Fire can destroy a workplace in minutes. Smoke spreads faster than most people expect, and a few minutes of confusion can cost lives. Most of the people who die in fires are killed by smoke, not by flames.

That is why every workplace needs people who understand fire, who help to prevent it, and who know exactly what to do when the alarm sounds. Those people are fire wardens, also called fire marshals.

This course prepares you for that role. It covers how fire starts and spreads, how the risk is assessed and controlled, and how to lead people safely out of a building in an emergency.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Describe the main fire safety laws in Ireland, and the duties they place on employers and people in control of premises.
• Explain how fire starts and spreads, and identify the classes of fire.
• Understand how a fire risk assessment is carried out, and the part you play in it.
• Recognise fire prevention and protection measures, including alarms, extinguishers, fire doors and signs.
• Carry out your duties as a fire warden before, during and after an evacuation.

Module 1 explains why fire safety matters and where the fire warden fits in. You will learn about:

• The consequences of fire in the workplace.
• The order in which fire risks are controlled.
• Fire safety law in Ireland, and who enforces it.
• The duties of a fire warden, and the training you need.
• How many fire wardens a workplace needs.

A serious fire can do far more than damage a building. It can:

• Kill or seriously injure employees, visitors and members of the public.
• Destroy equipment, stock and records that took years to build up.
• Close a business for months. Many businesses never reopen after a major fire.
• Lead to prosecution, fines and even imprisonment for those responsible.

Most workplace fires are preventable. They are caused by everyday things: faulty electrics, careless smoking, poor housekeeping, hot work and deliberate fire setting. Good fire safety management deals with all of these.

Fires cause serious harm in Ireland every year, to businesses of every size and type, wherever they are located. Every year, fire services in Ireland attend thousands of fires in workplaces and other non-residential buildings, and people are killed or injured, most often by burns or smoke inhalation. Many of these incidents happen in industrial settings such as manufacturing and warehousing, in retail premises, and in food and drink businesses.

Beyond the damage to buildings and the harm to people, fires cost businesses production time, resources and the trust of their customers. For many businesses the effects of a major fire are permanent, and they never fully recover. Most of these fires were preventable, which is exactly why every workplace needs people who understand fire risks and know how to act.

Fire safety follows a simple order of priorities. Each step is used before relying on the next:

• Avoid: remove the hazard altogether, for example by using a non-flammable product.
• Prevent: stop fires starting, through good housekeeping, safe electrics and control of ignition sources.
• Detect and warn: find a fire quickly and alert everyone, with smoke detectors and fire alarms.
• Contain: stop fire and smoke spreading, with fire doors and fire-resisting walls.
• Escape: make sure everyone can get out safely, using clear escape routes, lighting and signs.
• Fight: tackle a small fire only when it is safe, using the right extinguisher.

Fires can be hugely destructive, so preventing them in your business matters above all, and that needs a good understanding of the basic safety measures. Employers and others responsible for fire safety must know the hierarchy of fire protection, which sets the order in which fire safety measures should be considered. All of its steps are important, but following the order keeps prevention and evacuation as the main focus.

The first step is to avoid. Wherever possible, eliminate the work activities, equipment or other hazards that could lead to a fire in the first place. Where avoiding the risk entirely is not possible, the second step is to prevent. This means putting measures in place to stop fires starting, such as keeping flammable materials apart from sources of ignition.

The third step is control. Control measures limit the effect of a fire when one does start. They include physical controls such as fire-resistant structures, and management controls such as safe working practices for handling flammable substances. The fourth step is escape. Prevention comes first, but the ability to leave a workplace safely is fundamental, so people must be able to get out of the building and reach a place of safety.

The fifth and final step is to fight the fire. This is a last resort. It should be attempted only when it is safe to do so and by people who have been properly trained, and escaping to safety always remains the top priority. During this course we look at each step of the hierarchy and at what you can do, as a fire warden, to support it.

The main laws covering fire safety at work in Ireland are:

• The Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. Section 18 requires anyone in control of premises to take all reasonable measures to guard against fire, and to protect people if a fire happens.
• The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which requires employers to assess risks, prepare emergency plans and appoint people to put them into action.
• The General Application Regulations 2007, which cover fire detection, fire fighting equipment, emergency routes and exits, and safety signs.
• The Building Regulations, Part B, which set fire safety standards for the design and construction of buildings.

