When should employees receive training?
Fire-safety training is sometimes treated as an annual online exercise completed to satisfy a training matrix. While general awareness has value, effective fire-safety training should help employees understand what they are actually expected to do in their own workplace. Government guidance requires adequate fire-safety training for staff and says it should reflect the particular features of the premises and the findings of the Fire Risk Assessment.
New employees should receive fire-safety training when they start work. Employees should also be informed about new fire risks, and training should be repeated periodically. Additional training may be appropriate when:
- Emergency arrangements change
- Employees move to different areas
- New hazards are introduced
- Fire precautions change
- Employees acquire additional responsibilities
- Lessons emerge from drills or incidents
What should training cover?
Depending upon the workplace, training can include:
- What to do on discovering a fire
- How to raise the alarm
- What to do when the alarm sounds
- Escape routes
- Emergency exits
- Assembly arrangements
- Calling the Fire and Rescue Service
- Fire-door awareness
- Fire-prevention principles
- Relevant fire-fighting equipment
- Arrangements for visitors
- Assistance for people who may need help
- Staff-specific emergency responsibilities
Government fire-safety guidance specifically highlights matters including alarm procedures, evacuation, escape routes, fire doors and general fire prevention.
Why premises-specific training matters
Consider the difference between an office, a warehouse, a care home, a hospital, a hotel and a school. Each may have different occupants, hazards, staffing patterns and evacuation strategies.
An employee needs more than the ability to answer a generic multiple-choice question about fire. They need to know:
- Where do I go?
- What happens when the alarm activates?
- Do I have a specific responsibility?
- What do I do about visitors?
- Are there people who may require assistance?
- Where is the assembly point?
Training should make those answers clear.
Fire drills test the system
Government guidance says that employers should undertake at least one fire drill each year and record the results. A drill can reveal practical weaknesses that a written procedure may not show, such as:
- People taking the wrong route
- Delayed evacuation
- Missing staff-accountability arrangements
- Confusion over assembly points
- Staff ignoring alarms
- Problems assisting vulnerable occupants
- Fire doors being propped open
- Unclear Warden responsibilities
A drill is therefore not just an event. It is an opportunity to test the organisation’s fire-safety arrangements.
Training records matter
Organisations should retain appropriate evidence of training. Useful records may include:
- Employee name
- Training date
- Training subject
- Trainer or provider
- Assessment where applicable
- Refresher due date
Good records support management oversight and can also form part of a Fire Safety Audit. Stanford Global Limited provides fire-safety training designed to connect general fire-safety principles with the particular risks, arrangements and responsibilities applicable to the client’s workplace.
