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1. Module 1. Your legal duties as a manager

   This course is for managers, supervisors, business owners and anyone responsible for fire safety in a workplace. It covers the legal duties and how to manage fire safety day to day.

   What you will learn

   • Explain the fire safety duties of the responsible person (usually the employer, owner or occupier).
   • Describe how fire safety law is enforced.
   • Know what to do when you share a building with others.

   Key points

   • The legal duty sits with the responsible person (usually the employer, owner or occupier); managers carry out much of the work.
   • Assess fire risks, put precautions in place, train staff, and keep everything maintained.
   • Use a competent fire risk assessor for larger or more complex premises.
   • Cooperate and share information with other businesses in the same building.

   Based on: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales); Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010; Fire Safety Act 2021.

2. Module 2. Carrying out a fire risk assessment

   The fire risk assessment is the foundation of fire safety. It identifies what could cause a fire, who could be harmed, and what is needed to keep people safe.

   What you will learn

   • Follow the five steps of a fire risk assessment.
   • Identify ignition sources, fuel and people at risk.
   • Record findings and an action plan.

   Key points

   • Five steps: identify hazards, identify people at risk, evaluate and act, record and train, review.
   • Check means of escape and fire-resisting construction carefully.
   • Each finding needs an action, an owner and a date.
   • Review the assessment regularly and after any significant change.

   Based on: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales); Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010; Fire Safety Act 2021.

3. Module 3. Fire precautions and maintenance

   Fire precautions only protect people if they work when needed. Managers must make sure they are maintained, tested and recorded.

   What you will learn

   • Describe the main fire precautions and their checks.
   • Set up a testing and maintenance schedule.
   • Control contractors and hot work.

   Key points

   • Test and maintain alarms, lighting, extinguishers, doors and extraction to a schedule.
   • Keep a fire log book of tests, services, drills and repairs.
   • Use hot work permits and control contractors.
   • Train all staff, and brief temporary workers on day one.

   Based on: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales); Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010; Fire Safety Act 2021.

4. Module 4. Emergency planning and incidents

   A good plan, practised often, is what turns fire precautions into a safe evacuation. Managers lead it and learn from every drill and incident.

   What you will learn

   • Write and maintain a fire emergency plan.
   • Plan for people who need help to evacuate.
   • Manage the response to a fire and the steps afterwards.

   Key points

   • The emergency plan must be specific, clear, shared and practised.
   • Choose an evacuation strategy that fits the building and the risk assessment.
   • Plan how every person who needs help will get out; do not rely on the fire service.
   • After any incident: record, investigate, restore, review and support.

   Based on: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales); Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010; Fire Safety Act 2021.

HygieneReady certificates confirm completion of training. They are not a regulated qualification. Definitions of the key terms are in the glossary.