How many fire wardens ?

This depends upon the findings from your fire risk assessment. In fulfilling the main duty of the Fire Warden, he or she will need to safely assist in an evacuation. This means not putting themselves at risk. The general rules in deciding on numbers are;

* Must reach a place of safety within 21/2 minutes
* The Fire Warden must be able to perform their duties (i.e. search their area) and then reach a place of safety within 21/2 minutes of hearing an alarm/discovering a fire.
* Minimum of one (ideally 2) per floor/department
* If the floor is large or complex then responsibility should be split with one or more extra fire wardens.
* Extra one per extra building
* If your site has several buildings or has areas of external occupancy separate to the main unit, then one or more extra fire wardens will be required.
* Consider the number of occupants
* If the fire warden has to deal with a densely occupied area then extra fire wardens will be required to make the responsibility reasonable and safe.
* Consider the type of occupants

If the building has the following categories of occupants, this should be borne in mind in deciding on the number of fire wardens;
• Members of the public
• The elderly
• Disabled people

Consider the fire risk
A building with high fire risks and/or poor fire precautions will need a proportionately higher number of fire wardens. Good fire risk management is required in these cases.

Consider time away from work
Once you have decided on a reasonable number of fire wardens, this number should be doubled to cater for the warden being out of the building. This will include holidays, sickness and meetings etc.

Fire Safety Managers
Specialised in-depth training depending on role and level of responsibility

When should training be given ?
All employees should be given fire training;
* On being recruited (induction training)
* On being exposed to new/increased risks
* Training to be repeated periodically
* Training to take place during normal working hours