People who die in their workplace from fires often do so due to a lack of fire training and preventative measures.
With over 22,000 workplace fires a year in the UK, it’s better to be safe than sorry. This blog will help you understand what you need to do to keep employees and visitors safe.
Are we obliged to provide fire training to our staff?
Yes. It’s an employer’s responsibility to design and implement a plan to deal with a fire.
Employers are also legally required by law (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) to provide information, instruction and training to employees.
What do employees need to be trained in?
As it only takes one fire to kill a person, destroy a business or both, it’s a good idea to take the time to ensure any training is comprehensive.
All employees must know:
- What your fire and evacuation procedures are
- What to do if a fire occurs
- How to prevent a fire from starting
- Where to find extinguishers
- Which extinguishers to use for which types of fire
All staff, including contractors, need training regardless of their hours of work or level of seniority.
In addition, you need to nominate fire marshals. These will have specific roles and responsibilities to carry out. They’ll need specialised training to help them do this successfully. We’ll provide more information about this later on.
Should we include fire safety training in the induction process?
Yes. You have a responsibility to ensure a new employee’s safety from the very first day of their employment.
How often should we provide fire safety training for our employees?
The London Fire Brigade recommends annual training. If the following apply, you should consider training your team more frequently:
- You have a high staff turnover
- Your employees are responsible for care home residents, hotel guests, vulnerable residents or patients
- There is a high risk of fire
What are fire marshals responsible for?
Fire marshals have several responsibilities. These include:
- Carrying out regular drills to check the fire alarm is operational and evacuation procedures work well
- Ensuring safe evacuations
- Liaising with emergency services in a fire
- Organising training and maintaining training records
Are fire wardens different from fire marshals?
No, in the UK they both refer to the same roles and responsibilities. We always use the term ‘fire marshal’.
How many fire marshals does my business need?
At least one member of staff should be a designated fire marshal. You may need more if your premises are high-risk or you have more than 20 employees. You should complete a fire risk assessment to determine how many fire marshals you need.
Fire equipment such as extinguishers and alarms must be regularly checked and maintained.
What makes a good fire marshal?
You need someone who shows good attention to detail and is happy working to a schedule. They need to be calm under pressure and have the presence to command attention. Sometimes, employees can get too engrossed in a task or lunch to take heed of an alarm. They may need reminding that safety comes before sales or sandwiches!
What type of fire safety training can Safe and Sound offer us?
We offer on-site and online fire safety training. Our blog ‘Which fire safety course is right for our organisation?’ will help you pick the right course for your fire marshals and employees.
