Short answer
A care home is a sleeping-risk building where many residents cannot get out unaided, so it needs more than an office does: a BS 5839-1 fire alarm, normally Category L1, monitored by an alarm receiving centre; fire doors and maglocks that release on alarm; nurse call built around HTM 08-03 call types with logged response times; access control that secures the entrance without locking residents in; and CCTV in communal and outside areas only. Hawthorne designs, installs and maintains all of these from Norwich.
Download our free care home fire safety checklist. It covers BS 5839-1:2025 and the Fire Safety Order.
The rules that apply in a care home
Fire safety law and BS 5839-1:2025
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person (usually the registered provider) must carry out a fire risk assessment and put in fire precautions to match. Most assessors use BS 5839-1 for the fire alarm. Where people sleep and need help to evacuate, that normally means Category L1: automatic detection throughout. The 2025 edition recommends smoke, multi-sensor or carbon monoxide fire detectors in sleeping rooms, not heat detectors. In residential care premises, missing remote monitoring now counts as an unacceptable variation where monitoring is needed. See our BS 5839 compliance guide.
Progressive horizontal evacuation and PEEPs
Care homes rarely empty the whole building on the first alarm. Staff move residents through fire doors into the next protected area on the same floor, and only move them further if needed. That needs an addressable panel that shows exactly where the fire is, accurate zone plans, sound fire doors, a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) for every resident who needs help, and enough night staff to carry those plans out.
Door holders and locked doors: BS 7273-4
Corridor fire doors held open for residents must close when the alarm operates, and maglocks on escape routes must unlock. BS 7273-4 sets out how those releases connect to the fire alarm, with stricter requirements for locked escape doors than for hold-open devices.
What CQC looks for
Under the Safe key question, Regulations 12 and 15 of the 2014 Regulated Activities Regulations require equipment to be suitable and properly maintained. Under Well-led, Regulation 17 expects records that prove it. Inspectors ask for the fire logbook, PEEPs and drill records, and for evidence that staff answer calls.
Nurse call: HTM 08-03 as the benchmark
No British Standard covers nurse call in care homes. Most providers design to HTM 08-03, the Department of Health memorandum on bedhead services, which defines call types such as patient call, staff assistance and emergency, and how to tell them apart. BS 5839-9 is sometimes quoted, but it covers emergency voice communication, not nurse call. See nurse call systems.
Access control, safeguarding and DoLS
The aim is to keep strangers out and medicines rooms secure without restricting residents who are free to come and go. A keypad on an exit can deprive a resident who lacks capacity of their liberty. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, that needs a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisation and a care plan, not just a lock. In supported living, residents are tenants, so take extra care with locks and cameras. See access control.
CCTV and privacy
CQC's guidance on surveillance expects homes to consult residents, families and staff and to be open about where cameras are. Footage of residents is personal data, so you need a data protection impact assessment, signs and a retention policy. Bedrooms, bathrooms and toilets are generally off limits. See our CCTV compliance guide.
What a typical care home system looks like
- Fire. An addressable L1 fire alarm with smoke or multi-sensor detection in every bedroom, door holder releases, and dual-path signalling to Fenix Monitoring, our partner alarm receiving centre.
- Nurse call. Pull cords in bedrooms, en-suites and bathrooms, pendants for residents who move around, corridor displays or pagers, and call logging. Wired, wireless or a mix.
- Access control. Keypad or fob entry on the main door and staff areas, with maglocks that release on fire alarm and an emergency break-glass on every controlled exit. We are Paxton Gold Partners.
- CCTV. Entrances, car park, grounds and, where the privacy assessment supports it, communal corridors. See CCTV systems.
What we've done in care homes
Healthcare facilities are part of our core work, and care homes are part of this. Examples from 2025 and 2026 include:
Nurse call upgrade, residential care home, Norwich (2025 to 2026). The home's addressable C-TEC Quantec nurse call panel failed with a power supply fault. We fitted a new panel, transferred the old programming across, and fixed the faults that showed up next: a short circuit in one area and several rooms where calls weren't working. A WC pull cord that didn't show on the corridor displays got a temporary fix the same day and a new call point soon after. The corridor displays on every floor were too old to show the right information, so we replaced 12 of them in October 2025 and another in November. The panel is now free of faults.
