Fire Training UK

Fire Training UK - What Your Staff Need To Know

Go Straight To Recommended Training Providers

Fire Training UK - Basic Training Should Include The Following:

Everything contained in the Emergency Plan, including where the Assembly Point is

How to use fire fighting equipment (if that is part of your Emergency Plan)

The importance of keeping escape routes clear and fire doors closed

Any special arrangements for disabled people

Remember - whenever you need to amend your Fire Risk Assessment of Emergency Plan, consider whether your staff require fire training on that issue. Keep a record of all fire training in case the Fire Authority wishes to inspect it.

Fire Training UK - Fire Wardens

Staff who are given special roles in an emergency are usually referred to as Fire Wardens (or Fire Marshals) and will need additional fire training. Fire Wardens may be asked to undertake such special duties as checking specific areas, tackling the fire with extinguishers, closing down certain equipment or plant, supervising the Assembly Point, giving fire training to other staff, etc.

Additional fire training for this role could include such things as:

More detailed knowledge of the whole premises

Fire training on the use of fire extinguishers and other fire fighting equipment

An understanding of special requirements for evacuating disabled people

A responsibility for ensuring that visitors or members of the public get out of the building

Fire Training UK - The Importance of Regular Fire Drills

The best way to test whether your Emergency Plan and your fire training have been effective is to carry out a fire drill. Short of a real emergency, this is the only way of identifying any areas where people are not clear about their role, or where your Emergency Plan does not work quite so well in practice because of some scenario or complication you had not considered.

As well as the comfort of knowing that your plan actually does work well in practice, your staff will be much more calm and comfortable in a real emergency if they are already used to 'going through the motions' in fire training.

An annual fire drill is probably enough for many businesses, and is certainly the bare minimum. I would suggest quarterly if you have a high staff turnover, or if you have large numbers of public or visitors I would even go to monthly.

Surprise drills are preferable as you are more likely to get an accurate picture of whether people really do understand their role. However, I realise that the nature of your business may mean that there are risks attached to a surprise fire drill which may outweigh the benefits.

As the Responsible Person, the most useful thing you can do during a drill is to observe what happens, including timing how long it takes to get everyone out of the building.

Fire Training UK - Carrying Out the Fire Drill

If you have a monitored fire alarm system you will need to inform the monitoring company that you are about to activate the alarms for fire training. The alarm can be activated by using the special test key to set off one of the call points.

In a real fire, the fire itself may be blocking one of your escape routes. It is therefore good practice when you carry out a drill as part of your fire training to make one escape route inaccessible. The easiest way is to station a member of staff on the route to turn people away.

At your Assembly Point, you need a method of checking whether all staff are safely out of the building, or whether someone may be trapped, or unaware of the fire. There are different ways of doing this, depending on the nature and size of your premises.

A role call is fine if you don't have huge numbers of staff, or if you can split it up into sections. The system I use is to have a fire Warden in each department, who is responsible for confirming whether all staff in their area are out or not.

Fire Training UK - What Lessons Did You Learn From Your Fire Drill?

Reviewing how your fire training went is of vital importance. You will have observed it for yourself, so write down anything where things did not go quite a smoothly as they should. Get feedback from all other departments and see whether it through up any issues for them. Meet with your Fire Wardens and decide if there is anything to be learnt from the drill. Do your systems need amending? Do staff require more information or clarification? Plan your future fire training accordingly.

Recommended Fire Training UK Providers

Some local Fire Authorities are happy to send an officer to speak to staff about basic fire safety awareness or training on the use of fire extinguishers, but will not provide all the staff training you need. Otherwise there are many Fire Safety Consultants who provide a wide range of staff safety training.

Recommended Fire Training Provider - Fagus Fire

The main highly regarded company that I can recommend are Fagus Fire, who offer a range of specialist training. They are based in central England but operate throughout the UK. They are one of the leading fire consultants and will provide training tailored specifically to your needs. If you contact them please quote reference 'FRA1' to let them know where you heard about them. You can find out more on their website.

Advice On Fire Training - UK Requirements