Escape routes and fire exits: England’s most cited fire safety breach, ten years running

• 40.4%of audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, against 31.3% in 2016/17
• 11,286escape route and exit breaches in 2025/26, the most cited of 24 articles every year for ten years
• 33prosecutions in 2025/26, half the 66 of 2016/17
• 1,224prohibition notices, the most in ten years

These are audits, not a survey of England’s buildings. Fire and rescue services choose the premises they audit by risk, and in 2025/26 their audits reached 1.8 of every 100 premises they know of. Each area also records breaches in its own way, so the areas are not a league table. Please read what the figures do not show before using them.

What we found

1.Four in ten audits found the premises unsatisfactory, up from three in ten

In 2025/26, 20,286 of 50,195 fire safety audits (40.4%) found that further action was needed to bring the premises up to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The share was 31.3% in 2016/17 and 33.9% in 2019/20, and peaked at 41.8% in 2023/24.

The rise is broad. The typical (median) area went from 31.3% to 40.9%, and 30 of the 44 areas had a higher share than in 2016/17. London audits far less than it did (12,631 audits in 2016/17, 5,163 in 2025/26) and finds fewer premises unsatisfactory (23.6%); without London, England’s share still rose from 35.0% to 42.3%.

2.Escape routes and exits are the breach recorded most, every year for ten years

Article 14 of the Order, Emergency routes and exits, was the most cited of 24 articles in every year from 2016/17 to 2025/26. In 2025/26 the audits recorded 11,286 breaches of it resulting in action, 13.2% of all 85,644.

It was also the most cited article in more areas than any other: in 16 of the 44 areas in 2025/26 (Article 15, on procedures for serious and imminent danger, came next with 9), and in 20 of 44 over the five years to March 2026. In 27 areas it was among the three most cited. Over the ten years it has the most convictions recorded against it, 245 (238 without London’s blanket entries), ahead of Article 8, the general duty to take fire precautions, with 212.

What Article 14 requires

Article 14 is wider than a blocked fire exit. It places these duties on the responsible person for the premises: where necessary to keep people safe, routes to emergency exits and the exits themselves must be kept clear at all times. Where the features of the premises, what goes on there or its hazards make it necessary, the article also requires that:

• emergency routes and exits lead as directly as possible to a place of safety, and people can leave as quickly and as safely as possible in an emergency;
• there are enough routes and exits, placed and sized for the use, equipment and size of the premises and the most people who may be there at one time;
• emergency doors open in the direction of escape, and are not locked or fastened so that anyone who needs them in an emergency cannot open them easily and immediately;
• sliding or revolving doors are not used for exits meant specifically as emergency exits;
• emergency routes and exits are shown by signs, and those that need lighting have emergency lighting bright enough for when the normal lighting fails.

So a breach may be a corridor full of stock or a locked final exit, but it may also be too few exits, a door that opens the wrong way, missing signs or emergency lighting that does not work. The tables count breaches by article only: they do not record which part of Article 14 a breach concerned. This is our summary; the wording that applies is the Order’s own, on legislation.gov.uk (read on 31 October 2026, where it is shown up to date with changes in force on or before 25 October 2026).

3.Prosecutions have halved in ten years while unsatisfactory audits rose

There were 33 prosecutions in 2025/26, against 52 in 2019/20 and 66 in 2016/17, with a low of 24 in 2022/23. Over the same ten years unsatisfactory audits rose from 17,320 to 20,286. That is one prosecution for every 615 unsatisfactory audits in 2025/26, against one for every 262 in 2016/17 and 316 in 2019/20. 27 of the 44 areas recorded none in 2025/26 (19 in 2016/17).

Some cases are still in progress: 77 prosecutions were recorded as not yet heard or determined (32 in 2016/17), and 79 were carried forward to the next year, the most in the series. Over the ten years the premises most often prosecuted were other sleeping accommodation (73), licensed premises (61), shops (56) and hotels (49).

4.About half the audits of mid-rise flats, HMOs, hotels and licensed premises found them unsatisfactory

Purpose-built flats of 6 to 9 storeys had the highest share in 2025/26, 50.7% (660 of 1,303 audits), then flats of 4 to 5 storeys (49.9%), houses in multiple occupation (49.7%), hotels (48.9%) and licensed premises (47.6%, 2,349 of 4,940; 40.3% in 2016/17). Schools had the lowest, 27.9%.

London carried out half (50.7%) of the audits of 6 to 9 storey flats and found 40.3% unsatisfactory; elsewhere it was 61.3%. Put another way, of every 100 audits in 2025/26, 48 of licensed premises, 49 of hotels, 42 of shops, 39 of care homes and 28 of schools found the premises unsatisfactory.

