Scanario at a client site

~100 employees & one H&S Officer who checks all fire equipment / exits etc. on regular basis & bring in the experts to test te equipment / alarms etc.

They also have 6 fire marshals - who do not formally do any inspections or checks

In the event of a fire the line supervisors & team leaders ensure everyone exits the building in a safe manner the fire marshals currently check their area and exit - then sty out

If called upon, they may / will extinguish minor fires - no practical training 

At the assembly point roll callers check lists produced from the computerised clocking in/out system

Client is asking why bother appointing / training them

Opinions?

Fire Marshals/Wardens who have received robust training should be the eyes and ears of the workplace. They will assist in prevention and promotion of a good fire safety culture. They will have a good understanding of the protection systems within the workplace and in the event of a fire, know how to respond safely and effectively. To be safe and effective they will need knowledge and understanding of how a fire will behave in compartments. Making a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in the dynamic phase of a fire event can only be done by robust training.

"Train like your life depends on it, cos it does" is very relevant. 

Speaking of one size fits all I can tell you story. In previous life I was working for large central government department, and we had a site at the other end of the country and its FRA was in need of review. So we arranged for a local consultancy  to do the FRA of this location. The recommendations were bit generic. For example the mentioned that the site need a fire alarm, fire wardens and an annual evacuation  drill. What’s wrong with that: the site was  portacabin in the middle of a field. The portacabin, housed two members of staff. Sarah and Jane (that’s what they were called) agreed to toss a coin and the loser become the fire warden. At some point once year the fire warden would go to the door and operate a hooter and the two of them would assemble in the car park where they would take the register. Five seconds later they would go back to work, aware that they had carried out their duties.

I didn’t bother training them specifically as fire wardens-was I amiss?          

When do FRAs my approach is;

- if you operate a sweep system for evacuation then you must have fully trained Fire Marshals/Wardens. This should include fire extinguisher use training.

- if there is likely to be members of the public present who do not sign in, you must operate a sweep system.

- if you operate a robust roll call system then Fire Marshals/Wardens are not required, but can be useful.

As for all the checks that need to be done (fire escape kept clear, etc.) these need to be done regardless of whether of not you have Fire Marshals/Wardens. Most companies who have them tend to assign these task to them, but its not an automatic duty that goes with the role.

Edited by user 30 June 2022 07:00:21(UTC)  | Reason: Typo