Why residential emergency evacuation planning matters more than ever

Patrick Heaney

From April 6, 2026, new fire safety regulations in England came into force. Designed to support residents who may need assistance evacuating in the event of a fire, these new rules will require responsible persons in certain higher-risk residential buildings to take reasonable steps to identify and prepare evacuation plans in advance. These regulations will form part of the final recommendations arising from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to be implemented through legislation.

Implementation for these new Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan regulations (RPEEPs) should be straightforward in practice. They require collaborative working between residents, local emergency services and a responsible person to form a plan to assist those who cannot self-evacuate in an emergency.

This legislation will be welcome news for residents. In the Grenfell fire, disabled residents were among those who needlessly lost their lives because they did not have a safe evacuation route. This is no marginal issue either, according to the English Housing Survey (2019-20), more than half of all social rented households included at least one member with a disability or long-term health condition. Today, that equates to approximately 2.16 million households, a significant portion of the population.

While the likelihood of any individual resident experiencing a fire remains low, the consequences can be devastating, particularly for those who may not be able to evacuate quickly or without support.

It is crucial that residents are involved in these conversations from the beginning, ensuring that fire safety works for everyone. It’s important to remember that this is not about collecting people’s private medical information, but simply whether a person needs assistance to evacuate, the type of assistance required, and where they are located within a building. The focus is on the practical implications for evacuation, not the underlying personal details.

It stands to reason, therefore, that the support required goes far beyond residents with mobility issues, though, naturally wheelchair users often spring to mind in these scenarios. Those with sight or hearing loss, cognitive impairments or other disabilities, and even children in some cases, will benefit from this legislation.

Once a resident is identified and agrees to participate, the next step is usually a person-centred fire risk assessment. This is a practical discussion about the resident’s circumstances, their home, and what might help them stay safe or evacuate if needed. From that, an emergency evacuation statement can be developed, setting out the agreed support needs in a simple, usable way.

The relevant information is then made available to the Fire and Rescue Service, typically through the building’s secure information box and, in some cases, through electronic systems as well. Fire services may have slightly different operational preferences, which means responsible persons must understand local arrangements as well as national requirements.

No doubt implementing the latest RPEEPS will create operational challenges for the sector, especially larger outfits that operate across different authority areas. The scale of disability and long-term health conditions across social housing alone shows why this cannot be approached as a niche compliance issue. For many landlords and managing agents, this will touch a meaningful proportion of their residents. That is exactly why the sector needs practical, person-centred processes that are consistent, proportionate and built to last.

By creating a culture of reassurance, centred around residents first and foremost, and guided by their needs. Fire safety is about so much more than buildings and systems. It is about the people who live there, how they experience fire risk, and how to support emergency services to make life-saving decisions quickly when every second counts.

FIRE Magazine

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