Photo: Mersey ferry 'Royal Iris of the Mersey' leaving Liverpool pierhead, Merseyside · Richard Hoare, CC BY-SA 2.0
Evacuation Chair Training · Merseyside
Evacuation chair
training in
Merseyside.
£495 per session · On-site · Certificates included
Hands-on evacuation chair training delivered at your Merseyside premises. Practical operation on your actual staircase. Every delegate certified. The only training that genuinely prepares staff for a real emergency.
Evacuation chair training in Merseyside.
Merseyside covers Liverpool, the Wirral, Southport and St Helens. Liverpool's large HMO and student housing market, the residential blocks along the waterfront, Southport's hotels and guest houses and the Wirral's mix of Victorian housing and commercial premises each bring their own fire safety demands. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority.
Our head office is in Chester and our team regularly delivers evacuation chair training at premises across Merseyside.
An evacuation chair installed in a stairwell, serviced annually, and never touched by any member of staff who might actually need to use it is not a fire safety measure. It is equipment that creates false confidence — and it is precisely the situation that Merseyside Fire & Rescue inspectors and CQC regulators find most concerning when they audit premises where non-ambulant occupants are present.
We deliver evacuation chair training at your Merseyside premises for the staff who will actually operate the chair in an emergency. The training is hands-on — every delegate handles the chair on your specific staircase, practises the deployment sequence, and works through the safe control of the chair and its occupant on the actual gradient and configuration they will encounter in a real evacuation. No simulated staircases. No online completion certificates as a substitute for practical competence.
Where your fire risk assessment or your PEEP arrangements identify evacuation chair provision as a required control measure, Merseyside Fire & Rescue expects to see evidence that the designated staff have been trained to use it. A certificate issued following a practical on-site session is that evidence.
Price per session
£495
Certificates
Every delegate
Fire authority
Merseyside Fire & Rescue
Towns covered
8 across Merseyside
Evacuation chair training in Merseyside is delivered at your premises, on your specific staircase, by the same qualified assessors who carry out your fire risk assessment. The training is practical throughout — every delegate handles the chair, deploys it on the stairs, and practises safe control of the chair and its occupant before the session ends.
Towns we cover across Merseyside.
We provide on-site evacuation chair training across all of Merseyside, working from our Chester base. The towns below are the ones we visit most often. If your premises are elsewhere in the area, call us on 01244 450 990.
- Liverpool
- Wirral
- Birkenhead
- Wallasey
- West Kirby
- