Updated September 2026. This cornerstone guide explains workplace fire-safety training duties for employers and Responsible Persons, including induction, refresher training, fire drills, fire marshal roles and higher-risk premises. It focuses mainly on England and Wales under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Fire-safety training is not separate from the fire risk assessment: the assessment should identify the risks, people at risk and emergency arrangements, while training helps make sure staff understand what those arrangements mean in practice.
SJ Fire Safety Consultants provides fire safety training for UK workplaces, including awareness, refresher and role-specific training linked to your premises and fire risk assessment.
Contents
- What the law requires
- Induction training
- How often refresher training should be provided
- Training after new or increased risks
- What fire-safety training should cover
- Fire marshals and wardens
- Fire drills
- Training records
- Linking training to the fire risk assessment
- Care homes and supported living
- Property managers, landlords and multi-site businesses
- Frequently asked questions
What does the law require?
The Fire Safety Order requires employees to receive adequate fire-safety training. Government guidance states that new staff should be trained when they start work and that employees should be told about new fire risks.
Official guidance: GOV.UK fire-safety equipment, drills and training.
The Home Office guide for persons with fire-safety duties explains that training must be suitable and sufficient for employees to understand the fire-safety measures in the premises and the actions they need to take to protect themselves and other relevant people.
See the official Home Office guide for persons with duties under fire-safety legislation.
When should new staff receive fire-safety training?
Government guidance states that adequate fire-safety training should be provided when employees are first employed, for example as part of induction. This is important because employees need to understand the building’s alarms, escape routes, emergency arrangements and any duties they may have from the start of their employment.
Induction training should reflect the actual workplace rather than relying only on generic information. Employees should know what the alarm sounds like, where to go, what routes they should use and how to report fire-safety concerns.
How often should refresher training be provided?
There is no single statutory refresher interval for every workplace. The Home Office guide says training should be repeated periodically and notes recognised practice of no less frequently than annually, although some premises need more frequent refreshers.
Higher-risk premises can justify shorter intervals. Care homes and sleeping accommodation are examples identified in government guidance where more frequent refresher training may be necessary.
The right frequency should be informed by the fire risk assessment, the risks in the premises, changes in staff responsibilities, and how effectively staff retain the required knowledge.
Read our supporting article: Fire Safety Training Requirements for Employers.
When is extra training required because risks have changed?
Fire-safety training must also respond to changes. Government guidance says additional training is required if employees are exposed to new or increased risks because of changes such as:
- a change in role or responsibility;
- new or changed work equipment;
- the introduction of new technology;
- a new system of work;
- changes in the building or escape arrangements; and
- other changes that materially alter fire risk.
Training should therefore be treated as part of ongoing fire-safety management rather than a one-time certificate.
What should workplace fire-safety training cover?
The exact content should reflect the premises and the emergency plan. Topics can include:
- common causes of fire and basic prevention;
- how to raise the alarm;
- what to do when the alarm sounds;
- escape routes and final exits;
- assembly arrangements;
- keeping escape routes clear;
- the importance of fire doors and why they should not be wedged open;
- how to report defects or hazards;
- arrangements for visitors and contractors;
- assistance for people who may need help evacuating;
- staff responsibilities within the emergency plan; and
- firefighting equipment where staff are expected and trained to use it.
Fire doors
Staff should understand why fire doors matter and why damaged closers, wedges or other defects need to be reported. For a detailed technical overview, see our Complete UK Fire Door Inspection Guide.
Emergency procedures
Training should explain the actual procedure used in the premises. A generic instruction to “leave by the nearest exit” may not be enough in a building with phased, progressive or otherwise specialised evacuation arrangements.
Fire marshals and fire wardens
Employees given additional fire-safety responsibilities need training suitable for those responsibilities. Depending on the premises, this may include:
- supporting evacuation;
- checking designated areas where it is safe and appropriate to do so;
- helping manage assembly points;
- reporting information to the person in charge;
- recognising common fire-safety defects;
- understanding arrangements for vulnerable people; and
- supporting drills and routine fire-safety management.
Fire marshal training does not remove the need for general staff training. Every employee should understand the basic fire procedures relevant to them.
How often should fire drills be carried out?
GOV.UK advises businesses to carry out at least one fire drill per year and record the results as part of the fire-safety and evacuation plan. More frequent drills may be appropriate depending on the premises, shifts, risk and findings from previous drills.
