Posted By artisdeeian Having recieved fire extinguisher use training. would I be concidered competent enough to train others in the use of such equipment. Together with an understanding and knowledge of the fire triangle etc. is this a good basis to pass on this knowledge as a training programme. Regards Ian Kenning

Posted By shaun mckeever Ian This is just a personal opinion, but I believe that what ever subject you intend to teach you must have some solid background and experience behind you in that subject. I know that use of an extinguisher is easy but it is a life safety piece of equipment. If someone that you taught makes a serious mistake then they or others may point the finger at you. Are you insured?

Posted By Ken Taylor You may well be able to pass on the knowledge of how to use an extinguisher. However training itself requires competence and it is often useful to extend training in this area to the broader issue of fire safety in order to provide information on the nature and causes of fire (including the hazards of fire, smoke and combustion products)and means of preventing its occurrence and spread in addition to its extinguishment. So, by all means tell your colleagues what you now know about using the extinguishers in your workplace but also consider the need for acquiring broader knowledge and competence in the interesting and scary subject of fire before setting up as a trainer.

Posted By Darren J Fraser Whilst in agreement with the responses so far, I believe your question is more to do with passing the knowledge you received, namely how to select the correect extinguisher, how to operate (instructions already on extinguisher, therefore a backup) and that is it. Lets be totally honest, in the event of a fire, someone will grab an extinguisher, normally the nearest, not nessecarily the correct one e.g. PC monitor on fire, nearest extinguisher is water, spend a minute or two reading the instructions, hopefully realise it is the wrong one and look for the correct one, but likely to follow instructions and possibly ending up injuring themselves and/or others. Do not call it training, call it extinguisher identification awareness - keep it simple, explain what is the best extinguisher for set scenerios and explain the instructions of how to operate. DO NOT CARRY OUT A LIVE DEMONSTRATION INVOLVING A FIRE, but there is no reason that you could not set one of each off in the car park for example to show how easy they are to use. Most important of all, is to ensure that everyone is aware of the company fire procedure, if that states that only trained persons can use a fire extinguisher, then IMHO, I would not show those who have not received the training you obviously have how to operate an extinguisher, just reinforce the message to get out and stay out, do not collect personal belongings etc. If you want to carry out training, I would strongly suggest that you look at one of the many courses avaliable, to further develop your skill set, namely NEBOSH fire certificate, Fire Engineers 9 day course etc, (the 9 day course actually covers the training of persons to become fire wardens/marshalls, and part of the course is to do with developing a training programme for use within your company).