Fire Safety Training a Legal Requirement?

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

States that: Every employer must provide its employees with information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, their Health and Safety at Work

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Requires every employer to ensure that their employees are provided with comprehensible and relevant information on:
1. Appropriate procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work 2. The competent persons nominated to implement those procedures in so far as they relate to the evacuation from premises of persons at work 3. The measures for fire-fighting in the workplace, and 4. Those employees nominated to implement those measures

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

It further goes on to say: That every employee be provided with adequate health and safety training Employees should receive training on emergency procedures and as part of their induction receive training on arrangements for fire and evacuation

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended 1999)

Government Guidelines* suggest that: Training should be repeated as necessary, usually once or twice a year so that employees remain familiar with the fire precautions in your workplace *source Fire Safety, An Employers Guide, published by the Stationery Office

6. Inform your employees

Your fire safety training programme must include sitespecific information to make employees aware of risks and preventative and protective measures

21.5. (1) The responsible person must ensure that his 21. (1) The responsible person must ensure that his Inform your employees employees are provided with adequate safety training -employees are provided with adequate safety training (a) include suitable and sufficient instruction and training (a) include suitable and sufficient instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard himself and other the employee in order to safeguard himself and other relevant persons on the premises relevant persons on the premises (b) be repeated periodically where appropriate (b) be repeated periodically where appropriate

Fire Safety Training what should it entail?

Practical exercises e.g. fire drills Checking peoples understanding of the emergency plan Use of equipment installed to contain fire All employees in a supervisory role in the event of a fire (e.g. Heads of departments, fire marshalls and wardens) should receive additional training

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended 1999)

The FPWRs also state that where necessary to equip the workplace with appropriate fire fighting equipment Maximise your investment in Fire Precautions It is impossible to say who might discover the fire

Fire Extinguisher Training for Staff

Nothing actually beats hands-on training so members of staff feel confident in selecting and using an extinguisher in tackling a small fire

Your training objectives

To prevent the outbreak of fire To minimise the damage should a fire occur safe guarding employees, the workplace and the business from the danger and destruction of fire

But!
Do you understand the value of your fire precautions?

Considerations
Current precautions the true value of extinguishers
150,000
Number of fires No 70% Yes 29% Unsure 1%

120,000 90,000 60,000 30,000 0

40,500 90,000

Fire statistics now being updated to reflect this black hole

57% of workplace fires occur between 8am 6pm

8am 6pm
58% Unsure 17% 4% 6pm Midnight 21%

Midnight 8am

80% of all workplace fires are started accidently

Results strongly differ from government statistics that state accidents and arson accounted for 55% and 45% of total fires respectively
Unknown

Accident
80% 15% 5%

Arson

Exclude 70% of fires put out by extinguishers

Extinguishers successfully serve their purpose

Yes

88%

No

9.5%
Unsure

2.5%

Has this site had a fire risk assessment in last 12 months?

Yes

48%

No
27%

Unsure
25%

Workplace fire precautions

Extinguishers fight the majority of workplace fires Critical whenever trained employees are on site Monitored fire alarms and automatic suppression provide essential cover, particularly at night Free up Fire Service resources to focus on community fire safety and high risks