Providing fire extinguishers is a life safety control measure as dictated by the premises fire risk assessment. that is, extinguishers are there to protect lives and if installed, a system must be in place to train staff (or certain staff) in their use: The Fire Safety Order Article 13 (which only relates to life safety matters) states:
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Fire-fighting and fire detection
13.—(1) Where necessary (whether due to the features of the premises, the activity carried on there, any hazard present or any other relevant circumstances) in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, the responsible person must ensure that—
(a)the premises are, to the extent that it is appropriate, equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment .......
(3) The responsible person must, where necessary...........
(b)nominate competent persons to implement those measures and ensure that the number of such persons, their training and the equipment available to them are adequate,
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There is a huge debate about training and always will be, but its clear that if you supply firefighting equipment, you must supply training. It's pretty cut and dry when you have staff, but there is still a grey area for residential. Residents are 'relevant persons' so if the FRA states firefighting equipment is to be provided, how the hell (and who) gets trained??
My view in relation to staff training is straightforward. The 'point and squirt' practical use of an extinguisher is very easy, after all they are usually just big aerosol cans arent they? The critical/important part of the training is when NOT to use them, and if an assessment is made to operate one, how to keep safe (eg: selecting the correct type, keeping your escape route clear and abandoning attempts if it all gets a bit iffy!!)
So why the fear? It is not rocket science. For SMEs with low to moderate risks, I often suggest a professional training is employed and the Responsible Person takes copious notes so they can develop their own training to repeated as necessary.