A care home is judged on two things the outside world can see: the state of the building and the state of its fire safety file. SeeForth looks after both. Our assessors carry out the fire risk assessment the Responsible Person and the Care Quality Commission expect to see, and our technicians clear the gutters, clean the windows and repair the roof, all planned with the home manager so residents and staff are not disturbed.
Request a quoteEpping, Essex
A care home operator asked us to clear the gutters and downpipes at its Epping home. The visit was planned with the home manager so residents and staff were not disturbed, and the debris was bagged and taken away.
Heybridge, Maldon, Essex
The same operator booked a second home on the same terms as the first, a winter clearance after the leaves had come down. See our Essex page.
Two homes for one operator over three years is how care home work tends to run: a first job done properly, then the rest of the group. We say plainly that the care homes on this page were maintenance jobs; the fire risk assessment service is described below.
A care home is non-domestic premises under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Responsible Person, usually the operator, must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and keep it under review. What sets a care home apart from an office or a block of flats is the people in it: residents who cannot leave the building quickly, or at all, without help.
Both of our assessors hold the NSA Level 6 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment and are IFSM registered. The written report arrives within 48 hours of the visit, with hazards in plain language and actions ranked by risk. We assess; we do not sell the works the report calls for. See our fire risk assessment page and our fire strategy page for larger or newly built homes.
Blocked gutters at a care home mean damp bedrooms and slippery paths. Cleared in autumn and spring, with photographs of what came out.
Reach and wash from the ground, no ladders against the building, no equipment left on the paths. Residents' windows are done on the days the home manager chooses.
Slipped tiles, ridge lines and flashing repaired by rope access or MEWP, without scaffold around a building that people live in.
Soft washing that brings back the front of the home before an inspection or an open day, with no pressure washer on render.
Netting and spikes over entrances, ledges and plant areas, with the fouling cleared first.
Fascias, soffits, railings and rendered walls painted on a planned cycle, with the work timed around the home's routine.
Care homes across Essex, Hertfordshire, Greater London and Cambridge, from our office at 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE. Our fire risk assessors cover Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and London between them.
The Fire Safety Order says it must be kept under review. In practice a care home is reviewed every twelve months and reassessed in full after any change to the building, the residents' dependency or the night staffing, and after any fire. Our report states the review date.
Moving residents through a fire-resisting wall to a safe compartment on the same floor rather than out of the building. Most care homes are designed around it because residents cannot use stairs quickly. The assessment checks that the compartment walls, the fire doors and the number of staff on duty at night can actually deliver it.
The Commission asks to see a current fire risk assessment and evidence that its actions are being dealt with. Our report is written in plain language with actions ranked by risk, so it can be handed over as it stands together with your action log.
No. We assess and we do not sell fire doors, alarms or extinguishers, so the report is not a sales document. Any external maintenance the home needs, such as gutters or roof repairs, is a separate quote.
Yes. That is how the Epping and Heybridge gutter jobs ran, planned with the home manager so residents and staff were not disturbed. Elevations are done in the order the manager chooses, nothing is left on the paths, and every technician carries identification and signs in.
Yes. The operator on this page booked a second home on the same terms as the first. We put a group's homes on one calendar for gutters, windows and assessments, with one point of contact.
Tell us the building and we will tell you what it needs. Call 020 4634 3089 or send the address and a photo.
Let us know which of our specialist cleaning or maintenance solutions you need.