For the month of September, we are putting in the spotlight three key areas relating to our Hazard of the Month, Fire. These key areas are Fire Safety, Fire Wardens and Slips, Trips & Falls.
Fire Safety
Everyone, whether they’re an employer or employee, should have an understanding of fire safety behaviours and procedures. The majority of fires are preventable, so the knowledge of how fire hazards can be avoided and how to react in an emergency can help protect both lives and your company’s property!
The fire safety guidance from the HSE outlines the key fire safety steps employers need to take:
- Carry out a fire safety risk assessment
- Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart
- Avoid accidental fires, eg make sure heaters cannot be knocked over
- Ensure good housekeeping at all times, eg avoid build-up of rubbish that could burn
- Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms or bells
- Have the correct fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly
- Keep fire exits and escape routes clearly marked and unobstructed at all times
- Ensure your workers receive appropriate training on procedures they need to follow, including fire drills
- Review and update your risk assessment regularly
A fire risk assessment begins with the identification of potential fire hazards and people at risk. You must then evaluate these risks in terms of how you can reduce or remove them. All findings must be recorded, and a plan must be prepared and shared with everyone in the building, including non-employees. Training should be provided to all staff members, and your risk assessment should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes.
By ensuring your employees are properly trained in fire safety, you can not only make sure they know what to do if they discover a fire and how to help prevent them, but also increase the credibility or your fire risk assessments.
Make sure your workers are fully prepared in the event of a fire with our Fire Safety E-Learning course – this course is perfect for any non-fire-specialist employee, and covers both the ‘what’s’ and ‘why’s’ of fire safety to give learners a comprehensive overview of how to react in an emergency and how to recognise preventable risks. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘fire10’!
Fire Wardens
A fire warden is a competent person appointed by an employer or owner (AKA those responsible for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises) to help ensure adequate fire safety procedures are used and adhered to. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) requires the responsible person to appoint one or more competent persons to assist them in undertaking preventative and protective measures.
The core responsibilities of a fire warden relate to the event of a fire, during which they must:
- Make sure everyone one evacuates the building in a safe and timely manner
- Make sure the area is visually searched to ensure no one is left inside
However, they are also responsible for many other aspects of fire safety, both preventative and reactive, including:
- Understanding the different types of fire in order to ensure the correct equipment is present.
- Understanding how fire spreads in order to minimise its impact in the case of discovering a fire.
- Producing and understanding a full Fire Risk Assessment.
- Maintaining fire equipment records to ensure everything will work correctly in the event of an emergency.
The number of fire wardens you will need depends on the amount of staff in your organisation and the size of the area they’ll need to cover, and employers have a responsibility to ensure there is always a sufficient number of employees trained and present in the workplace.
To ensure your designated fire wardens are ready for any emergency, sign them up to our Fire Warden E-Learning course. This will make sure they are knowledgeable about their duties and know exactly what to do in the event of a fire, giving them the confidence and skills to ensure proper procedure is followed. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘fire10’!
Slips, Trips & Falls
No matter where you work, slips, trips and falls are a common cause of workplace injury. These accidents can happen for a number of reasons, and can potentially cause very serious injuries.
Common causes of slip accidents include:
- Footwear type
- Cleaning products
- Flooring type
- Environmental factors e.g. weather or glare caused by light
- Contamination e.g. liquid spills, dust etc
- Human factors e.g. distractions or reduced visibility
Common causes of trip accidents include:
- Obstructions in walkways
- Uneven surfaces
Whilst not strictly related to fire, we felt it was important to include this hazard as part of this month’s theme as a slip or trip related accident could severely hinder someone’s ability to safety escape during a fire-related emergency. Therefore, it is essential that everyone in their workplace does their bit to reduce the risks of slips and trips.
To get your employees up to speed on how to prevent slip, trip and fall injuries, enrol them in our Slips, Trips & Falls E-Learning course, where they’ll learn how these accidents occur in the workplace, how to identify common hazards, and the control measures they can take to reduce the risk of injuries occurring. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘fire10’!
Fire Safety, Fire Warden and Slips, Trips & Falls training are all essential components of workplace safety, no matter which industry you work in. Therefore, until the end of September, you can get 10% off all three courses with the code ‘fire10’! Simple enter the code when you checkout any of these courses from our shop.
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