When an organisation appoints a fire marshal, it’s not surprising that the position carries quite a lot of responsibility. However, the role of the fire safety marshal is often misunderstood, which is why we’re going to look at the most important aspects of a fire marshal’s job, as well as how Safety Aide can help with training.
Prevention As Priority
Some may think that the fire marshal is simply the person they contact in case of a fire. Yet the fire marshal’s main role is not to extinguish fires – rather, they should be focusing their efforts on how fires can be prevented.
Safety First
As a fire marshal, you should be ensuring that all the evacuation routes are cleared and well signposted in case of a fire. This includes maintaining good housekeeping within the premises and checking that fire doors are not left open. You will also need to ensure that safety signage is highly visible to staff, and that they can see the routes they must take, as well as the evacuation assembly points. It is also necessary to conduct fire drills, and to test fire alarms weekly.
Emergency Situations
While fire prevention should always be your main priority, you should also be available and responsible in the event of an emergency, when the spread of fire needs to be curbed and others need to be evacuated. Should a fire occur, you need to be on hand to raise alarms, check that fire doors are closed, and be there to help vulnerable people get safely out of the building. You’ll then oversee roll calls and speaking with your local fire brigade to give them as much information as possible.
Why Train A Fire Marshal?
Training a fire marshal should not be seen as an unnecessary expense – doing so allows an organisation to have an employee who is not only able to be level-headed if there is a fire, but also fully informed in fire prevention management.
Training Focus
When training a fire safety marshal, the main focus is on raising awareness of risk assessment principles, the routine and emergency duties a fire marshal has, and what to do when a fire is spotted. It should also cover the fire triangle, evacuation principles and best practice, and how to liaise with outside authorities. Most importantly for an office or professional environment, the training will also cover how human behaviours can impact fire safety and how to handle this.
If you would like to ensure that you have a fully trained fire marshal on staff, then get in touch with Safety Aide for comprehensive and up to date training, fire safety consultations, and more.
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