5.Prohibition notices reached a ten-year high

A prohibition notice stops or restricts the use of a building. There were 1,224 in 2025/26, up 26.8% on 965 the year before and more than double the 536 of 2016/17. They rose in 27 areas and fell in 13. Shops received 484 (198 in 2016/17), licensed premises 203 (126) and other sleeping accommodation 115 (41).

Formal notices rose 10.9% to 3,355, while informal notifications fell 6.2% to 18,039.

6.Exit breaches rose in England’s total, but the rise rests on two areas’ records

Recorded breaches of Article 14 rose from 10,322 in 2024/25 to 11,286 in 2025/26, a rise of 9.3%. The total is right, but 27 of the 44 areas recorded fewer and 17 more, and two areas account for the increase. West Yorkshire went from 202 to 1,030 (it had 882 in 2023/24) and Hertfordshire from 745 to 1,199. Without West Yorkshire the rise is 1.3%; without both, there is a fall of 3.4%. Across the 21 areas whose records were consistent in both years (see Method), like for like, there was a fall of 7.4%. The 2025/26 total is also below 2023/24’s 11,685.

Over ten years exit breaches rose 54.3% (from 7,313), while breaches of every article rose 71.9% and audits fell 9.2%. Areas now record more breaches per unsatisfactory audit (4.22, against 2.88 in 2016/17), and Article 14’s share of all breaches slipped from 14.7% to 13.2%.

7.How often exits come up in an audit

England recorded 22.5 Article 14 breaches for every 100 audits in 2025/26 (20.7 over the five years to March 2026), pulled up by areas that count each defect; in the typical area it was 11.3. The 26 areas whose 2025/26 records hold together had 16.9 exit breaches per 100 audits and 46.6 per 100 unsatisfactory audits, a figure between 43.6 and 48.4 every year since 2017/18. If those areas cite an article at most once per audit, escape routes or exits featured in about half of the audits that found premises unsatisfactory. Their figures allow this reading but do not prove it.

8.Audits are aimed at the riskiest buildings

The 50,195 audits in 2025/26 reached 1.8 of every 100 premises the fire and rescue services know of (2,744,473, not counting single private homes). They reached 17.6 of every 100 care homes and 17.4 of every 100 hospitals, but 0.7 of every 100 HMOs and 0.5 of every 100 offices.

What the figures do not show

• Audits are risk-based. Each fire and rescue authority must have a locally determined, risk-based inspection programme, and audits reached 1.8 of every 100 known premises in 2025/26. The unsatisfactory share describes the premises that were audited, not England’s buildings.
• One audit can cite several articles, and some areas appear to count each defect. A count of breaches is not a count of premises.
• Areas record differently. The unsatisfactory share runs from 8.8% to 93.0% between areas, and breaches per unsatisfactory audit from 0.08 to 35.3. A high share can mean well-aimed audits. This is not a league table, and no area should be read as the best or the worst.
• Article 14 is wider than blocked exits (see above), and the tables do not say which part of it a breach concerned.
• Definitions. “Unsatisfactory” means further action is needed for the premises to comply. Types of premises are each authority’s own classification. Flats are split by number of storeys only from 2018/19, and the unsplit band is still used (607 audits in 2025/26).
• Small numbers. Prosecutions (no area recorded more than 5 in 2025/26), convictions, the Isles of Scilly, further education (369 audits) and public buildings (404 audits) are small, and change a lot from year to year.
• Revisions. These are the tables published on 2 September 2026. The release describes no revisions, but later editions can change earlier years.
• 2020/21 was the pandemic year, with 34,888 audits; read trends around it with care.

Each fire and rescue authority area

One plain line for each of the 44 areas, in alphabetical order and named as in the tables. Each gives the share of audits that found the premises unsatisfactory, in 2025/26 and over the five years to March 2026 (2021/22 to 2025/26); where escape routes and exits ranked among the articles that area cited; and its prosecutions. For comparison, England’s share was 40.4% in 2025/26 and 38.8% over the five years.

These lines are not a ranking. Authorities choose which premises to audit and record breaches differently, so a high share can mean well-aimed audits, and a rank depends on how fully an area records articles.

