Care Home Fire Statistics UK: 2026 Facts, Data & Key Insights

Fire in Care Homes: The Highest-Stakes Setting

Care homes sit at the intersection of the two most dangerous fire risk factors: vulnerable people and the challenges of commercial building fire safety. Their residents are elderly, often with limited mobility, cognitive impairment, or dependence on care staff — making evacuation in a fire emergency far more difficult, time-consuming, and dangerous than in any standard workplace or public building.

The consequences when fire safety fails in a care home are among the most severe of any setting. Fire and rescue services attended 433 fires in hospitals and medical care facilities in 2024/25 — 6.5% of all workplace fires. Enforcement notices issued to care homes are consistently among the highest volumes of any single premises type, with care homes receiving the second-largest share of enforcement notices in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. And Cardiff and Vale University Health Board was ordered to pay approximately £95,000 in fines and costs in September 2025 for fire safety failures in a hospital mental health ward.

For the broader picture see our Fire Statistics UK: The Definitive Guide.

Key Facts & Figures (Overview)

• 433 fires in hospitals and medical care facilities in 2024/25 — 6.5% of all UK workplace fires
• Care homes received the second-highest volume of enforcement notices of any premises type in 2024/25 — 192 enforcement notices issued
• Only 58% of fire safety audits in England in 2024/25 were satisfactory — and care homes, shops, and sleeping accommodation together accounted for over 43% of all audits
• Cooking accounts for approximately 41% of care home fires — the highest proportional cause in the care sector
• Electrical faults are a significant secondary cause across care home fire incidents
• 39% of all fire-related fatalities in England in 2024/25 were in people aged 65 and over
• The fire fatality rate for those aged 80 and over is 13.8 per million — the highest of any age group
• A Cardiff and Vale University Health Board was fined approximately £95,000 in September 2025 for fire safety failures under the RRO at a hospital mental health ward
• A care home company was fined £45,000 plus £23,000 costs at Croydon Crown Court for fire safety violations including blocked fire exits, an inadequate fire detection system, and no emergency plan
• 85% of all Home Fire Safety Visits in 2024/25 targeted households with at least one vulnerable person — the highest proportion since 2021
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies in full to all care home premises, with the CQC also assessing fire safety as part of broader regulated service compliance

The Care Home Fire Risk Profile

Care homes face a uniquely demanding fire safety challenge that combines multiple risk factors simultaneously:

Residents with severe evacuation challenges: Many care home residents cannot self-evacuate. Conditions including advanced dementia, severe physical disability, oxygen dependency, and post-operative recovery mean that staff-assisted evacuation of multiple residents — potentially including non-ambulatory individuals in hospital beds — must be planned and practised in detail. A Progressive Horizontal Evacuation strategy (moving residents along the floor rather than down stairs) is typically required and must be embedded in staff training.

Cooking as the dominant fire cause: Approximately 41% of care home fires originate in cooking and kitchen areas. Commercial kitchens operating for three mealtimes daily, often with agency or bank staff who may not know the premises well, create sustained cooking fire risk.

Sleeping accommodation: Care homes are sleeping premises — residents are in bed at night and may be unresponsive to early alarm signals. The fire safety requirements for sleeping accommodation under the RRO are more demanding than for general workplace premises, requiring more robust detection, more frequent fire drills (including night-time evacuation practice), and specific provisions for residents who cannot be woken or who may not understand alarm signals.

Medical equipment: Oxygen concentrators, powered wheelchairs, and battery-powered medical devices all introduce specific fire risks. Oxygen-enriched environments (common in rooms where medical oxygen is used) dramatically accelerate fire spread and increase the severity of burns.

Multiple agencies: Care homes typically involve multiple agencies — the care home operator, an NHS clinical team, visiting healthcare professionals, contractors, and agency staff. Fire safety responsibilities must be clearly allocated and understood across all parties.