The Home Office guide notes that there is no single laid-down drill frequency in legislation, but annual or sometimes more frequent drills may be necessary. Permanent nightshift workers and other groups should not be excluded from meaningful participation simply because drills are usually conducted during the day.
Official source: GOV.UK fire drills and training.
What training records should be kept?
Good records can help the Responsible Person demonstrate that training arrangements are being managed. Useful records can include:
- date of training;
- names or groups of attendees;
- subject matter covered;
- trainer or training provider;
- role-specific training provided;
- fire-drill dates and outcomes;
- issues identified during drills; and
- planned refresher or follow-up actions.
Records should be proportionate to the premises but clear enough to show who has been trained and what the training covered.
How should training link to the fire risk assessment?
The fire risk assessment should identify the risks, people who may be at risk and the measures needed to keep them safe. Training should reinforce those measures.
Examples:
- if the assessment identifies vulnerable occupants, staff training should reflect the assistance arrangements;
- if the building relies on fire doors and compartmentation, staff should understand why doors must be kept effective;
- if night staffing creates different evacuation constraints, training should reflect those conditions;
- if the emergency plan assigns specific roles, the relevant employees need training for those roles.
See our Complete UK Fire Risk Assessment Guide for the wider assessment framework.
Fire-safety training for care homes and supported living
Care and supported-living settings often need more tailored training because residents may have mobility, cognitive, sensory or health needs that affect evacuation. Staff may also need to understand progressive evacuation, compartmentation, fire-door management and person-centred arrangements.
Government guidance specifically identifies care homes as an example where more frequent refresher training may be needed.
Read:
- Fire Safety for Care Homes
- Fire Safety for Supported Living
- Fire Risk Assessments for Care Homes: What to Expect
Property managers, landlords and multi-site organisations
Property-management businesses and multi-site employers benefit from consistent training standards across locations while still allowing for site-specific emergency arrangements.
A central training programme can cover common principles, but each site should still address its own alarm arrangements, escape routes, assembly points, vulnerable occupants and management procedures.
Property managers can also use training to reinforce routine building-management issues such as reporting damaged fire doors, keeping escape routes clear and maintaining accurate records.
See our Property Managers fire-safety page and Fire Safety Responsibilities for Property Managers and Managing Agents.
Common fire-safety training mistakes
- treating training as a one-off certificate rather than an ongoing process;
- using generic training without explaining the actual building and emergency procedure;
- forgetting night workers, part-time staff or contractors;
- failing to retrain staff after significant changes;
- not recording who has been trained;
- providing fire marshal training but insufficient general staff awareness;
- running drills but failing to learn from the results; and
- not connecting training back to the fire risk assessment.
Fire-safety training FAQs
Is fire-safety training mandatory?
Where the Fire Safety Order applies, employers must provide adequate fire-safety training to employees.
Does every employee need fire-safety training?
Employees need training appropriate to the risks and arrangements relevant to them. Some employees may require additional role-specific instruction.
Is annual training always legally required?
The legislation does not prescribe one annual refresher rule for every premises, but official guidance says training should be repeated periodically and notes recognised practice of no less frequently than annually, with more frequent training in some higher-risk premises.
Do we need a fire drill every year?
GOV.UK advises carrying out at least one fire drill per year and recording the results. The appropriate frequency can be higher depending on the premises and risk.
Can online training replace site-specific training?
Online training can support awareness, but employees still need to understand the actual alarm, escape routes, emergency plan and relevant risks in their workplace. A purely generic course may not cover those site-specific arrangements.
Should fire marshals receive different training?
Yes. People assigned additional fire-safety duties need instruction appropriate to those duties as well as general staff awareness.
Should training be updated after a new fire risk assessment?
If the assessment identifies new risks, changes to emergency procedures or additional staff responsibilities, training should be reviewed and updated accordingly.
Arrange Workplace Fire Safety Training
SJ Fire Safety Consultants provides practical workplace fire-safety training linked to your premises, emergency arrangements and fire risk assessment.
View our Fire Safety Training service or contact us to discuss your training requirements.
More fire-safety resources: Browse our Fire Safety Articles & Guidance hub or read our Complete UK Fire Risk Assessment Guide.