1. Avon. 47.4% of 1,227 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 50.6% of 4,439 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fourth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fourth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 6 in the ten years to March 2026.
2. Bedfordshire. 22.5% of 475 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 23.6% of 3,278 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fourth over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 3 in the ten years to March 2026.
3. Berkshire. 21.7% of 769 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 29.8% of 4,223 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 12 in the ten years to March 2026.
4. Buckinghamshire. 72.0% of 674 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 54.6% of 2,291 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 4 in the ten years to March 2026.
5. Cambridgeshire. 8.8% of 906 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 10.6% of 5,122 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and second over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 1 in the ten years to March 2026.
6. Cheshire. 11.0% of 2,480 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 10.8% of 9,365 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the third most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and third over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 25 in the ten years to March 2026.
7. Cleveland. 73.3% of 581 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 62.9% of 5,499 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fifth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 7 in the ten years to March 2026. In three of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
8. Cornwall. 51.6% of 545 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 45.1% of 2,921 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 2 in 2025/26; 12 in the ten years to March 2026.
9. Cumbria. 51.0% of 747 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 51.3% of 3,570 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the joint tenth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and tenth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 1 in the ten years to March 2026.
10. Derbyshire. 41.8% of 921 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 43.7% of 5,094 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 23 in the ten years to March 2026.
11. Devon and Somerset. 80.1% of 648 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 71.7% of 3,602 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 19 in the ten years to March 2026.
12. Dorset and Wiltshire. 72.0% of 743 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 59.1% of 4,162 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 1 in the ten years to March 2026. In 2025/26 its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
13. Durham. 52.2% of 2,173 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 41.4% of 9,968 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fifth over the five years. Prosecutions: 2 in 2025/26; 7 in the ten years to March 2026. In all five years its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
14. East Sussex. 59.7% of 419 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 41.4% of 2,416 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the joint second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and second over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 25 in the ten years to March 2026. In two of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
15. Essex. 37.8% of 1,432 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 42.6% of 7,035 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the sixth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and sixth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 5 in the ten years to March 2026.
16. Gloucestershire. 40.1% of 1,170 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 30.9% of 3,662 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fourth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and third over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 2 in the ten years to March 2026. In three of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
17. Greater London. 23.6% of 5,163 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 24.0% of 29,670 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 21 in the ten years to March 2026. In two of the five years, though not 2025/26, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
18. Greater Manchester. 38.6% of 2,607 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 36.0% of 10,539 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fourth over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 14 in the ten years to March 2026.
19. Hampshire and Isle of Wight. 26.9% of 1,593 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 39.2% of 6,771 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and seventh over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 4 in the ten years to March 2026.
20. Hereford and Worcester. 76.5% of 1,275 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 72.1% of 5,845 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fifth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 1 in the ten years to March 2026. In four of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
21. Hertfordshire. 19.9% of 331 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 47.7% of 3,960 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 7 in the ten years to March 2026.
22. Humberside. 90.5% of 1,004 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 58.7% of 5,291 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 3 in the ten years to March 2026.
23. Isles of Scilly. 55.6% of 18 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 58.6% of 111 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the joint second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in the ten years to March 2026. Small numbers: the five-year figures are the better guide.
24. Kent. 44.4% of 1,164 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 40.4% of 8,064 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 4 in 2025/26; 15 in the ten years to March 2026. In all five years its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
25. Lancashire. 93.0% of 1,615 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 88.3% of 9,746 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and second over the five years. Prosecutions: 3 in 2025/26; 17 in the ten years to March 2026.
26. Leicestershire. 17.3% of 1,191 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 17.9% of 5,958 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the thirteenth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and eleventh over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 4 in the ten years to March 2026.
27. Lincolnshire. 39.4% of 814 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 26.1% of 3,962 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and second over the five years. Prosecutions: none in the ten years to March 2026. In four of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
28. Merseyside. 28.0% of 1,787 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 28.3% of 8,495 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fifth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 10 in the ten years to March 2026.
29. Norfolk. 27.5% of 411 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 21.8% of 2,569 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and second over the five years. Prosecutions: 2 in 2025/26; 6 in the ten years to March 2026.
30. North Yorkshire. 12.7% of 699 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 31.3% of 6,282 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 13 in the ten years to March 2026.
31. Northamptonshire. 43.7% of 967 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 26.3% of 4,456 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and third over the five years. Prosecutions: 2 in 2025/26; 4 in the ten years to March 2026. In four of the five years, 2025/26 among them, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
32. Northumberland. 71.3% of 421 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 61.6% of 2,516 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fifth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fifth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 3 in the ten years to March 2026. In three of the five years, though not 2025/26, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
33. Nottinghamshire. 14.7% of 2,475 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 20.0% of 9,000 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the eleventh most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and eleventh over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 4 in the ten years to March 2026.
34. Oxfordshire. 33.0% of 397 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 32.7% of 2,394 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 12 in the ten years to March 2026.
35. Shropshire. 27.1% of 465 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 21.8% of 2,539 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the fourth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and fourth over the five years. Prosecutions: 2 in 2025/26; 3 in the ten years to March 2026.
36. South Yorkshire. 60.7% of 1,814 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 64.8% of 8,300 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 7 in the ten years to March 2026. In all five years its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
37. Staffordshire. 15.3% of 536 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 14.4% of 2,297 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 2 in the ten years to March 2026.
38. Suffolk. 23.4% of 658 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 25.3% of 4,357 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 5 in 2025/26; 11 in the ten years to March 2026.
39. Surrey. 17.0% of 1,845 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 26.1% of 6,405 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 3 in the ten years to March 2026. In one of the five years, though not 2025/26, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
40. Tyne and Wear. 36.3% of 1,131 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 34.2% of 6,553 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the sixth most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and sixth over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 10 in the ten years to March 2026.
41. Warwickshire. 53.8% of 545 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 42.4% of 1,913 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and third over the five years. Prosecutions: 3 in 2025/26; 7 in the ten years to March 2026.
42. West Midlands. 49.1% of 934 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 48.1% of 3,958 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 68 in the ten years to March 2026. In one of the five years, though not 2025/26, its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
43. West Sussex. 65.1% of 1,073 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 52.7% of 5,154 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the first most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: none in 2025/26; 14 in the ten years to March 2026. In all five years its return lists fewer article breaches than unsatisfactory audits, so some of those audits have no article recorded and the rank rests on part of them.
44. West Yorkshire. 70.3% of 1,352 audits found the premises unsatisfactory in 2025/26, and 51.7% of 5,715 over the five years to March 2026. Escape routes and exits (Article 14) were the second most cited of 24 articles there in 2025/26, and first over the five years. Prosecutions: 1 in 2025/26; 15 in the ten years to March 2026.

