PEEPs in Fire Safety: Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans Explained
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is an individualised plan for a person who may need assistance to evacuate a building in an emergency. Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, responsible persons for higher-risk residential buildings (over 18 metres or with seven or more storeys) must prepare PEEPs for residents who self-identify as being unable to evacuate without help.
A PEEP should be personal to the individual and take into account their specific needs. This might include mobility impairments requiring wheelchair evacuation chairs, visual or hearing impairments requiring adapted alarm systems, cognitive conditions requiring clear and simple instructions, or temporary conditions such as pregnancy or recovery from surgery.
The responsible person must take reasonable steps to identify residents who need a PEEP. This typically involves writing to all residents to ask whether they would need assistance evacuating, providing clear information about what a PEEP involves, and following up periodically as residents’ circumstances may change. Residents are not obliged to engage, but the responsible person must demonstrate that best endeavours have been made.
Each PEEP should document the individual’s location in the building, the nature of their evacuation needs, the specific evacuation route and method, any equipment needed (evacuation chairs, hearing loops), who will assist with evacuation, and any alternative arrangements. PEEPs should be reviewed at least annually and after any relevant changes.
The PEEP requirements complement the building’s overall evacuation strategy. In buildings with a stay-put policy, PEEPs may need to address scenarios where stay-put is overridden by the fire service and a full evacuation is ordered. The responsible person should ensure that PEEPs are compatible with the fire and rescue service’s operational plans.
Custodia’s PEEP management tools help responsible persons track resident engagement, create and maintain individualised evacuation plans, schedule reviews, and generate reports for fire and rescue service information sharing.