Fire Safety Training for the Small Business - The Independent Fire Safety Advice Centre - Free advice,on fire safety and prevention, risk assessment, legislation, extinguishers, doors, alarms, procedures, plans, signs.

			Note for Guidance The Fire Safety Advice Centre

Staff fire safety training
Introduction Staff fire safety training should be well within the scope of the management of a small business. It can be carried out in house, or by a reputable company or a small number of employees trained, by an external organisations, and they in turn would train the rest of the work force. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that their staff are adequately trained on what to do in the event of fire. Training should be should be given upon induction and preferably a second time within the first month of employment. Refresher training should be given at least once a year. Training should be undertaken by a competent person and a record kept in some form of log book. The Syllabus for Fire Safety Training The three main areas to concentrate the instruction on are:- The Fire Action Plan, which forms part of your fire risk assessment, is the principle document and should be fully understood by all your employees. Information on the Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan The elements of combustion and a basic understanding on the theory of fire. Information on the Fire Triangle The types of fires, types of extinguishing agents, identification of fire extinguishers, use of extinguishers, use of hose reels, and the appropriate extinguisher for each type of fire. Provide practical training in the use of fire extinguishers. Information on Portable Fire Extinguishers Information Staff should be aware of Discovering a fire - Personnel should be made aware of the method of raising the alarm in a premises, this should include the position of manual fire alarm call points and their method of operation. Hearing the fire alarm - Personnel should be made aware of the evacuation procedures in their premises. They should be shown escape routes and final exits, they should also be made aware of fire doors and their purpose in protecting escape routes. Assembly points - Personnel should be shown their 'Fire Assembly Point' and made aware of the need to ensure everybody have been accounted for. Calling the Fire and Rescue Service - Personnel should be made aware of the method of calling the fire service and the location of telephones. A basic knowledge of the theory of fire - The fire triangle Use of fire extinguishers - Personnel should be trained in the safe use of fire extinguishers. It is not acceptable to say "employees are not expected to use an extinguisher and therefore they don't need to know". If you need further information try my "Specific Fire Safety Advice Page" Fire Safety DVD's Fire Safety videos or DVD's are a very useful tool when conducting fire safety training. They should not be used as the sole method of instruction but can reinforce a well planned lecture. The main problem is the information tends to be very general and will not cover the specific fire procedures for your premises. You can select those that closest to your particular business and are constructed using modules concentrating on a particular aspect of fire safety. This will enable you to deliver the lectures or practical training over a number of lectures as a training session should not exceed 45 minutes. Current videos CDs or DVD's I have seen and can recommend are, Hotel Fire Safety - Training DVD - Produced by CRT Films Limited - email studio@crtfilms.com A selection of types of courses provided by outside organisations. Fire Safety – Basic Basic Fire Safety course, covering basic evacuation procedures, elements of combustion, types of fires, types of extinguishing agents, use of extinguishers and basic firefighting skills. Fire Safety – Advanced Fire Safety course, covering evacuation procedures, elements of combustion, types of fires, types of extinguishing agents, use of extinguishers, basic firefighting skills, and survival techniques if trapped in smoke. Fire Warden A Fire Warden course covers both theory and practical aspects of Fire Warden roles and responsibilities. The course should place a strong emphasis on practical aspects of emergency evacuation procedures during mock simulations. Fire Safety – Industrial Fire Safety course, covering evacuation procedures, elements of combustion, types of fires, types of extinguishing agents, use of extinguishers, use of hose reels and hose handling techniques, basic fire fighting skills and survival techniques if trapped in smoke. A major emphasis on practical skills involving realistic fire simulation to develop a depth of confidence in responding to a small fire. There are many providers of fire safety training and it is a matter of checking out those that are local to you. It is a matter of comparing quality and cost but do not forget the local Fire Service. Those with training establishments quite often run fire safety courses for outside organisations and the quality is bound to be good with the cost usually competitive. This handout provides a general overview and basic information on this topic. It may not apply to everyone, consequently to find out if this guide applies to you and to get more information on this subject, study all the relevant legislation, guides and British/European Standards. Also you should seek advice from an expert on the subject or your local Fire Safety Officer or Fire Safety Professional. I would be much obliged if you would sign the guestbook and make your comments about the web site. Also include your constructive criticism on the site and inform me if any information which is out of date so I can research it to bring it up todate. This will enable me to improve the site and make it more relevant to its users. Merseyside Fire Liaison Panel. Permission is granted to print and photocopy this material for nonprofit educational uses. [Index] This page was last checked and modified on Thursday, 8 July, 2010 22:26

Note for Guidance

The Fire Safety Advice Centre