen use, smoking controls, bedroom risk, compartmentation, fire doors, alarm response, emergency lighting, staffing levels and the ability of staff to move residents safely. A report that only lists extinguishers and escape signs will not give the provider enough evidence for a healthcare setting.
Phoenix STS reviews the fire precautions against the building, the residents and the management system. That includes inspection of escape routes, fire-resisting construction, doors, alarm and detection arrangements, emergency lighting, housekeeping, electrical risks, laundry and kitchen areas, storage, plant rooms and external hazards. We also review records: maintenance, drills, training, risk assessments, policies, smoking management, personal emergency evacuation arrangements and action plans from previous audits or inspections.
Linking the assessment to Regulation 28 evidence
Regulation 28 requires adequate precautions against fire, adequate means of escape, maintenance and testing arrangements, suitable staff training and arrangements for detecting, containing, warning, calling the fire service and evacuating where necessary. The assessment therefore has to produce usable findings for the registered provider and person in charge. It should identify immediate life-safety issues, management weaknesses, medium-term improvements and evidence gaps.
The report should also be realistic about evacuation. The fire service is not the evacuation plan, and staff should not be expected to achieve unsafe whole-building evacuation targets. Where the assessment finds a mismatch between resident dependency, staffing and evacuation arrangements, that issue should be clearly prioritised and linked to training, equipment, compartment strategy and management review.
How findings should be prioritised
Findings should be prioritised according to life safety, likelihood and management control. A damaged fire door protecting a sleeping corridor, a failed alarm zone, poor emergency lighting or a compromised escape route may need urgent action. Other issues, such as record formatting or minor signage improvements, may be lower priority. The report should make that distinction clearly so the provider knows what must be dealt with first.
Phoenix STS also identifies where a single defect points to a wider management issue. Repeated fire door defects may indicate weak inspection routines. Poor storage may point to housekeeping and supervision. Gaps in drill records may indicate that staff have not been tested under realistic scenarios. The strongest fire risk assessment therefore looks beyond the single defect and asks what management system allowed it to develop.
Competence and scope
The person carrying out the assessment needs enough fire safety competence to judge the building, the management arrangements and the resident risk together. In a nursing home, a technically neat escape route may still fail in practice if residents cannot be moved in time, if staff are unsure about progressive horizontal evacuation, or if night staffing levels do not match the evacuation strategy. The assessment should therefore test the management system as well as the physical precautions.
Turning findings into action
The final report should be easy for the provider to use. Significant life-safety issues should not be hidden among routine observations, and every action should identify the risk being controlled. A strong action plan will distinguish urgent matters, planned improvements and routine maintenance, while keeping a clear record of who is responsible. That makes the assessment more useful during provider review, fire authority engagement, insurance review and HIQA inspection preparation.
Related Services
Nursing Home Fire Safety Compliance
Complete HIQA Regulation 28 compliance packages for nursing homes.
Healthcare Fire Safety Consultancy
Expert fire safety consultancy for nursing homes and designated centres.
Healthcare Evacuation Planning
Progressive horizontal evacuation strategies for healthcare environments.
Healthcare Evacuation Plan Drawings
Evacuation plan drawings showing progressive horizontal evacuation zones.
Further Reading
See our guides on fire risk assessments in Ireland and HIQA Regulation 28 fire safety compliance for detailed information on legal requirements and the assessment process.
Phoenix STS provides nursing home pas-79-1 fire risk assessment services across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
PAS 79-1:2020 is the publicly available specification providing detailed guidance on fire risk assessment methodology for non-housing premises, including nursing homes, hospitals, and other buildings with sleeping accommodation. It sets out a structured, systematic approach to identifying fire hazards, evaluating the risk they pose to occupants, and determining appropriate control measures. For healthcare environments, PAS 79-1:2020 is the recognised benchmark standard used by competent fire risk assessors to ensure a thorough, defensible, and legally thorough assessment.
The National Fire Risk Assessment Register (NFRAR) is the professional register of competent fire risk assessors in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Registration at Advanced level demonstrates that the assessor has been independently verified as competent to assess complex, high-risk premises such as nursing homes, hospitals, and other sleeping accommodation. Phoenix STS fire risk assessors hold NFRAR Advanced level registration, which provides assurance to nursing home operators, HIQA inspectors, and insurers that assessments are conducted by suitably qualified professionals.
Yes. Under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, persons having control over premises are required to take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire and to ensure the safety of persons on the premises. Additionally, HIQA Regulation 28 requires registered providers of designated centres to ensure that adequate precautions are taken against the risk of fire, which includes having a current, complete fire risk assessment. Failure to maintain an up-to-date fire risk assessment can result in enforcement action by the fire authority and non-compliance findings during HIQA inspections.
Fire risk assessments should be reviewed at least annually, or sooner if there are significant changes to the premises, occupancy, staffing arrangements, or fire safety systems. Significant changes include building alterations, extensions, changes of use, introduction of new equipment such as oxygen concentrators, or following a fire-related incident or near-miss. HIQA inspectors expect to see evidence that the fire risk assessment is a living document, regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the current conditions within the nursing home.
Protect Your Residents. Meet HIQA Requirements. Ensure Compliance.
Contact Phoenix STS for a specialist nursing home fire risk assessment. NFRAR Advanced level assessors. PAS 79-1:2020 compliant. PI insured.