In Ireland, the legal duties for fire safety fall on everyone who has control over premises. Section 18 of the Fire Services Acts requires anyone in control of premises to take all reasonable measures to guard against fire and to protect people if a fire happens, and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 places further duties on employers. That includes employers, building owners, occupiers and anyone in control of any part of the premises, such as a facilities manager.

It also reaches people who accommodate paying guests or customers, such as landlords and the owners of hotels and guest houses. Where a building is shared, those in control share the duties and must cooperate. Duty holders must prevent or reduce fire risks in line with the hierarchy of fire protection, as far as is reasonably practicable, and keep safe escape routes available so that everyone can get out. Reasonably practicable means the measures taken should match the level of risk.

Under Irish law, the duties fall on the employer and on anyone who has control over the premises, such as the owner, the occupier or a facilities manager.

They must make sure that:

• A fire risk assessment is carried out and kept up to date.
• Fire prevention and protection measures are in place and working.
• There is a written emergency plan, and enough trained people to carry it out.
• Employees receive information, instruction and training on fire safety.

Irish fire safety law applies to nearly every kind of premises where people work, stay or gather. That includes offices and shops, hospitals and care settings, and schools and other places of education. It includes hospitality premises such as pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and guest houses, as well as places of worship, community venues and sports centres. It also covers factories and workshops, motor repair premises, shared accommodation areas, and temporary structures such as marquees used for events.

There is one important limit to remember: these duties are aimed at premises other than private homes, so a house occupied as a single dwelling is not covered in the same way. If you work in any of the workplaces on this list, the people in control of your premises have legal duties under the Fire Services Acts and the 2005 Act, and you have a part to play in helping them meet those duties.

The measures that the law requires in every workplace are called general fire precautions. They include:

• Measures to reduce the risk of fire starting, and of it spreading.
• Safe escape routes and exits, kept clear and available at all times.
• Fire detection and a way of raising the alarm.
• Suitable fire fighting equipment.
• Emergency procedures, including what to do if fire breaks out.
• Training for employees, and the appointment of fire wardens.

Fire wardens play an important part in keeping these precautions working day to day.

Employers and those in control of premises must make sure that fire precautions are both in place and working. In practice, they cover seven areas. Fire avoidance, such as replacing solvent-based cleaners with water-based alternatives. Fire prevention, including managing flammable substances so they cannot ignite. Controlling the spread of fire, using measures such as fire-resistant partitions and fire doors to divide the building into compartments.

Safe evacuation routes out of the premises, kept clear and in working order at all times. Means of detecting and fighting fire, such as alarms and extinguishers, which the General Application Regulations 2007 require to be provided and maintained. And arrangements for instructing and training employees in fire prevention, fire control and safe evacuation, as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires. As a fire warden, you help to check that each of these precautions stays effective from day to day.

Some substances used or met at work can cause or worsen a fire or explosion, and Irish law sets specific rules for them. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2001 require employers to assess and control the risks from hazardous chemicals, including the risk of fire and explosion. Part 8 of the General Application Regulations 2007 deals with explosive atmospheres at places of work, such as areas where flammable vapours or dusts can build up.

Anyone carrying out a fire risk assessment must take these assessments into account when they evaluate fire precautions. Dangerous substances fall into three groups. First, chemicals or gases that carry a fire or explosion risk. Second, substances classified as hazardous under the CLP Regulation, which show fire or explosion warnings on their labels. Third, dusts that can form explosive mixtures with air, such as the flour dust found in food premises like flour mills.

A fire warden is appointed to help keep their area of the workplace safe from fire. The role has two sides.

Day to day, a fire warden:

• Keeps an eye on fire risks, such as blocked exits, wedged fire doors, poor housekeeping or damaged equipment.
• Reports problems to the person in charge of fire safety.
• Helps with fire drills, alarm tests and checks.

In an emergency, a fire warden:

• Makes sure the alarm has been raised.
• Helps everyone in their area to leave quickly, checks that the area is clear, and reports to the assembly point.

