General Fire Training Articles

In late 2006 the fire safety legislation for companies in the United Kingdom was brought into effect. This new legislation applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales and was introduced to supersede over 70 pieces of legislation that comprised the legal policy for companies in the United Kingdom.

Who is Affected?

This legislation applies to you if you are:

• Responsible for business premises
• Employed or self-employed with business premises
• A charity of voluntary organisation
• Providing accommodation for paying guests

What is Involved?

Under the fire safety order (FSO), the responsible person is obliged to perform a fire safety risk assessment for each building in use by the company. This is a 5 step process, the first of which involves identifying fire hazards. Any potential sources of ignition, oxygen and other fuels need to be documented. The second step involves identifying which people are at risk from the identified fire hazards. The third step requires an evaluation of opportunities to remove or reduce potential fire hazards and any available opportunities to protect people from the remaining risks. Once the risks have been identified the next step is to document any steps taken to minimise the identified risks. This is a legal requirement for companies employing more than five members of staff. The final step is a review which should include, any internal or external changes to the building that were made as a result of the risk assessment, any fires or near misses, changes to working practices, any hazardous substances stored within the premises, significant changes to stock levels and whether or not the next fire drill has been planned.

General Fire Training

Preparing your staff for emergencies is essential. Making sure anyone working within the premises is aware of protocol and the locations and types of fire extinguishers are all part of the general fire safety training which should be issued to all members of staff. Temporary staff should be made aware of this information even if they have not undertaken the formal training permanent members of staff were given.

Fire Marshal Courses

One or more permanent, responsible members of staff should be given the responsibility of ensuring the prevention measures and risk reduction strategies are adhered to at all times. These members of staff must be given the appropriate training to ensure they are equipped for those tasks. The training given to an appointed fire marshal is more in depth than the general training given to all members of staff and should include a guide to the principals of combustion, basic fire prevention, arson prevention, personnel safety and control and the use of appropriate fire extinguishers.

Other Considerations

When performing creating an evacuation plan as part of the risk assessment you should also consider any other people who may be present in the building in the event of a fire. If you share the building with another company it is important to make sure the evacuation procedures for each company do not conflict and cause unforeseen problems at the point of evacuation.

It is a legal requirement for employers in the United Kingdom to ensure that their staff have been given the appropriate training and that a trained, permanent member of staff is appointed as a fire marshal. The most basic level of fire safety training is a general fire safety course. This covers the basics of fire safety to give all employees a good idea if what is expected of them should an emergency arise. The topics covered on these courses are:

Principals of Combustion

Knowing what conditions are required for a fire to break out allows staff to spot potential hazards instinctively. There are three basic conditions which all need to be present in order for a fire to break out. Firstly there must be some fuel. This could be any kind of flammable gas, liquid or solid material. In the workplace this is commonly stock or supplies of some sort. The second condition is a supply of Oxygen. Without that the fire would simply burn through any available Oxygen and eventually starve. The third condition is a source of ignition. This may be a source of heat such as a light or hot stream of air which will gradually raise the temperature of the fuel over time. Once the temperature exceeds the combustion point of the fuel the fire breaks out. Alternatively a spark could cause the fuel to ignite in a split second.

Personal Safety

Training staff to look out for their own safety during the course of the day is one of the ways to control risks in situations where they cannot be eliminated. Ensuring staff are aware of any risks in the workplace and establishing how they should act as individuals in the event of an emergency are essential parts of general fire training.

Basic Fire Prevention

This builds on the principals of combustion by making staff aware of ways in which they can avoid the conditions for a fire being met. While risk assessments take into account these situations, workplaces can change drastically which may introduce new risks after the assessment has been carried out.

Extinguishers

There are several types of fire extinguisher designed to be effective against different types of fire. While water may be suitable for a solid fuel fires it would cause major problems if used on an electrical or liquid fire. Foam fire extinguishers are suitable for both solid and liquid fuelled fires. Dry powder extinguishers are the most versatile as they can suppress solid, liquid or gas fuelled fires while offering post fire protection as it remains behind once the flames are extinguished. In the event of a gas or liquid fuelled fire it is not advisable to attempt to extinguish a fire without isolating the source of the fuel as the flow of unused fuel may build up and reignite.

Carbon Dioxide extinguishers are most effective against electrical fires as they starve the fire of Oxygen however the gas will disperse very quickly leaving the possibility of another break out.

