As with any aspect of health and safety at work, ensuring that your place of business is fire safe comes down to a lot more than just installing a few emergency exit signs and investing in some fire extinguishers, hoping for the best if an incident does take place.

In order to remain fully compliant with all relevant legislation, it is necessary to foster a fire safety culture across the board, from the top of the company to the bottom, with everyone on site aware of their own personal responsibilities where fire is concerned.

Mindset is everything when it comes to health and safety, and the first step towards making your company fire safe is to prioritise training, education and awareness. 

As well as holding regular fire safety drills and inspections, carry out regular training sessions outlining safety principles and what people can do to prevent fires breaking out, as well as what to do if a fire does start.

Encouraging trust and open communication is a must when trying to build any kind of safety culture at work, so make sure that people feel comfortable about being able to report fire hazards of all kinds. 

This will help them see that they’re taken seriously and that issues will be dealt with quickly, helping to cement a feeling of shared responsibility – which is vital when trying to achieve your goals.

However, getting certified in fire health and safety matters is one of the best first steps you can take if you do want to reduce the risks as far as is practical.

To that end, here’s all you need to know about the NEBOSH certificate in fire safety.

The NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety

This particular certificate will equip you with all the essential knowledge and skills you need to keep your employees, property and workplace safe from fire hazards. 

It’s been designed specifically for anyone with fire safety considerations contained within their job role, such as facilities managers, health and safety managers, health and safety representatives, and so on.

Split into two modules, topics under discussion include:

– Managing fire safety

– Principles of fire and explosion

– Causes and prevention of fires and explosions

– Fire protection in buildings

– Safety of people in the event of a fire

– Fire safety risk assessment

It should take approximately five days to complete the course if studying through a virtual classroom, in-house or classroom environment, with an exam tutorial and revision session included in the final day. If you’re studying through online elearning, it typically takes between three and ten months to complete the course.

If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge, the NEBOSH General Certificate is a great place to start, offering practical skills and a respected qualification in workplace safety. To learn more about this or any of our other courses, get in touch with the ACT team today.