Fire Marshal / Warden Course at Your Workplace

Why every workplace needs trained fire marshals

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the principal fire safety law for non-domestic premises in England and Wales — the Responsible Person (usually the employer or person in control of the building) must appoint one or more competent persons to help put fire safety measures into practice. That includes raising alarms, sweeping evacuation zones, managing the assembly point, and supporting the fire and rescue service on arrival.

Naming someone as a fire marshal without giving them proper training does not meet that duty. A fire marshal or warden needs to know the law, recognise hazards before they become fires, and lead a calm, accountable evacuation — even under pressure. This course covers all of that, at your workplace, in half a day.

Who is this course for?

The Fire Marshal / Warden Course is for any member of staff who has been nominated to carry out fire safety responsibilities in your organisation. Common attendees include:

• Employees formally named as fire marshals or fire wardens on your fire risk assessment
• Floor wardens and zone sweepers in offices, warehouses, schools, and care homes
• Supervisors and team leaders who hold responsibility for safe evacuation
• Health and safety officers and facilities managers
• Anyone stepping into a fire warden role for the first time, or refreshing an older certificate

No prior fire safety training or qualifications are needed to attend. The course starts from the ground up.

What your team will learn

The course follows a structured syllabus built around the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and sound fire safety practice. By the end of the session, every delegate will understand:

Fire safety law and the warden's role

• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — what it requires, who it applies to, and what the Responsible Person must have in place
• Article 18 of the RRO: the duty to appoint competent persons and what "competent" actually means
• The specific duties of a fire marshal and fire warden within your organisation's fire safety structure
• How the warden role connects to the wider fire risk assessment and emergency procedures

Fire causes, hazards, and the fire triangle

• How fire starts and spreads — the fire triangle (heat, fuel, oxygen) and why removing any one element extinguishes a fire
• The most common causes of workplace fires: electrical faults, ignition sources near combustibles, poor housekeeping, and arson
• How to spot hazards during a routine check and what to do — report, remove, escalate
• Good housekeeping practices: keeping escape routes clear, managing waste storage, controlling ignition risks, and maintaining fire doors

Fire risk assessments and prevention

• The five steps of a fire risk assessment and how marshals contribute to them
• Understanding your workplace's emergency plan, action cards, and site-specific procedures
• The importance of fire door integrity, self-closers, and not propping doors open
• Electrical safety awareness — overloaded sockets, damaged cables, and equipment left on overnight

Detection, alarms, and safety equipment

• How fire detection and alarm systems work — manual call points, automatic detectors, alarm panels
• Emergency lighting, fire exit signage, and what to check during regular inspections
• Classes of fire under BS EN 2: Class A (solids), B (flammable liquids), C (gases), D (metals), and F (cooking oils/fats), plus electrical fires
• UK extinguisher types — water (red), foam (cream), dry powder (blue), CO₂ (black), wet chemical (yellow), and water mist — and which class of fire each is suited to
• The PASS technique for using a fire extinguisher: Pull the pin · Aim at the base · Squeeze the handle · Sweep side to side
• When to fight a small fire and — critically — when to leave it alone and evacuate

Emergency evacuation procedures

• The marshal's role on hearing the alarm: when to raise it, how to sweep and clear your zone, and the sequence of actions to take
• Directing people to assembly points calmly and efficiently — including managing panic
• Searching rooms, checking toilets and store cupboards, and confirming evacuation is complete
• Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) — identifying staff or visitors with mobility, sensory, or cognitive needs and planning to support them during an evacuation
• Roll-call and accounting for everyone at the assembly point
• Liaising with the fire and rescue service on arrival: who speaks to them, what information to give, and when it is safe to return
• What a fire drill tests and how to contribute to a debrief that actually improves procedures

How the day runs

Your trainer arrives at your premises and sets up in whatever room you have available — a meeting room, a canteen, a break-out space. No specialist equipment is needed and nothing needs to be moved other than chairs.

The session opens with the legal framework so every delegate understands why the role matters and what happens if fire safety duties are not met. From there, the focus becomes practical: your trainer works through hazard recognition, equipment identification, and evacuation procedures in a way that relates directly to your building. There is discussion, worked examples, and time for questions at every stage.

The session is interactive rather than lecture-based — delegates leave genuinely better prepared, not just having sat through slides. The whole programme fits comfortably within a half day, making it easy to schedule around your team's workload.

Assessment and certificate

There is no written examination. Assessment is continuous — your trainer observes participation and understanding throughout the session and uses group discussion to confirm that key points have landed. This low-pressure format means delegates focus on learning rather than test anxiety.

Every delegate who completes the course receives a Fire Marshal / Fire Warden certificate of attendance issued by First Aid Training On Site. Good practice — and a sensible insurance and compliance position — is to refresh this training every three years, supported by regular fire drills in between.

Why deliver the Fire Marshal / Warden Course on site at your workplace?

Sending staff on an open course means travel time, mileage, half a day away from the workplace, and generic training that has nothing to do with your building. The on-site alternative is better in almost every respect:

Fire safety law — what you need to know

A fire inspection that finds nominated marshals have received no formal training is a straightforward route to an enforcement notice. Getting your team trained is one of the simplest compliance steps an employer can take — and one of the most cost-effective.