The majority of fires occurring in a workplace are preventable if proper fire safety arrangements are put in place along with dedicated persons to do the job competently.
Those responsible for fire safety at work should have effective procedures to ensure everyone’s safety in an emergency.
This blog will focus on the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the fire prevention process and the current legislation to keep up with health and safety compliance at work.
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Fire Risks to the Businesses
The fact that fire poses a serious, inherent risk to businesses cannot be ignored. Be it the risk of life, property, stock, or equipment, fires at work can leave a devastating effect on individuals. It is seen that nearly 22,000 workplace fires occur each year in the UK alone. Moreover, institutions in the US report more than 200 fires per day, putting that figure to nearly 75,000 fires per year.
These statistics show how crucial it is for companies and workplaces to have fire wardens in the workplace who have proper safety arrangements to control and mitigate the risk efficiently.
We will discuss the key roles and responsibilities of fire wardens in this content piece as we proceed forward.
What Does a Fire Warden Do?
A fire warden is a person designated by a workplace manager to assist them in implementing vital fire safety arrangements to control and minimize fire risks at work.
Fire wardens play a significant role in ensuring the safe continuity of work operations and being prepared for a fire emergency.
General Roles & Responsibilities of Fire Wardens
The general roles of fire wardens include:
- A fire warden helps to prevent fire incidents and accidents in the workplace by monitoring fire risk control measures.
The fire prevention process takes place by:
- Inspecting if fire alarms are in good working order
- Analyzing emergency exists to remove any obstructions from the safety route
- Ensuring fire extinguishers are properly serviced to use in emergency
- Fire wardens play a crucial role in fire drills. This means that they:
- Conduct regular fire drills that help them examine everyone is on the same page when it comes to working proficiently in an emergency fire situation
- Raise awareness among employees for escape routes and evacuation principles
- Other roles to perform include:
- Raise awareness among staff about other fire hazards in the workplace
- Maintain a record of all fire safety activities, and past fire incidents in the workplace
- Encourage the proper use of fire safety signs to make everyone aware of potential fire risks
- Ensure flammable sources of fire are kept in a secure and safe place to avoid fire hazards
Their Key Duties Include
Along with the above-mentioned general role, fire wardens have some other duties to perform as well:
- Raise the alarm and disseminate the information about fire hazards, as a fire in the workplace can cause panic and fear among the employees and general public
- Close all the fire doors to prevent the spread of fire
- Instruct occupants on the actions to be undertaken in response to a fire emergency
Legal Requirement of Having a Fire Warden in the Workplace
The government requires every business to appoint a fire warden in their work premises to avoid any unpleasant incident at work. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations do not specify a dedicated number of fire wardens, however, numerous OSHA guidance documents having 1 fire warden for 20 employees within the facility is adequate.
Other factors that tell how many fire wardens you need mainly depend on the:
- Size of work premises
- Number of staff members
- Type of the business
Additional Steps to Ensure Workplace Safety
When talking about fire prevention practices to implement at work, appropriate staff training also plays a key role in determining staff efficiency in case of emergency.
Employers need to be clear about providing sufficient fire safety awareness training, fire warden training, or fire door inspection training, when needed in the workplace, fire risk assessment training is also essential to run the workplace processes effectively.
These courses provide enough knowledge to workers to get an adequate level of awareness to play their role in an event of a fire. It also informs employees of their roles and responsibility to ensure a safe and secure workplace for everyone altogether.
To Finish
Fires can have a devastating effect on businesses and individuals that can take their life, property, or equipment away in no time. The good news is, these hazards can be reduced with proper planning, sufficient training, and dedicated people to perform their job well in case of emergency.
This piece of content has covered the major roles and duties of fire wardens to perform for that matter.
It also explained what responsibilities employers have towards their employees along with what is expected from staff members to overcome fire hazards, incidents, and accidents to guarantee a safe and secure place of work for everyone.
