Our Fire Safety and the Responsible Person Training Course is designed to provide delegates with sufficiently detailed fire safety knowledge to undertake specific roles in the workplace in assisting the organisation in managing fire risk.

Interested in training that provides a national qualification?

This interactive one day course is suitable for fire wardens/marshals, managers, supervisors and any member of staff that has specific responsibilities towards fire safety. The end of course examination is marked by our Awarding Body and delegates who pass the examination will receive a Level 2 Certificate under the National Qualifications Framework. Click here to download a Training Course brochure.

By the end of the training session the delegates will be able to:

• Explain how fires are caused in the workplace and identify hazards during or after a fire
• Describe the characteristics of fire and smoke, including spread
• State different methods used to identify and control hazards
• Outline typical components for means of escape
• Define methods of fire detection, raising the alarm and fire extinguishment
• Use extinguishers and fixed systems
• Outline duties of employers and employees, compliance with regulations a legislation
• Detail how to undertake a simple fire safety inspection in the workplace
• Describe how to manage Fire Risks in the workplace

All course attendees will be provided with a Fire Safety Training (level 2) certificate valid for 3 years.

Contact us on 0333 016 4224 or E-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a course programme and course fees.

Restricting the spread of fire and smoke

To reduce the risk to people if there is a fire, you need to consider how to control or restrict the spread of fire and smoke. The majority of people who die in fires are overcome by the smoke and gases.

It is important to ensure that, in the event of fire, the rate of fire growth is restricted in its early stages. It should also be noted that most measures which restrict the rate of fire growth in its early stages will also serve to restrict the fire spread in its later stages.

Display materials and decorations

Displays are often located in corridors, entrance foyers and shop floors, and generally compromise materials such as paper, cardboard and plastic which provide a means for the rapid spread of fire. You should assess how these materials could contribute to the development of a fire in the area where they are located.

To reduce the risk of fire spread, you should consider the following;
Avoid the use of displays in corridors and foyers. Minimize the size and number of display areas to discrete, separated areas. Treating displays with proprietary flame retardant sprays. The use of display boxes Keep displays away from curtains, light fittings and heaters. keep displays away from ceiling voids which may lack fire barriers. Ensure that there are no ignition sources in the the vicinity.

Staff information should be confined to appropriately located display boards in areas away from escape routes. Display boards may be used on escape routes as long as they are no bigger than 1m2 or have been enclosed in a sealed display case.

Catering facilities

Wherever possible any extensive catering facilities, particularly those with deep fat fryers, should be located in a separate building, or alternatively, separated from the remainder of the building by fire doors and fire resisting construction and provided with adequate ventilation.

Where flues pass through any part of the structure, the structure should be protected by fire resisting construction. Where fire shutters are used these should be capable of operating both manually and by fusible link. Where a fire detection and warning system is installed, the fire shutter should also be designed to close on activation of the system via a controlled geared mechanism.

Fire-resisting structures

Many buildings are divided into different areas by fire doors and fire-resisting walls and floors. These are partly designed to keep a fire within one area, giving people more time to escape. You will need to identify which doors, walls and floors in your building are fire-resisting. There may be information available from when the building was built, if alterations have been made, or from previously held fire certificate.

High-risk areas should be separated from the rest of the premises by 30-minute fire-resisting construction. Normally if there are fire doors in a wall, then the wall itself will also need to be fire-resisting. If a wall or floor is required to be fire-resisting then you should not make any holes in it, e.g. for extra doors or pipe ducts, without consulting a competent person.

Smoke control

In larger buildings and some units in shopping complexes, there may be some form of automatic smoke ventilation provided for the safety of the occupants and to assist firefighting. These systems are designed to restrict the spread of fire and smoke usually by venting the heat and smoke through the roof via other routes to the outside. Low level inlet air is essential for the operation of SHEVS and all openings for this purpose should not be obstructed.

Special down-stands may have been installed to create a reservoir which will contain the smoke and hot gases at roof level, while vents allow the smoke to escape. It is important that any smoke can easily flow into the reservoirs and that nothing which could cause an obstruction, e.g. large advertising display material, is fixed near the vents.

In shopping complexes the front of individual shops often forms part of the smoke control design. If your building has smoke vents fitted, or any other form of smoke control, then you may need to seek advice from someone who is competent in such systems.

Other fixed installations

There are a number of other fixed installations including water mist, gaseous, deluge and fixed powder systems. If your premises have a fixed firefighting system that you are unfamiliar with, then please contact us for advice.

Where a fixed firefighting system forms an integral part of your fire safety strategy, it should be maintained in accordance with the relevant British Standard by a competent person.

