Fire Stopping Surveys for NHS & Healthcare Buildings

Why does compartmentation matter so much in healthcare buildings?

Many patients cannot leave a building quickly, or at all, without help. Healthcare buildings are often designed so patients can be moved horizontally, away from a fire into a neighbouring compartment on the same floor, rather than evacuated straight down the stairs. That approach, known as progressive horizontal evacuation, only works if the walls and floors between compartments hold back fire and smoke.

Every unsealed penetration in a compartment wall is a route for smoke into the area where patients are being moved to safety. That is why fire stopping in healthcare buildings deserves careful, well-recorded inspection.

Why do healthcare buildings need frequent attention?

Few buildings change as often. Medical gases, nurse call, data, power, heating and ventilation are added and rerouted constantly as departments are reconfigured and equipment is replaced. Each change can leave a hole in a compartment wall above a ceiling or in a riser, and because the work is hidden, nobody sees the gap that remains.

Estates often include buildings of many ages on one site, from older blocks to recent extensions, each with different construction and fire stopping products.

How do we survey buildings that never close?

Most areas of a hospital stay in use around the clock. We plan surveys with estates teams in phases, working area by area so no department is disrupted for long. Wards, theatres and other sensitive areas are scheduled at times agreed with the site, which may mean out-of-hours visits, and we leave any area straight away if clinical staff need us to.

Sleeping risk means night-time work is planned carefully: low noise, minimal lighting in patient areas, and clear arrangements with the nurse in charge.

How do we work with infection control requirements?

Lifting ceiling tiles and opening risers can release dust, which matters in clinical areas. We follow the infection control requirements set by each site: where we may lift tiles, what precautions are needed in each area, when higher-risk areas can be accessed, and how we move between them. If the site requires particular controls before a ceiling is opened, those are agreed in advance.

What about escorted access, permits and security?

Many healthcare areas can only be entered with an escort: mental health units, secure areas, pharmacies, plant rooms and some clinical departments. We agree escorts, keys and permits with the estates team before each visit, so time on site is used efficiently and staff know when to expect us. We follow each site's own procedures for permits, inductions and signing in.

What does the estates team receive?

Every observation is photographed, located and described, with a recommended remedy. Where you provide plans, observations are marked on them by floor and room so estates staff and contractors can find each one again. Across a trust or a group of sites, every building is surveyed and reported the same way, so findings can be compared.

We report what we find. We do not grade risk, rank priorities or set timescales; your Responsible Person decides, with their Fire Risk Assessor. If you would like help putting things right, see fire stopping remedial works. For multi-site estates, see portfolio survey programmes.