Quick answers
How should an employer start planning workplace fire safety?
Walk the site and work out what can burn, what could set it alight, how fire and smoke would spread, who is inside on every shift and how each person gets out. Then cut the hazards, keep fuel away from heat and keep escape routes clear.
Can exit doors at work be locked to prevent theft?
No. Locking or blocking exits to stop theft, manage deliveries or check attendance is a serious mistake. Final exits must never be chained or padlocked, and every route to them must stay clear.
Who should be counted at the assembly point after a fire alarm?
Everyone, not just permanent day-shift staff. Count contractors, visitors, delivery workers and anyone working late, and tell firefighters who is missing instead of sending anyone back inside.
What precautions are needed for welding and other hot work?
A permit, combustibles cleared or covered, suitable fire equipment at hand and a check of the area after the job. Never allow hot work without these.
What should I do if I cannot get out during a fire at work?
Shut the door, seal the gaps with jackets or towels, stay at a window where you can be seen and call 112 to say exactly where you are. Stay calm and wait for the fire brigade.
A fire at work hurts everyone. People can be injured or killed, workers can lose their jobs when the workplace burns down, and the owner can lose the whole business. Many workplace fires start from ordinary things: an overloaded socket, packaging stacked next to a heater, welding sparks near cartons. That is why fire safety is everyone’s job, from the newest helper to the owner.
What every employee should do
- Keep anything that can catch fire away from electrical equipment.
- Keep exits clear. Move anything that blocks a door, corridor or staircase.
- Know your marked exits and escape routes. A window is not a substitute for a proper exit.
- Check plugs, sockets, cords and cables for damage or overloading, and report what you find.
- Know at least two ways out and practise them, in case one is blocked.
- Keep your workspace and equipment clean, dry and well ventilated.
What every employer should do
- Hold regular emergency and fire drills for every shift, including contract workers and night staff.
- Check the condition of fire escapes and ladders.
- Teach employees where the exits and escape routes are, and how to use fire equipment such as extinguishers.
- Put up fire escape plans throughout the building, in the language your workers read.
- Make sure fire sprinklers and fire alarms are properly installed and working as they should.
- Never lock or chain an exit to stop theft or to check attendance.
- Allow hot work such as welding and grinding only with a permit, after clearing combustibles, with suitable fire equipment at hand and a check of the area after the job.
- Charge lithium-ion batteries for tools, e-bikes and UPS units in a set area away from stock and exits, and take damaged batteries out of use.
What to do during a fire
- Raise the alarm and call 112, or 101 for the fire brigade.
- Use the stairs, never the lift.
- Get out of the building safely and go to the assembly point so you can be counted.
- Do not go back in for belongings or to look for anyone. Tell the firefighters who is missing and where they were last seen.
- If you cannot get out safely, shut the door, seal the gaps with jackets or towels, stay at a window where you can be seen, and stay calm. Call 112 and say exactly where you are.
Before you leave work today, walk from your desk or machine to the nearest exit, and then to the second one. If anything is in the way, move it or report it.
What needs attention
- An exit is only an exit if it is unlocked and clear; locked or cluttered exits turn a small fire into a deadly one
- Windows and removable grilles are not a substitute for proper exits, and opening them can feed a fire or lead to falls
- You cannot pick the right extinguisher without knowing what will burn: live electrics, cooking oil, metals and flammable liquids each need a different type
- Charging areas for lithium-ion tools, e-bikes, UPS units and power banks need suitable equipment, distance from stock and a plan if a battery overheats
- Hot work needs a permit, cleared or covered combustibles, fire equipment at hand and a check after the job
- Fire doors, fire walls and sealed cable and pipe openings keep smoke and heat out of escape routes
- A head count works only if attendance and visitor records are up to date and nobody is sent back inside to search
Controls that reduce risk
- Walk every exit route from the farthest work area and clear anything in the way
- Check that final exit doors open the right way and are never chained or padlocked
- List the five likeliest causes of fire at your site and what each could set alight
- Inspect plugs, extension leads, chargers, temporary wiring and anything that gets hot
- Check that fire doors close and latch, and that gaps around cables and pipes are sealed
- Make sure the alarm can be heard in noisy rooms, isolated areas and toilets
- Use the contractor and visitor register for the head count
- Name backups for wardens, the person who calls the fire brigade, shutdown operators and the head-count person on every shift
- Put up a simple, current plan showing exits, fire equipment, assembly point and emergency numbers
- Hold a drill, time it, and fix every problem it shows with a named person and a date
Common unsafe practices
- Copying a fire plan from the internet without walking your own workplace
- Locking or blocking exits to stop theft, manage deliveries or check attendance
- Using corridors, electrical rooms, stairs or fire-lift lobbies as storage
- Overloading sockets or carrying on with damaged leads and makeshift wiring
- Allowing welding or cutting without a permit, someone watching for fire and a check after the job
- Letting packaging and waste pile up near anything hot
- Switching off alarms, detectors, sprinklers or pumps without written approval and extra precautions
- Telling everyone to fight the fire instead of deciding who may use an extinguisher and when to just get out
- Counting only permanent day-shift staff at the assembly point
- Going back to work after an alarm before the fire brigade or the person in charge says it is safe
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