Other facilities (including those for firefighters)

Building regulations and other Acts, including local Acts, may have required firefighting equipment and other facilities to be provided for the safety of people in the building and to help firefighters. Fire safety law places a duty on you to maintain such facilities in good working order and at all times.

These may include;

Access for fire engines and firefighters.

Firefighting shafts and lifts.

Fire suppression systems e.g. sprinklers, water mist and gaseous.

Smoke-control systems.

Dry or wet rising mains and firefighting inlets.

Information and communication arrangements e.g. fire telephones and wireless systems and information to brief the fire and rescue service when they arrive.

Firefighters switches.



Access for fire engines and firefighters

Buildings that have been constructed to modern building regulations or in accordance with certain local Acts will have been provided with facilities that allow fire engines to approach and park within a reasonable distance so that firefighters can use their equipment without too much difficulty.

These facilities may consist of access roads to the building, hard standing areas for fire engines and access into the building for firefighters. It is essential that where such facilities are provided they are properly maintained and available for use at all relevant times.

Where a building is used by a number of different occupants you will need to ensure co-operation between the various "responsible persons" to maintain fire and rescue service access. In exceptional cases, where access is persistently obstructed, you may need to make additional arrangements.

Firefighting shafts and lifts

Firefighting shafts are provided in larger buildings to help firefighters reach floors further away from the building`s access point. They enable firefighting operations to start quickly and in comparative safety by providing a safe route from the point of entry to the floor where the fire has occurred.

Entry points from a stairway in a firefighting shaft to a floor will be via a lobby, through two sets of fire and smoke-resisting doors and walls. Many people will use the stairway for normal movement through the building and it is important that the safety features are not compromised by doors being wedged open.

Most firefighters shafts will also incorporate a firefighting lift which opens into the lobby. The lift will have a back-up electrical supply and car control overrides. The primary function of the lift is to transport firefighting personnel and their equipment to the scene of a fire with the minimum amount of time and effort. It may also be used to help evacuate less mobile people.

Alterations that might affect the shaft should not be made without first liaising with other responsible persons, any owners or managing agents and the enforcing authority. Any proposed changes will require Building Regulations approval from a Building Control Body.Where a firefighting shaft is provided, it should be maintained by a competent person.

History of the fire extinguisher

A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which is rapidly developing, endangers the user (i.e. no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire brigade. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.

There are two main types of fire extinguishers: stored pressure and cartridge-operated. In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself. Depending on the agent used, different propellants are used. With dry powder extinguishers, nitrogen is typically used; water and foam extinguishers typically use air, however as service technician carry nitrogen bottles in their mobile workshops these are normally filled with nitrogen too.

Stored pressure fire extinguishers are the most common type. Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to discharge, exposing the propellant to the extinguishing agent. This type is not as common, used primarily in areas such as industrial facilities, where they receive higher-than-average use. They have the advantage of simple and prompt recharge, allowing an operator to discharge the extinguisher, recharge it, and return to the fire in a reasonable amount of time. Unlike stored pressure types, these extinguishers utilize compressed carbon dioxide instead of nitrogen, although nitrogen cartridges are used on low temperature (-60 rated) models. Cartridge operated extinguishers are available in dry chemical and dry powder types in the US and in water, wetting agent, foam, dry powder (classes ABC and BC),and (class D) types in the rest of the world.

History

A 1905 illustration marketing extinguishers


The first fire extinguisher of which there is any record was patented in England in 1723 by Ambrose Godfrey, a celebrated chemist. It consisted of a cask of fire-extinguishing liquid containing a pewter chamber of gunpowder. This was connected with a system of fuses which were ignited, exploding the gunpowder and scattering the solution. This device was probably used to a limited extent, as Bradley's Weekly Messenger for November 7, 1729, refers to its efficiency in stopping a fire in London.

The modern fire extinguisher was invented by British Captain George William Manby in 1818; it consisted of a copper vessel of 3 gallons (13.6 litres) of pearl ash (potassium carbonate) solution contained within compressed air. The soda-acid extinguisher was first patented in 1866 by Francois Carlier of France, which mixed a solution of water and sodium bicarbonate with tartaric acid, producing the propellant CO2 gas.

A soda-acid extinguisher was patented in the U.S. in 1881 by Almon M. Granger. His extinguisher used the reaction between sodium bicarbonate solution and sulphuric acid to expel pressurized water onto a fire. A vial was suspended in the cylinder containing concentrated sulphuric acid.

Depending on the type of extinguisher, the vial of acid could be broken in one of two ways. One used a plunger to break the acid vial, whilst the second released a lead stopple that held the vial closed. Once the acid was mixed with the bicarbonate solution, carbon dioxide gas was expelled and thereby pressurize the water. The pressurized water was forced from the canister through a nozzle or short length of hose.