CCTV recovery, 41-resident home with a secure unit, east Suffolk (2026). Cameras were offline. Our survey found a faulty recorder. In June we got most of the system working again. The last two cameras tested as working, which put the fault in the cabling, and that repair is scheduled. The home has since asked us to add five cameras and maintain the system.
Access control work, Norfolk (2025 to 2026). We have worked with several care providers to find the right solution for keypad and maglock entry systems. These matter because any restriction on residents' movement has to be properly justified under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and stand up to CQC's well-led assessment, particularly on dementia units. Something often overlooked is making sure both leaves of a double fire door next to a dementia unit release, not just one. Each design includes an emergency release that frees the door.
Maintenance and testing
- Fire alarm. A weekly user test from a different call point each time, recorded in the logbook, plus a service every six months under BS 5839-1:2025 that tests door releases and alarm signalling. See how often to test and service.
- Emergency lighting and drills. A monthly function test and an annual full-duration test for emergency lighting, plus a fire drill at least every six months, including one on the night shift.
- Nurse call. Planned visits to test every call point and pull cord, check pendants and batteries, and review the call log. Pull cords get tied up or cut short, so check them on walk-rounds too.
- CCTV and access control. A yearly service, covering recorder storage checks and a test of every fire release and break-glass.
Customers on a maintenance contract get a 4-hour response to emergencies and a same-day response to other faults. We hold SSAIB accreditation (NORF034) for fire, intruder, CCTV and access control, plus ISO 9001 and 14001, and we are working towards BAFE SP203-1.
What it costs
Fire alarms. On our recent invoices, adding or replacing a few devices cost £388 to £880, and a replacement panel cost £449 to £674. The 14 new or replacement systems we quoted in September 2026 ranged from about £2,400 to £18,600. Expect an L1 care home system toward the top of that range, and a larger home above it. See fire alarm costs.
Servicing. Across 52 of our contracts, the median fire alarm maintenance charge was £304 a year, and two-visit contracts were quoted at £354 to £465. Fire alarm monitoring costs £150 to £350 a year on top. See fire alarm servicing costs.
CCTV. £1,500–£3,000 for up to 10 cameras, £3,500–£7,500 for 10 to 25, and £10,000–£20,000+ for larger sites. See CCTV costs.
Nurse call. Whole-system prices depend on the number of rooms and call points, so we quote after a free survey. On our 2025 and 2026 care home repairs, call-outs and single call point replacements cost about £120 to £400. Panel replacements and larger upgrades are quoted after a survey. All prices exclude VAT. For a quick estimate, try the pricing calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What fire alarm category does a care home need?
Your fire risk assessment decides, but it is normally L1 under BS 5839-1, meaning automatic detection throughout, because residents sleep there and many need help to evacuate. Sleeping rooms should have smoke, multi-sensor or carbon monoxide fire detectors.
Does a care home fire alarm need to be monitored?
Usually, yes. Where monitoring is needed in residential care premises and missing, BS 5839-1:2025 counts it as an unacceptable variation. We connect systems to Fenix Monitoring. Fire services set their own policies on automatic alarms, so staff should still call 999.
Can we put a keypad on the door to stop residents with dementia leaving?
The lock is the easy part. If a resident lacks capacity, a locked exit may deprive them of their liberty, which needs a DoLS authorisation and a care plan. Any locked escape door must also release on fire alarm and have a green break-glass.
Can we have CCTV in residents' bedrooms?
Generally, no. Bedrooms, bathrooms and toilets are private spaces. Any exception needs the resident's consent or a documented best-interests decision, plus a data protection impact assessment.
Should we repair or replace an old nurse call system?
If the wiring is sound, a new panel or new displays can extend the system's life, as we did at a Norwich care home in 2025. Replace it if parts are unavailable, or if it can't show distinct call types or log response times.
Can you maintain systems another company installed?
Yes: fire, nurse call, CCTV and access control. A takeover visit on its own starts from £100.
Book a care home survey
Try the pricing calculator, or book a free site survey anywhere in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire or Essex.