Compliance

Fire Safety Essentials — Annual Compliance

20 min All staff
Learning Objectives
  1. Identify the three elements of the fire triangle
  2. Select the correct extinguisher class for a given fire
  3. Follow the evacuation procedure for your site

Why fire training is mandatory

Regulatory Context
2 min
Workplace fires in the UK injure over 1,200 people a year, and most start small enough to be controlled in the first two minutes. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes annual fire-safety training a legal duty for every employer. This module covers the fire triangle, extinguisher selection, and your site evacuation procedure, and ends with a short scored assessment (pass mark 80%).

The fire triangle

Fire needs three things at once: HEAT to ignite, FUEL to burn, and OXYGEN to sustain the reaction. Every extinguishing method works by removing exactly one side of the triangle — water removes heat, a fire blanket removes oxygen, isolating a gas supply removes fuel.
When you assess a fire risk, name which side of the triangle each control removes.

RRFSO 2005 Art. 21

Choosing the right extinguisher

3 min read
UK extinguishers are colour-coded by agent. Water (red label): wood, paper, textiles only — never electrical or oil. Foam (cream): liquids such as petrol and paint, plus solids. CO2 (black): electrical equipment; safe on live gear but no cooling effect, so fires can reignite. Dry powder (blue): multi-purpose but dangerous indoors — it destroys visibility and harms airways. Wet chemical (yellow): deep-fat fryer fires, the only safe choice for cooking oil.

Extinguisher classes at a glance

Agent vs the fires it is safe on.

Side-by-side comparison of Solids (A), Liquids (B), Electrical across 4 criteria. Water (red): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✗; Electrical: ✗. Foam (cream): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✗. CO2 (black): Solids (A): ✗; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✓. Powder (blue): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✓.
Side-by-side comparison of Solids (A), Liquids (B), Electrical across 4 criteria. Water (red): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✗; Electrical: ✗. Foam (cream): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✗. CO2 (black): Solids (A): ✗; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✓. Powder (blue): Solids (A): ✓; Liquids (B): ✓; Electrical: ✓.

Evacuation in four steps

2 min read
On hearing the continuous alarm: stop work immediately and leave by the nearest exit — do not collect belongings. Close doors behind you to slow the spread. Go directly to the assembly point and report to your fire marshal for the roll call. Never re-enter the building until the fire service or the marshal declares it safe.

Alarm to all-clear in four steps

What to do from the moment the alarm sounds.

Alarm sounds leads to Leave by nearest exitLeave by nearest exit leads to Close doors behind youClose doors behind you leads to Assembly point roll callAlarm soundsLeave by nearest exitClose doors behind youAssembly point roll call
Read diagram as text
  1. Alarm sounds leads to Leave by nearest exit.
  2. Leave by nearest exit leads to Close doors behind you.
  3. Close doors behind you leads to Assembly point roll call.

Check: the fire triangle

A bin fire is smothered with a fire blanket. Which side of the fire triangle has been removed?

Check: extinguisher choice

A monitor on a colleague's desk is on fire. Which extinguishers are SAFE to use? Select all that apply.

Check: evacuation rules

You may re-enter the building as soon as the alarm stops sounding.

Check: deep-fat fryer fire

The only extinguisher class safe for a deep-fat fryer fire is the extinguisher.

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