A classic copper building type soda-acid extinguisher


The cartridge-operated extinguisher was invented by Read & Campbell of England in 1881, which used water or water-based solutions. They later invented a carbon tetrachloride model called the "Petrolex" which was marketed toward automotive use. The chemical foam extinguisher was invented around 1905 by Alexander Laurant of Russia, who first used it to extinguish a pan of burning naphtha. It works and looks similar to the soda-acid type, but the inner parts are different. The main tank contains a solution of water, foam compound (usually made from licorice root) and sodium bicarbonate. A cylindrical metal or plastic chamber holds about a quart and a half of 13% aluminum sulphate and is capped with a lead cap. When the unit is turned over, the chemicals mix, producing CO2 gas. The licorice causes some of the CO2 bubbles to become trapped in the liquid and is discharged on the fire as a thick whitish-brown foam.

In 1910, The Pyrene Manufacturing Company of Delaware filed a patent for a using carbon tetrachloride (CTC) to extinguish fires. The CTC vaporized and extinguished the flames by creating a dense, oxygen-excluding blanket of fumes, and to a lesser extent, inhibiting the chemical reaction. In 1911, they patented a small, portable extinguisher that used the chemical. This consisted of a brass or chrome container with an integrated hand pump, which was used to expel a jet of liquid towards the fire. It was usually of 1 imperial quart (1.1 L) or 1 imperial pint (0.6 L) capacity but was also available in up to 2 imperial gallon (9 L) size. As the container was unpressurized, it could be refilled after use through a filling plug with a fresh supply of CTC.

A chemical foam extinguisher with contents.


A further variety of extinguisher - the Fire grenade - consisted of a glass bottle filled with the liquid that was intended to be hurled at the base of a fire. Early ones used salt-water, but later they were filled with CTC. Carbon tetrachloride was suitable for liquid and electrical fires, and was popular in motor vehicles until the late 1950's, when it was withdrawn because of its toxicity. Exposure to high concentrations damages the nervous system and internal organs. Additionally, when used on a fire, the heat converts CTC to Phosgene, formerly used as a chemical weapon.

In the 1940s, Germany invented the liquid chlorobromomethane (CBM) for use in aircraft. It was more effective and slightly less toxic than carbon tetrachloride and was used until 1969. Methyl bromide was discovered as an extinguishing agent in the 1920s and was used extensively in Europe. It is a low-pressure gas that works by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire and is the most toxic of the vaporizing liquids, used until the 1960s. The vapour and combustion by-products of all vaporizing liquids were highly toxic, and could cause death in confined spaces.

A glass "grenade" style extinguisher, to be thrown into a fire.

A Pyrene, brass, carbon-tetrachloride extinguisher


The carbon dioxide (CO2) extinguisher was invented (at least in the US) by the Walter Kidde Company in 1924 in response to Bell Telephone's request for an electrically non-conductive chemical for extinguishing the previously difficult to extinguish fires in telephone switchboards. It consisted of a tall metal cylinder containing 7.5 lbs. of CO2 with a wheel valve and a woven brass, cotton covered hose, with a composite funnel-like horn as a nozzle. CO2 is still popular today as it is an ozone-friendly clean agent and is useful for an extinguishing a person who is on fire, hence its widespread use in film and television.

An early dry chemical extinguisher, the first ones had copper cylinders, this one is steel.

In 1928, DuGas (later bought by ANSUL) came out with a cartridge-operated dry chemical extinguisher, which used sodium bicarbonate specially treated with chemicals to render it free-flowing and moisture-resistant. It consisted of a copper cylinder with an internal CO2cartridge. The operator turned a wheel valve on top to puncture the cartridge and squeezed a lever on the valve at the end of the hose to discharge the chemical. This was the first agent available for large scale three-dimensional liquid and pressurized gas fires, and was but remained largely a specialty type until the 1950s, when small dry chemical units were marketed for home use. ABC dry chemical came over from Europe in the 1950s, with Super-K being invented in the early 60s and Purple-K being developed by the US Navy in the late 1960s.

A glass "grenade" style extinguisher, to be thrown into a fire.


In the 1970's, Halon 1211 came over to the US from Europe, where it had been used since the late 40s or early 50s. Halon 1301 had been developed by DuPont and the US Army in 1954. Both 1211 and 1301 work by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire, and in the case of Halon 1211, cooling class A fuels as well. Halon is still in use today, but is falling out of favour for many uses due to its environmental impact. Europe and Australia have severely restricted its use, but it is still widely available in North America, the Middle East, and Asia.