Summary fire training guide

Most businesses provide basic fire instruction when an employee starts work, but this alone isn’t sufficient. Our guide explains the different types of fire training, who should attend and more.

What’s covered?

It’s important that all staff know exactly what to do if they discover a fire or hear the fire alarm, but fire training needs to go much deeper. For a start staff must have a broad awareness of fire hazards and the actions they can take to prevent fires. Beyond this they need to be trained to deliver any specific responsibilities they might have been given.

There are five sections which explain the training required for:

• all staff when they start work and then periodically as a refresher course
• assisting disabled staff and visitors
• fire marshalling/supervision
• maintenance and testing of fire equipment; and
• fire risk assessment.

These are followed by three further sections explaining the rules which apply to all training sessions; fire drill requirements; and record keeping.

Note. In-house fire-fighting teams are outside the scope of this document, e.g. those usually found in remote and large industrial premises.