Compliance and Enforcement

The MHCLG Fire Prevention and Protection Statistics for 2024/25 confirm that care homes are among the most intensively audited premises types:

• Care homes accounted for the second-largest share of enforcement notices issued in 2024/25 — 192 enforcement notices, representing approximately 11% of all enforcement notices issued
• The pattern was consistent in 2023/24: care homes again second (189 enforcement notices, 11% of total)
• Shops received the most enforcement notices in both years, with care homes consistently close behind

This enforcement intensity reflects both the vulnerability of the population and the complexity of maintaining compliance in a 24/7 operational environment. The most common compliance failures identified in care home audits include:

• Article 14: Emergency routes and exits — inadequate escape routes, locked or obstructed fire doors, inadequate fire exit signage
• Article 15: Procedures for serious and imminent danger — inadequate or untested evacuation procedures, absence of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for individual residents
• Article 8: Duty to take general fire precautions — inadequate general fire safety management

Prosecution Cases: The Consequences of Failure

Fire safety prosecution of care homes and healthcare premises is a well-established enforcement pathway:

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (September 2025): ordered to pay approximately £95,000 in fines and costs at Cardiff Crown Court for failing to comply with an enforcement notice relating to fire safety procedures at Llandough Hospital's mental health ward.

Morven Healthacre Ltd (Morven House care home, Kenley): fined £45,000 plus £23,000 costs at Croydon Crown Court for five RRO offences including blocked fire exits, out-of-date risk assessment, inadequate fire detection, and no emergency plan.

Rangemore Nursing Home, Knutsford: the former owner received a 12-month suspended sentence and 200 hours' community service for three RRO offences.

These cases consistently involve the same pattern: inadequate fire risk assessments, inadequate detection or alarm systems, blocked or compromised escape routes, and absent or inadequate evacuation planning for residents.

What Good Fire Safety in Care Homes Looks Like

Fire risk assessment: A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment specifically addressing the vulnerabilities of the resident population, the layout of the building, and the staffing levels at different times of day and night. The assessment must be regularly reviewed — particularly when the resident population changes significantly.

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs): An individual plan for every resident who cannot self-evacuate, specifying the equipment, staff, and procedure required for their evacuation. These must be kept current as residents' conditions change.

Progressive Horizontal Evacuation: The standard approach for care homes — moving residents away from a fire along the corridor (into a different fire compartment) rather than attempting vertical evacuation via stairs. Building layout, fire compartmentation, and fire door integrity are all critical to this approach working.

Staff fire marshal training: All staff with fire safety responsibilities — including fire marshals and deputies — must be trained in fire emergency procedures specific to the care home setting, including assisted evacuation of non-ambulatory residents.

Fire drills: The RRO requires appropriate fire drills, including night-time drills to test the response of night staff. The frequency and content must reflect the vulnerabilities of the resident population.

Written by Fire Safety Experts

This guide was produced by the team at Fire Marshal Training, a UK provider of RoSPA and CPD-accredited fire safety training. Care homes face fire safety challenges of exceptional complexity — and our training is designed to address those challenges directly. Our fire marshal courses cover Progressive Horizontal Evacuation, PEEP implementation, and night-time fire emergency procedures appropriate for care settings. For related data see our Fire Statistics UK: The Definitive Guide, Workplace Fire Statistics UK, Fire Deaths UK, and Fire Safety Prosecution Statistics UK.

Sources & References

• MHCLG – Fire Prevention and Protection Statistics, England, April 2024 to March 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-prevention-and-protection-england-year-ending-march-2025
• MHCLG – Detailed Analysis of Fires, England, April 2024 to March 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/detailed-analysis-of-fires-england-april-2024-to-march-2025
• South Wales Fire and Rescue Service – Legislation, Law and Enforcement: https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/your-safety-wellbeing/business-fire-safety/legislation-law-and-enforcement/
• International Fire and Safety Journal – Workplace Fires: The Three Sectors Carrying Most of the UK Incident Burden: https://internationalfireandsafetyjournal.com/workplace-fires-system-build/