Fire Warden Training for Care Homes
26th January 2022
Many fire hazard risks can be avoided or minimised with adequate and comprehensive fire safety training. In the event of a fire, evacuating a care home can prove more difficult than other organisations as many care home residents have limited mobility or are entirely immobile without assistance.
Being vigilant and prepared is crucial to ensure the safety of staff and residents, which is why Fire Warden training is essential for individuals that are appointed Fire Warden responsibilities within care homes.
The importance of Fire Warden training
Fire Warden training is an excellent way to improve your organisation’s fire prevention practices and share the workload in the implementation of good fire safety management.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) order 2005 states that businesses are legally required to provide adequate training, information and instruction for individuals with fire safety responsibilities. Statistics published by The Home Office state that Fire and Rescue services attended 14,308 fires in non-dwelling (commercial) buildings across the UK in 2019/2020. Furthermore, the London Fire Brigade reported that the biggest causes of fires within care homes are cooking/cookers (41%), kitchen appliances (21%) and smoking-related (13%).
An investigation by the London Fire Brigade in 2019 found that during an audit of 177 care homes across the capital:
- 29% had failures relating to fire doors within their premises
- 10% had inadequate training for staff members
- 14% had evidence of poor emergency planning or a potential lack of staff to implement emergency plans in the event of a fire.
In total, more than half of the care homes assessed were found to have serious fire safety failures. In September 2020, a care home in Wales was fined £432,944.64 for offences relating to poor fire safety arrangements, of which included;
- Inadequate fire risk assessment
- Insufficient smoke alarms
- Inaccessible fire escape routes
- Deficient emergency lighting
- Failure to conduct appropriate evacuation drills
- Lack of maintenance on critical escape routes
- Sub-standard fire safety management.
Therefore, it is crucial there’s a fire safety plan in place and nominated individuals are equipped with the skills and knowledge to confidently carry out their fire safety responsibilities in the event of a fire as failure to do so can result in catastrophic consequences.
Our Fire Warden Training course
Our care home specific Fire Warden course is suited to individuals who are nominated to undertake any fire safety responsibilities including Fire Wardens/Marshalls, deputies and safety representatives. Upon successful completion of the course delegates will receive a certificate of attendance which is approved by the Institute of Fire Safety Managers.
What delegates will learn on the course
Delivered by our experienced and professional trainers, the duration of our accredited, comprehensive course is 3.5 hours, which is divided into 3 hours of theory and ½ hour of practical exercises. Delegates will learn the essential duties of Fire Wardens/Marshals in a care home and be equipped with the skills and theoretical knowledge to confidently undertake their duties.
If you’re considering our Fire Warden training course, the modules that are covered can be found here.
Additionally, we provide the option to enhance the Fire Wardens course with the inclusion of live fire extinguisher training.
Where training takes place
Our Fire Warden training courses are held at your location / premises and are suitable for a maximum of 15 delegates. If you require a larger number of delegates to attend we can arrange two sessions at the same venue on the same day to ensure all relevant employees receive the essential training. Our fully qualified trainers will provide the projector, laptop and screen for the presentation. However, to help us facilitate the course, we simply require a training room that is large enough to accommodate the required number of attendees and an area equivalent to the size approximately 3 car parking spaces away from any buildings or combustibles for the practical exercises.
Alternatively if you work in a different sector or have different requirements within your organisation you can view our full course portfolio here.
