Healthcare
Fire Safety for Healthcare Estates
Fire safety consultancy for healthcare estates addresses sleeping risk, dependent occupancy and compartmentation. RiSKFiX supports hospitals and care providers with assessments and inspection programmes coordinated around clinical activity.
What are your duties?
- Current fire risk assessment for every occupied premises
- Robust compartmentation supporting progressive horizontal evacuation
- Fire-door integrity across ward and theatre environments
- Documented training and competence for staff acting on the fire plan
How does RiSKFiX help?
- Fire risk assessments reflecting healthcare premises and their use
- Compartmentation surveys above ceilings and through service risers
- Fire-door inspection programmes minimising clinical disruption
- Remedial project management coordinated with estates teams and infection-control requirements
Which standards apply?
- HTM 05-02 (fire safety design)
- HTM 05-03 (operational provisions)
- HTM 05-03 Part K
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended)
- BS 9999:2017
- BS 8214:2026
Why does dependent occupancy affect the assessment?
Healthcare estates combine sleeping accommodation with people who may depend on staff during evacuation. The assessment needs to reflect the use of the premises and the fire plan, rather than treating every ward or care environment as an ordinary workplace. Existing sector duties include robust compartmentation supporting progressive horizontal evacuation and documented training and competence for staff acting on the plan. RiSKFiX coordinates assessment and inspection programmes with estates teams around clinical activity.
How do compartmentation surveys support estates teams?
Compartmentation surveys examine areas above ceilings and through service risers, while fire door inspections address doors across ward and theatre environments. These are inspection findings, not certificates or works specifications. The Responsible Person decides what action to take with their Fire Risk Assessor. Remedial project management can then be coordinated with estates teams and local infection-control requirements, keeping the survey evidence connected to the work being considered.
When should healthcare assessments be reviewed?
The Order sets no fixed review interval. Review regularly and when there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, or after a significant change. Building alterations, a change of use, a fire or completion of significant remedial works can trigger that review. A review is not necessarily a full new assessment. Record the review and use the date set by the assessment to plan the next check of its continuing relevance.
What does a fire strategy add to the assessment?
A fire strategy explains how the building’s fire safety design works, including means of escape, compartmentation, detection and alarm, smoke control and firefighter access and facilities. It serves a different purpose from an assessment of current risk and priority-rated actions. An existing healthcare building with no strategy can have a retrospective strategy, which can include compartmentation plans. Share any existing strategy and plans when discussing the scope so the assessment and survey programme can be considered alongside the available design information.
What else should you know?
- Yes — we schedule surveys around clinical activity, work to local infection-control requirements and use PPE appropriate to each ward.
- The employer is the Responsible Person for a workplace. Otherwise, responsibility rests with the person in control of the premises or the owner.
- No. A review checks whether the existing assessment remains valid. The assessment should set its review date, with significant changes also prompting review.
- The Responsible Person must record the assessment and fire safety arrangements in full. Keep inspection findings and decisions available alongside those records.
- Provide the address, premises use, floors, approximate floor area, existing assessment and any deadline. Explain occupied-building access arrangements and share relevant plans and maintenance records.