Fire awareness training is something that benefits everyone, not just at work but anywhere – its a life skill. Fire health and safety doesnt just mean knowing what to do in a fire, but also includes recognising what could cause a fire, understanding how it spreads and knowing what to do to eliminate or at least reduce the dangers. Fire safety at work includes putting in place safeguards and ensuring that everyone knows the proper procedure to follow in the case of a fire to avoid panic. And, if a company has five or more staff its the law that all staff MUST have fire awareness training.

So, do you know what to do if the fire alarm goes off at work? Do you know where to evacuate to? And do you know who to ask?

Someone has to be ready to take charge! There should be a fire warden or fire marshal in each work area or one for approximately every five members of staff. It is often the case that when the fire alarm goes off you cant actually see any sign of a fire, so staff sit and wait for confirmation that its not just a fire drill. In these precious moments you lose vital time – it only takes a few minutes for a fire to take hold. A fire marshal or warden is often essential to direct staff to begin to put their fire training procedures into place. Fire marshals are chosen by a company owner or manager as competent people and their responsibilities include staff fire training, running regular fire drills, ensuring fire exit signs are properly placed and exit routes are clear and keeping everyone updated on fire health and safety policy.

What should be included in fire health and safety training?

– A little bit of science is useful for background – how fires start, how they keep going, and how they spread and why. Its also helpful to recognise in your particular workplace what the common fire hazards are.
– Workplace fire training – you should know where your best fire exit is and where the alternatives are in case a fire blocks your normal escape route. Have a look around – are the fire exits clearly signed, with routes well-lit and not blocked? Fire drills should be regularly run so your staff are aware of how to evacuate calmly and you should know where your assembly point is.
– What to do if there is a fire – staff should know NEVER to put themselves in danger, how to raise the alarm and how to evacuate safely.
– You should know the fire policies and fire procedures your company has in place and who your nearest fire warden is.

Fire awareness training can be done however it best suits a company. Sending staff out to a group training course ensures that everyone is trained in one go: you know that its been done and when, but it can be extremely costly and mean a loss of productivity with a group of staff absent together. Similarly group in-house training will almost certainly mean great expense and a proportion of staff missing all at the same time. A good alternative is to provide the fire training via computer. This has the benefit of being able to be completed when it suits you and your staff and each member of staff can complete the training at different times, avoiding the general loss of productivity. And no one ever misses the training when its done via computer!

iHASCO provide a comprehensive range of online and CD-ROM based health and safety training courses, including a fire awareness course. Their cost-effective interactive courses for staff provide an effective way for employers to encourage a safer workplace and meet health and safety legislation.

Fire awareness in the workplace training

Author: shirleystewart

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