Protecting against fire should not end once a fire protection system is installed. It’s critical that anyone working within a facility knows how to respond to a fire emergency and knows how to use the fire equipment onsite.
If you’re responsible for safety and fire protection in your business, you should consider the importance of investing in staff fire safety training. A confident team that is able to respond appropriately in the event of a fire is an invaluable investment and can substantially reduce the impact of a crisis.
It’s also important to be aware of the Standards and legislation relating to fire protection and fire safety training. For example, your fire prevention plans should be developed in accordance with Australian Standard, AS 3745 – 2010 Planning for Emergencies in Facilities, and emergency related training is a key element of this plan.
If a fire breaks out at your workplace, the highest priority is to get all personnel out of harm’s way. The sound of a fire alarm can cause chaos amongst a building’s occupants but having trained staff will provide the best chance of evacuating in a safe, methodical and efficient manner.
Fire safety training can help to ensure that effective response and evacuation procedures are prepared and ready to be executed if there is a fire.
Wormald conducted research into business fire safety earlier this year and it was great to see that the majority of business owners and managers surveyed provide fire safety training for their staff. However, as standards and legislation may change, it’s important to keep up-to-date on fire safety training requirements.
Some businesses will appoint a fire safety committee that attend regular fire safety meetings and training but it is really important that all occupants of a building are trained and are aware of the fire safety procedures. Evacuation plans and maps should be placed in public view so that everyone knows what to do in the event of a fire.
Fire safety training courses teach attendees how to respond in the event an emergency, how to use portable fire protection equipment and how different types of fires can start. To give you an idea of the training options available, Wormald provides:
- Warden training – which equips wardens with the skills and knowledge to carry out their duties in an emergency situation e.g. emergency procedures, site familiarisation, understanding fire protection equipment and how to use fire extinguishers.
- Emergency awareness training – educates staff about the emergency procedures set up in their workplace such as alarm activation in the building, responding to emergencies and the location of assembly areas.
- Evacuation training – trains staff to effectively evacuate in the event of an emergency. This type of training is often conducted using the most likely emergency scenarios to occur in each individual workplace and the evacuation exercise would include a risk assessment of the premises.
- Fire extinguisher training – helps to educate staff about the relevance of State fire safety regulations and develop operational techniques for using fire equipment in the workplace.
Depending on your industry, your fire protection specialist will be able to advise on the most suitable options for you.
