Why you need Fire Wardens at your Business
If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood. Who you gonna call? Everybody knows that… Ghostbusters! But in cases of emergency such as a fire in your workplace, Wardens are in charge.
As per Australian Standard 3745:2010 Planning for Emergencies in Facilities, “there is a requirement for an emergency control organisation to be established and the appointment of chief and deputy fire wardens for a building or facility”.
But why do we need them? It’s time to get to know them better.
WHO THEY ARE
Fire and emergency wardens are people responsible for assisting everyone out of the building in cases of emergency, such as a fire. They represent the emergency services before they arrive, and act as a go-between for the emergency services and your staff. They make sure your people are safe and that your business is prepared and can deal with emergency situations effectively.
WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE
Wardens are marked by an item of clothing or something they wear. This can be:
- Bright colour high visibility vest with (HEAD) WARDEN printed on the front
- Bright colour high visibility armband with WARDEN printed on it
Sites may have different ways to identify Wardens, e.g. special colour hard hat or cap, or they may have different clothing items, such as overalls or jackets.
WHAT THEY DO
Emergency wardens keep your people safe during emergency situations.
In your business, it is a must that you have trained wardens to:
- Assist in implementing and improving effective emergency procedures in your workplace
- Inform other staff about the hazards present
- Help prevent accidents by maintaining and monitoring risk control measures
- Lead drills and real evacuation procedures
- Direct fellow employees on responding to emergency situations
- Notify the emergency services about the incident
- Ensure all workers are put to safety during an evacuation
- Assist all people in the workplace during an emergency, including people with special needs, e.g. helping someone in a wheelchair to evacuate
As an extension, they perform an area sweep to make sure everyone left is brought to safety and meet up with fellow employees at the predetermined evacuation meeting area outside the building.
They perform a headcount and make sure employees stay put until emergency personnel declare the building clear and safe to re-enter. Wardens inform emergency personnel about any areas they were unable to sweep due to dangerous conditions and the possibility of any people still in the building.
WHY YOU NEED THEM
Now that we have gotten to know them better, it is quite obvious that without wardens, your business will struggle with safety controls and wouldn’t know what to do when an emergency arose.
Remember these people should be specialised and highly trained to perform and respond to emergency situations more effectively.
Thinking about getting your staff trained as Wardens? Contact us!
