Ensure the Safety of Your Employees: Your 10-point Guide to Fire Warden Training

Where the RRO applies to your premises, you must undertake a fire risk assessment and make an emergency plan, within which you must nominate people to undertake any special roles identified, such as fire wardens/marshals. The number of fire wardens depends on the size and complexity of your premises. Your fire risk assessment or fire emergency plan should give you information on how often you should train fire wardens.

Fire Warden Training: 10 Top Tips

Fire wardens require special training above the needs of the normal employee, which includes knowledge of fire prevention and identification of possible fire hazards in the workplace. Fire wardens not only need to be able to keep a calm head in an emergency, but also need to be able to carry out their role whilst under pressure. Different organisations adopt slightly different procedures for emergency evacuation and therefore will require their wardens to take actions that are tailored to the particular building or organisation.

However, all fire wardens must:

1. Know details of the company’s fire risk assessment, emergency plan and evacuation procedures – actions to be taken in the event of fire.
2. Know the common causes of fire and understanding the fire triangle – fire creation and spread.
3. Understand the role and responsibilities of the fire warden.
4. Know how to raise the alarm and how to call the fire service.
5. Know which means of escape for which they have responsibility.
6. Know how to search areas safely and recognise when it is not safe to enter rooms/areas.
7. Be prepared and trained to use fire fighting equipment if it is safe to do so.
8. Assist the evacuation of people by: donning a high visibility jacket or waistcoat in order to be easily recognised and assisting disabled staff members in accordance with individual PEEPs (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans).
9. Understand human behaviour in a fire.
10. Liaise with the fire and rescue service on arrival.

Keep your business safe and avoid enforcement action by ensuring your staff are trained properly.

Contact us should you require assistance.