Training

The relevant Responsible Person must ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities and are adequately trained, as appropriate.

All employees including temporary, or agency staff and volunteers must receive general fire awareness training.  This should be incorporated into part of their induction. Refer to Part 2 Managers Guidance Notes for Induction / Refresher Training of Staff.

This training should start on the first day of employment for new staff, including temporary staff.  All staff should receive regular reminders about fire safety and emergency arrangements.  This may take the form of news bulletins, face-to-face training, and fire drills with a debriefing element, or agenda items on staff meetings and/or refresher training etc.

Staff with special allocated tasks will require additional training and ongoing refresher training, e.g.

• Fire Risk Assessors Reviewers.
• Evacuation officers.
• Fire Wardens.
• Evacuation chair operators.
• Those in high-risk areas.

Records of training are to be recorded in the employee’s personnel file and in the fire logbook.

5.1 Particular Arrangements for Schools

In schools, the Headteacher is ultimately accountable for ensuring that fire safety is managed within the school.  In circumstances where the Headteacher manages fire safety on a day-to-day basis (this could be the case in primary schools) the Headteacher should, as a minimum, have attended a one day Managing Fire Safety course.

In some secondary schools, day to day responsibility may be delegated to a Business Manager /Premises Manager or similar person who has the above qualifications, however, it should be noted that in these circumstances the Headteacher still retains ultimate accountability as the “Responsible Person.”

An appropriate number of staff including Caretakers or Site Managers should attend an appropriate Fire Warden course run by a competent organisation such as Bucks and MK Fire LTD. The number of Fire Wardens required will be determined by a risk assessment and depend on a number of factors including the size and layout of the premises, and presence of high-risk areas such as science, technology and kitchen/catering facilities, which may require additional Fire Wardens to be appointed.

To arrange training on Managing Fire Safety for persons with responsibility for managing fire safety within your school, contact Health and Safety via handstraining@buckinghamshire.gov.uk  or on 01296 674412.

To arrange Fire Warden training (“in house” or “off-site” training available) please contact, Fire Training Bucks and MK Ltd.

All staff should also attend regular in-house fire safety briefings (e.g. about 30 minutes at inset days or at 6 monthly intervals) these sessions should be facilitated by a competent person for example the person who has attended the Managing Fire Safety course within the last five years. 

The session should cover issues such as, what to do in case of fire, position of assembly points, disabled, evacuation etc. The dates of such briefings should be recorded in the Fire Logbook Documentation.

5.2 Visitors

Visitors must sign in and out of all Council establishments and where appropriate be included in the roll call after an evacuation.

Provision must be made (usually in the form of a laminated card or on the reverse of signing in badge) to inform visitors of the fire precautions for the building.