Why Your Business Needs Fire Wardens

Fires are rare occurrences, but when they do happen it’s important to ensure your business is ready to handle the situation efficiently. Even if your business has a quality fire alarm system installed and your staff have received proper fire safety training, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will act as they are trained to. People tend to behave unexpectedly during emergencies such as a fire, so assigning and training members of your staff to be fire wardens helps to delegate some of the tasks required to better adapt to the situation.



What does a fire warden do?

A fire warden can be one of several individuals that receive extra training on top of their basic fire awareness training. Their tasks include:

●     Conducting visual checks of portable fire equipment

●     Regularly testing fire alarms

●     Liaising with the fire brigade

●     Preventing means of escape from being blocked

●     Carrying out fire drills

●     Staff induction training

In the event of a fire

A fire warden’s training will be most useful during a fire or fire drill and their top priority is to safely evacuate everyone from the building. They will need to:

●     Raise the alarm

●     Close fire doors

●     Assist vulnerable people

●     Check everyone has exited the premises

●     Roll call

●     Liaise with emergency services

The legal requirements for having fire wardens

It is a legal requirement in the UK for businesses to appoint fire wardens. The bigger your premises, the more fire wardens need to be appointed. Generally, the fire wardens should be able to conduct a sweep of their designated zone and reach safety within 2 ½ minutes of hearing the fire alarm.  

The number of fire wardens will also depend on several other factors such as, if the occupants are of high risk or if your employees work in shifts, as there needs to be a fire warden present whenever there are people on site. If your premises has a higher risk of fire such as restaurants or a warehouse with lots of flammable materials, then you will also need to factor in more fire wardens.

How do you train fire wardens?

Usually, fire warden training can be offered as a follow-on training session in addition to the basic fire safety course. At Ace Fire & Security, we offer fire warden training to ensure your employees are best equipped to deal with a fire. Our training courses are conducted by an ex-Naval officer and expert fire fighting instructor. Our fire warden training only takes 45 minutes to complete and will better equip individuals with the knowledge to help them react efficiently in the event of a fire. To get fire warden training for your business, get in touch today.