Fire wardens play an important part in keeping a workplace safe. You must stay alert to problems with the general fire precautions in your area and know how to react quickly if a fire breaks out there. You need a thorough understanding of the escape routes for your area, so that you can help colleagues use them safely. You must know how to raise the fire alarm, and when and how to contact the emergency services.

If anyone cannot leave the building, you must tell management or the emergency services without delay so that their rescue is prioritised, and you must make sure colleagues with disabilities or other needs get the support they need to escape. At the assembly point you stop people from your area going back inside until it is safe. You also organise and run fire drills to practise and improve evacuation.

This course gives you the knowledge every fire warden needs. As well as completing it, you should also receive training from your employer on:

• Your own area: its escape routes, exits, alarm call points, extinguishers and assembly point.
• The emergency plan for your building, including how people with disabilities will be helped out.
• Your exact duties during an evacuation, and who you report to.
• Hands-on practice with fire extinguishers, if your employer’s policy is for wardens to tackle small fires.

Training should be refreshed regularly, and whenever the building, the work or the emergency plan changes.

In addition to this course, you should receive training and instruction from your employer, or the person in control of the premises, that focuses on your own area. It should explain the evacuation procedures that are specific to your workplace and how to respond to emergencies in your area. You should be shown where the fire-fighting equipment is and what types there are, including extinguishers.

It should address health and safety issues in your area that relate to fire safety, and the fire hazards unique to your premises, such as flammable liquids, solids, gases or dusts and how to manage them safely. You should also learn the layout of the area, including every evacuation route and exit. If your workplace is large or complex and has several fire wardens, make sure you understand your own area thoroughly.

There is no fixed number in law. The number of fire wardens is decided through the fire risk assessment, taking into account:

• The size and layout of the building, and the number of floors.
• How many people are in the building, including visitors and members of the public.
• The level of fire risk from the work being carried out.
• Shift patterns, part-time work, holidays and sickness, so that there is always cover.
• Any people who will need help to escape.

Every area, on every shift, should have a fire warden available, with a named deputy.

The number of fire wardens a business needs depends on several factors, and your employer must carry out a risk assessment to judge them. They look at how many buildings and floors the workplace has, and at how many people occupy it and what kind of people they are. They consider the number of shifts, and they must allow for holiday and sickness absence. They take into account the type, size and complexity of the workplace, the amount of combustible and flammable material on site, the sources of ignition and the structure of the building.

The nature of the work carried out by staff matters too. In most cases a workplace should have more than one fire warden, so that cover is still available when a warden is on holiday or off sick.

In Ireland, fire safety law is enforced by:

• The local fire authorities, part of each local authority, which inspect premises under the Fire Services Acts.
• The Health and Safety Authority, the HSA, which enforces workplace safety law, including emergency procedures and fire fighting equipment.

Inspectors can require improvements, and can stop the use of premises that are dangerous. Failing to comply is a criminal offence.

In Ireland, enforcement of fire safety is shared between two kinds of authority. The fire authorities, which are part of each local authority, inspect premises under the Fire Services Acts and check that those in control are taking reasonable measures to guard against fire. The Health and Safety Authority, the HSA, enforces workplace safety law, including risk assessment, emergency plans, fire fighting equipment and emergency routes and exits.

Inspectors from either body can visit work premises to check whether fire risk assessments and fire prevention measures are adequate. During these visits they may give advice on what the law requires and how to comply. They also have the power to take enforcement action if they decide that the fire safety measures in a workplace are inadequate or break the law. As a fire warden, you may be asked to show an inspector your area, so keep it in good order at all times.

Authorities responsible for fire safety have strong powers. Under the Fire Services Acts, a fire authority can serve a fire safety notice on premises it considers potentially dangerous. The notice can require specific fire precautions to be taken, and it can prohibit or restrict the use of all or part of the premises until the danger has been dealt with. HSA inspectors can serve improvement notices, which set out what must be put right and by when, and prohibition notices, which stop a dangerous activity straight away.

In the most serious cases, the courts can be asked to close premises. Failing to comply with a notice, or breaching fire safety law, is a criminal offence. Those responsible can be prosecuted, and penalties include fines and, for the most serious offences, imprisonment. A workplace that keeps up adequate precautions, with wardens who report problems promptly, should never face these consequences.