If you are responsible for fire safety within a UK business, one seemingly straightforward question can be surprisingly difficult to answer: how many Fire Wardens do we need?

There isn’t a single number that applies to every workplace. A small office employing ten people will have very different requirements from a warehouse operating several shifts or a multi-storey building accommodating hundreds of employees.

The appropriate number of Fire Wardens should therefore be based on the circumstances of your workplace and the findings of your fire risk assessment.

Is There a Legal Number of Fire Wardens?

UK fire safety legislation doesn’t simply state that every workplace must have one Fire Warden for every set number of employees.

Instead, employers and those responsible for premises need to put suitable fire safety arrangements in place.

This means the number of trained people required should reflect the actual risks and characteristics of the workplace.

Simply appointing one person and considering the matter dealt with may not provide adequate cover.

What Determines How Many Fire Wardens You Need?

Several factors should be considered.

Number of Employees

The number of people regularly occupying the premises is an obvious starting point.

A workplace containing a handful of employees may require fewer trained personnel than a large office, factory or warehouse.

However, headcount shouldn’t be considered in isolation.

Size and Layout of the Building

Think about how quickly a Fire Warden could realistically cover the area allocated to them.

A relatively small open-plan office may be straightforward. A building divided into numerous rooms, floors, workshops, storage areas and corridors can be considerably more complicated.

Larger premises will generally need enough trained people to provide appropriate coverage throughout the building.

Different Floors and Departments

Businesses occupying several floors should consider whether Fire Wardens are needed on each level.

The same principle applies to premises divided into separate departments or working areas.

During an evacuation, relying on someone to travel through a building to cover several distant areas may not be practical.

Shift Patterns

This is particularly important for businesses operating outside conventional office hours.

Having six trained Fire Wardens on your employee list isn’t particularly useful if all six work the same daytime shift.

You need appropriate cover whenever employees are working.

That could include:

• Day shifts.
• Evening shifts.
• Night shifts.
• Weekends.
• Overtime periods.

Businesses operating multiple shifts should consider Fire Warden provision for each working pattern.

What Happens When a Fire Warden Is Absent?

Holiday, sickness, meetings, training days and off-site appointments all affect availability.

This is why businesses should generally avoid relying on the absolute minimum number of trained employees.

If your fire safety arrangements depend entirely on one particular person being present, their absence can immediately create a gap.

Training additional employees provides greater resilience and helps maintain appropriate cover throughout the year.

Consider Visitors and Members of the Public

Not every person inside a workplace will necessarily understand the building’s evacuation procedures.

Premises regularly receiving customers, contractors, visitors or members of the public may require additional consideration.

Examples include:

• Retail premises.
• Hotels.
• Healthcare environments.
• Restaurants.
• Leisure facilities.
• Public buildings.
• Large offices receiving frequent visitors.

Fire Wardens can play an important role in directing people who are unfamiliar with the building towards appropriate escape routes.

Employees Who May Need Additional Assistance

Your fire safety arrangements should also consider people who may require assistance during an evacuation.

This could include employees or visitors with mobility, sensory or other needs that affect their ability to evacuate safely.

The presence of people requiring additional assistance may influence staffing, procedures and the number of suitably trained employees required.

What Does a Fire Warden Do During an Evacuation?

The precise responsibilities will depend on the organisation’s fire procedures, but a Fire Warden may be expected to:

• Encourage people to evacuate promptly.
• Direct occupants towards safe escape routes.
• Check designated areas where appropriate and safe.
• Help ensure fire doors are closed.
• Report information at the assembly point.
• Identify concerns to the person coordinating the evacuation.

Fire Wardens should understand that their own safety remains important. Their role doesn’t mean placing themselves in danger by remaining in a building when conditions are unsafe.

Fire Wardens Have a Role Before an Emergency Too

Effective Fire Wardens aren’t only relevant when the alarm sounds.

Depending on the organisation’s arrangements, trained Fire Wardens may also help identify everyday problems such as:

• Obstructed escape routes.
• Fire doors being wedged open.
• Poor storage practices.
• Inaccessible firefighting equipment.
• Missing or damaged signage.
• Changes that could affect evacuation.

This helps make Fire Warden Training part of preventative fire safety rather than simply emergency response.

Training Enough People Provides Flexibility

For many businesses, training several appropriate employees can be more practical than attempting to calculate the smallest possible number.

Staff leave, working patterns and organisational changes mean availability constantly fluctuates.

Having a pool of trained Fire Wardens can provide better coverage and make it easier to accommodate holidays, sickness and staff turnover.

Flexible Fire Warden Training for UK Businesses

Businesses that regularly need to train new Fire Wardens or provide refresher training may benefit from having their own reusable training resource.

Fire Warden Training supplied on USB allows organisations to deliver the training in-house using a compatible PC, laptop or Mac. The USB package includes training videos together with question and answer test sheets, certificate templates and training record templates.

For employees who need to complete training individually or remotely, online Fire Warden Training provides another convenient option.

This gives businesses flexibility to choose the training method that best suits their workforce.

Final Thoughts

There is no universal answer to how many Fire Wardens every UK workplace should have.

The appropriate number depends on factors including the size and layout of the premises, employee numbers, working patterns, fire risks and the people occupying the building.

Most importantly, businesses should consider actual Fire Warden coverage, not simply the number of employees who have previously completed a training course.

Your fire risk assessment and emergency arrangements should help determine the level of cover required. Training enough suitable employees to provide dependable cover can then help ensure your fire procedures continue to work when people are absent, shifts change or an emergency occurs.