Method

• Sources. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Fire prevention and protection statistics, England, year ending March 2026, data tables FIRE1202 (audits, outcomes and notices) and FIRE1204 (breaches by article of the Order, prosecutions and convictions), published 2 September 2026 and downloaded from GOV.UK’s fire statistics data tables page on 28 October 2026. Ten financial years, 2016/17 to 2025/26 (April to March), for England’s 44 fire and rescue authority areas and 21 types of premises.
• The data. We read only the tables’ long-format data sheets, 944,064 rows, and checked that each area’s total equals the sum of its types of premises in every table (the one exception, West Sussex’s 67 short audits in 2017/18, is not used), and that satisfactory plus unsatisfactory audits equals all audits in every row. England’s figures are the sum of the 44 areas.
• Measures. The unsatisfactory share is unsatisfactory audits over all audits, short audits included, as in the release. Five-year figures are five-year totals over five-year totals, for 2021/22 to 2025/26, leaving out the pandemic year. The typical area is the median of the 44 areas’ own figures. An article’s rank in an area is its place among the 24 articles by breaches recorded there.
• Recording checks. An area’s year is sparse when all its article breaches are fewer than its unsatisfactory audits, so some failed audits have no article recorded; itemised when its Article 14 breaches alone exceed its unsatisfactory audits, which is impossible at one citation per audit, so it appears to count each defect; and consistent when neither applies. In 2025/26 there were 26 consistent, 11 sparse and 7 itemised areas. Consistent rules out both patterns; it does not prove one citation per audit.
• Known breaks. Hertfordshire’s return changed shape in 2024/25 (audits fell from 1,094 to 252, while exit breaches rose). West Yorkshire’s 2024/25 exit count (202, between 882 and 1,030) looks like a break that may be revised. West Midlands moved its tall flats into the 10-storey band in 2025/26.
• Prosecutions and convictions. Prosecutions are from FIRE1204b. FIRE1202 gives the same England totals except in 2017/18 (78 against 66). The tables define prosecutions in two ways (“convictions for failure to comply” and “legal proceedings brought”) and neither says when a case is counted. Convictions are counted per article, so they are not cases; Greater London entered the same number against every article in three years, and totals are given with and without those entries.
• Statistics. Medians by linear interpolation (as Excel’s PERCENTILE.INC). Rounding is half up. Nothing in the analysis is random, so it repeats exactly.

The release already reports the national exit count and its rank, the year-on-year rise, the six-year prosecution comparison and the unsatisfactory shares. New here are the ten-year view, the evidence that the year’s rise rests on two areas, Article 14’s rank within each area, the evidence that areas count breaches differently, and prosecutions per unsatisfactory audit.

Using these figures

You are welcome to quote or chart the figures. Please credit “SiteClara analysis of MHCLG fire prevention and protection statistics” and link to this page. Questions about the method, or the full results by area, year and type of premises: help@siteclara.com.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Fire prevention and protection statistics, England, year ending March 2026. The Ministry and the fire and rescue services have not reviewed or endorsed this study.

This study was put together by SiteClara, which lets on-site teams log and respond to work, scheduled checks and issues where they happen, and keeps the people who need to know up to date.