There is growing concern amongst many safety professionals about the standard of fire and emergency training provided by many employers in Australia.
During audits, I often find employers who have held fire training two, three or more years in the past, but have not held any refresher training, or training for new staff since then. Many industries suffer from significant staff turnover, often leading to very few, if any actual staff on site being recipients of appropriate training. I have often expressed concern to many employers all over Australia regarding their staff lack of knowledge of procedures and usage of the fire equipment.
It appears that my concerns are well founded, with Wormald releasing a survey recently that indicates that:
“Nearly two thirds of small business managers and employees in regional and suburban areas of Australia have never been trained in how to use the fire equipment in their workplace…”
I have been engaged in fire training for over 12 years and I agree with many of the findings in this report. I have also evidenced many companies cut funding for training due to difficult financial circumstances over recent years. According to the survey results, only 19 per cent of employers rated the offer of training as a key factor when deciding their fire protection needs, with the highest consideration going to cost, and service and maintenance second.
Employers and persons in charge of a workplace in every State of Australia, must remember that they have an obligation to have adequate fire safety procedures and measures in place at the workplace, including competent and trained personnel.
Safety & Security Australia encourages all workplaces to ensure that adequate, appropriate and timely fire training is provided to all personnel in the workplace. It is also imperative to ensure refresher training is held for existing staff and new staff are trained when entering the workplace.
