Fire safety courses or fire safety training is needed by most workplaces in the United Kingdom. Many workplaces that have a fire never recover financially, often being forced to close within a year of the fire.
What must employers do about fire safety?
Employers (and/or building owners or occupiers) must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it up to date. This has the same approach as health and safety risk assessments and can be carried out either as part of an overall risk assessment or as a separate exercise.
Based on their findings, employers need to ensure that adequate and appropriate fire safety measures are in place to minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.
To help prevent fire in the workplace, your risk assessment should identify what could cause a fire to start, ie sources of ignition (heat or sparks) and substances that burn, and the people who may be at risk.
Once you have identified the risks, you can take appropriate action to control them. Consider whether you can avoid them altogether or, if this is not possible, how you can reduce the risks and manage them. Also consider how you will protect people if there is a fire.
- Carry out a fire safety risk assessment
- Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart
- Avoid accidental fires, eg make sure heaters cannot be knocked over
- Ensure good housekeeping at all times, eg avoid build-up of rubbish that could burn
- Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms or bells
- Have the correct fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly
- Keep fire exits and escape routes clearly marked and unobstructed at all times
- Ensure your workers receive appropriate training on procedures they need to follow, including fire drills
- Review and update your risk assessment regularly
Lazarus Training offers a number of fire safety courses to help meet your workplaces’ requirements and prepare your staff for a positive and safe react to fire in the workplace. Ranging from our popular Fire Safety Awareness courses, via Fire Marshal to Fire Risk Assessment our range of Fire Safety Courses should enable your workplace to meet its statutory requirements and plan for emergencies.
Our trainers all come from a practical background of fire safety, most being home office trained fire-fighters.
Basic topics covered in our fire safety courses are:
Legislation relating to Fire Safety in the Workplace
The triangle of fire [source of ignition, fuel, oxygen]
Classification of fires
Fire behaviour
Human behaviour in fires
Evacuation procedures
Use of fire extinguishers
Prevention of fires
We run one day Fire Marshal’s courses and half day Fire Safety- Basics workshops. Call 0800 242 5210 to discuss your fire safety training needs.