Routines

Establishing simple evacuation routines which are specific to the building you are working in can be the most effective way of minimising risks to staff. Practicing these routines help make it easier for staff to recall and act upon those routines in the event of an emergency.

The fire marshal course is vitally important for the safety of employees at any medium to large sized business. It is advised nowadays that at least one member of staff should have completed the course to ensure the safety of the workforce and the business premises. The course covers subjects such as the principles of combustion, fire prevention, personnel safety, the use of fire extinguishers as well as the appropriate evacuation procedure.

The Fire Marshall Course is only offered by general fire training companies and individuals who are members of the Fire Protection Association to ensure that high standards are adhered to at all times.

What’s covered?

The course covers a number of fire safety related issues and educates those involved so that they can work as their company’s fire marshal and be the first point of call in terms of providing advise and leadership to enforce safety procedures within their workplace. The course covers the following important key factors:

Principles of Combustion

The basics of combustion are explained in simple terms so that everyone is aware of the dangers of the workplace in terms of how fires start and how to determine whether they should be tackled or whether to evacuate and call the emergency services. This part of the course outlines ways in which a workplace can and should be kept as fire risk free as possible.

Basic Fire Prevention

Fire prevention is the single biggest factors in reducing the risk of fire within the workplace. If a workforce is educated in fire prevention the risk of fire breaking out is greatly reduced. Simple common sense guidance can be conveyed to a workforce not store flammable materials near heating systems or near windows which receive strong sun-light, etc.

Arson Prevention

Preventing your business property from being a victim of an arson attack is something which can affect a great number of businesses, particularly those located in less desirable locations. Knowing where your property’s weak spots in terms of arson attacks, allows you to direct more resources into those areas to protect them against fire.

Personnel Safety

Ensuring the safety of both employees and also visitors to your premises when a fire breaks out is the primary objective when evacuating a building. The fire marshal course provides clear instruction in making sure that procedures are put in place to ensure the safety of all personnel.

Use of Extinguishers

The course includes tuition on the correct use of the most common types of fire extinguishers in place in businesses today and when to use each type, because certain types of more suited to different fire hazard scenarios. The fire marshal course also educates delegates to ensure they are able to advise management in fire prevention and whether they need to upgrade or update any fire safety equipment or implement additional fire exits within the premises.

Once qualified fire marshals will be the main point of call within the companies that they work in and because they will be responsible for fire safety and prevention matters it is advised that they complete a refresher course every 3 years after completing the fire marshal course.

What Are the Benefits of a Fire Marshal Course?

Companies these days are advised to have a fire safety representative amongst the work-force to ensure the safety of employees and any clients or customers who may be on the premises in case of fire or other fire related emergency. So making sure that a member of your staff has fire safety training or for larger organisations an actual qualification in a fire marshal course is important. Other members of staff in an ideal world should have general fire training or at least knowledge of the fire exits, location of fire extinguishers and the routes to take in an event of a fire.

General Fire Training

All member of a company's workforce should really have basic fire training so that they do not panic and run in a fire related emergency as this could cause hysteria and cause other members of staff to scatter and cause injury to themselves or others. It’s always advisable to stay as calm as possible in an event of a fire which is beneficial to both your state of mind in case you need to help others escape if they are injured or disabled and to conserve breath and oxygen if smoke has started to spread to the area you are in.

What is covered on a Fire Marshal Course?

Typically these types of courses are created for students with no previous experience required as this is the best basis for the training involved as some people have misconceptions about different aspects of fire extinguisher usage and other procedures. In addition it is advisable that those attending complete a 1 day refresher course at least once every 3 years to ensure that they are aware of all the detailed regulations and also if government updates procedures that they are aware of them. Most of these kinds of courses include the following:

• Principles of combustion
• Basic fire prevention
• Arson prevention
• Personnel safety
• Use of extinguishers
• Evacuation procedures
• Control of personnel

Fire Marshal Course Representative

It’s important that you choose the employee who you intend to send on the fire marshal course is competent and intelligent and preferably if possible, to make sure that this member of staff is like to remain with your company. Otherwise you may find that you need to get another member of staff trained up on fire safety procedures. This particularly important for larger organisations who may have quite a fast turn-over of staff, with people leaving and joining the business regularly, so it may be an idea to make sure that you have several members of staff who have completed general fire training and or a Fire Marshal Course.