The Disabled Refuge Myth: A Holding Point, Not a Safe Haven

One of the most common — and most dangerous — fire safety misunderstandings we come across is the belief that a disabled refuge is simply a safe place to wait for the fire brigade to arrive and carry someone out. The belief goes like this: if there’s a disabled refuge point on the landing, you can move a wheelchair user into it, close the door, and wait for the fire brigade to come and carry them out. The building’s job is done; the rescue is someone else’s problem.

It isn’t. Under UK law, that assumption is not just wrong — it can be unlawful, and in a real fire it can be fatal. A refuge is a short-term holding point, not a safe haven, and the Fire and Rescue Service is not your evacuation plan. Here’s what the law actually requires, and what genuine compliance looks like in a multi-storey commercial or public building.

(This article covers non-domestic premises — workplaces and public buildings — rather than people’s own homes.)

The myth: “the refuge is a safe place to wait for the fire brigade”

Walk around a lot of UK offices, colleges and public buildings and you’ll find fire strategies that say, in effect: move mobility-impaired occupants to the stairwell refuge and wait for the Fire and Rescue Service to rescue them. There are two serious problems with this.

First, the Fire and Rescue Service has no legal duty to evacuate individual occupants from a building. Its statutory role, under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, is firefighting and protecting life through its operations — not executing your building’s evacuation plan. Crews may not arrive for several minutes, they may commit to firefighting or search elsewhere first, and they can never be a substitute for a plan you are legally required to have in place yourself.

Second, a refuge was never designed to hold someone indefinitely. It buys minutes, not hours.

The reality: a refuge buys time, it doesn’t replace a plan

A refuge is defined in modern fire safety guidance as a temporary, relatively safe place — an area with a higher level of fire protection, such as a fire-resisting lobby or protected stairwell, where a person who cannot use stairs unaided can wait in reasonable safety for a short period while an assisted escape is organised.

The key words are temporary and short period. A refuge is a staging post in a managed evacuation, not a final destination. Someone placed in a refuge should be on their way out of the building shortly afterwards, assisted by trained staff — not left there hoping an engine arrives in time.

A quick note on standards, because this is where a lot of old guidance is out of date. Refuges used to be covered by BS 5588-8. That standard has been withdrawn. The relevant guidance today is BS 9999 (fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings) for most non-domestic buildings, with BS 9991 covering residential design. If your fire strategy still references BS 5588-8, it’s overdue a review.

Who is actually responsible for evacuating disabled people?

You are — as a “Responsible Person” under UK law. This is not something that sits with “the building” as an abstract entity, and it is not a duty you can simply hand to your landlord.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person must ensure everyone can evacuate the premises safely — and that includes disabled and mobility-impaired occupants. If you are an employer or you occupy the premises, you are a Responsible Person. Most buildings, in fact, have more than one: the employer, the building owner and any managing agent can each hold duties at the same time, and the law requires them to cooperate and coordinate with one another. Your job is to work with building management to make sure a workable plan is actually in place — one that does not rely on the Fire and Rescue Service to carry it out.

What genuine compliance looks like

Moving past the myth means putting active management measures in place. In a multi-storey commercial or public building, that usually means all of the following.

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

A PEEP is an individual, pre-agreed plan for a person with a known mobility or sensory impairment — typically a member of staff. It sets out their specific route, the equipment and assistance they’ll need, who is responsible for helping, and where they go. Anyone with a known impairment who regularly uses the building should have one.

Generic Emergency Evacuation Plans (GEEPs)

You can’t write a PEEP for a visitor you’ve never met. A GEEP covers members of the public and occasional visitors whose needs aren’t known in advance, setting out a standard procedure staff can follow to assist anyone who needs help. Public-facing buildings generally need both PEEPs and a GEEP.

Emergency Voice Communication Systems (EVCS)

A refuge must let the person inside it communicate with whoever is coordinating the evacuation. That’s the job of an Emergency Voice Communication System to BS 5839-9 — the two-way intercom outstations you see in refuges, linked to a master panel where a fire warden can confirm who is waiting, where, and reassure them that help is coming. These systems must be tested and maintained on a regular schedule, not simply installed and forgotten.

Evacuation equipment and trained staff

Someone has to be able to actually move the person. That means the right equipment — evacuation chairs, and in some buildings evacuation lifts designed to be used in a fire — and, crucially, staff who are trained and confident to use it. An evacuation chair bolted to the wall that nobody knows how to operate is not a plan.

Buddy systems

A nominated, trained colleague (a “buddy”, ideally with a backup) is assigned to stay with the person and assist them to and through the refuge until they are safely out. The buddy makes sure no one is ever left waiting alone.

The cost of getting it wrong

This is not a paperwork exercise. Fire and rescue authorities can and do enforce the Fire Safety Order, and getting it wrong can mean enforcement or prohibition notices, prosecution and unlimited fines — quite apart from an Equality Act discrimination claim. But the real cost is the obvious one: a plan that relies on someone else turning up in time is a plan that can leave a person trapped. The refuge myth persists because it feels reasonable. It isn’t — and it’s exactly the kind of gap a competent fire risk assessment should catch.

Frequently asked questions

Is the fire service legally responsible for evacuating disabled people?

No. The Fire and Rescue Service’s statutory role is firefighting and protecting life through its operations, not carrying out your building’s evacuation plan. Responsibility for evacuating everyone, including disabled occupants, sits with the Responsible Person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — usually the employer or occupier, working alongside the building owner and managing agent, who each hold duties and must cooperate.

How long can someone stay in a refuge?

A refuge is designed for short-term use only — long enough to organise an assisted escape, not to wait indefinitely for rescue. It is a staging point in a managed evacuation, not a place of ultimate safety.

Do we need a PEEP for every disabled person in the building?

You need a PEEP for every person with a known impairment who regularly uses the building — usually employees. For visitors and members of the public whose needs you can’t know in advance, a Generic Emergency Evacuation Plan (GEEP) covers the standard assistance procedure.

Is BS 5588-8 still the standard for refuges?

No. BS 5588-8 has been withdrawn. Non-domestic buildings are now covered by BS 9999, with BS 9991 for residential design. Any fire strategy still citing BS 5588-8 should be reviewed.

Bring your fire safety compliance under one roof

If your evacuation plan assumes the fire brigade will do the rescuing — or if you’re not sure whether your PEEPs, refuges and EVCS actually stack up — it’s worth a proper review. Our team can assess your current arrangements, identify the gaps, and put compliant, workable evacuation plans in place for everyone who uses your building.

If you’re not sure your disabled evacuation arrangements would hold up in a real fire, we can assess them, find the gaps and fix them.