Temporary accommodation — from hotels to emergency housing — introduces sleeping risk with unfamiliar occupants. Fire safety management must bridge this vulnerability gap.. Temporary Accommodation Fire Risks Local authorities increasingly use hotels, hostels, and converted properties as temporary accommodation for homeless individuals and families. These settings combine sleeping risk with vulnerable occupants. Types of Temporary Accommodation Hotels used as TA: Generally good fire safety provision (designed for sleeping occupants) But management may be less attentive than for commercial guests Cooking facilities may be added (creating new fire risks) Children's activities in rooms not designed for families Hostels: Purpose built or converted properties Communal facilities creating management challenges Substance abuse increasing fire risk Mental health issues affecting fire safety compliance Limited staff presence, especially at night Emergency housing (e.g., converted offices): Buildings not designed for residential sleeping use May lack adequate detection, compartmentation, and means of escape Permitted Development conversions with minimal fire safety provision Temporary nature may mean fire safety is deprioritised Legal Framework RRO 2005 — fire risk assessment required Housing Act 2004 — housing health and safety rating system LACORS guidance — for HMO type sleeping accommodation Local authority duty — duty of care to placed individuals Children Act — additional safeguarding duties where children placed Fire Safety Essentials 1. L1 detection throughout — smoke detection in every room 2. Emergency lighting on all escape routes 3. Self closing FD30S fire doors to all bedrooms 4. Fire action notices — multilingual with pictorial evacuation instructions 5. Regular fire drills — challenging with transient occupancy 6. Staff training — overnight staff trained in evacuation of vulnerable people 7. Cooking safety — controlled cooking facilities with suppression PEEPs for Vulnerable Occupants Many TA occupants are vulnerable: Physical disabilities requiring evacuation assistance Mental health conditions affecting evacuation behaviour Language barriers preventing understanding of alarms/instructions Substance abuse affecting alertness and response Individual PEEPs must be prepared for each identified person For temporary accommodation fire safety, contact us. Magnus Opifex SEVEN LTD — UK's Leading Fire Safety & Fire Engineering Consultancy 🌐 magnus opifex.co.uk 📞 +44 7486 691724 ✉️ office@magnus opifex.co.uk Founders: Nicoleta Vasile, Baroness of Brattleby — CEO, Lawyer and Barrister, Legal & Administrative Director Alina — Technical Director & Expert Fire Engineer (BEng) Head Office: Ealing Cross, 85 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5BW Magnus Opifex SEVEN LTD delivers engineering led fire engineering, fire risk assessments, CFD modelling, and building safety consultancy across the United Kingdom and internationally. With over 20 years of combined experience and a UK portfolio spanning healthcare, residential and infrastructure, we bring truly engineered solutions with a personal touch. © 2026 Magnus Opifex SEVEN LTD. All rights reserved.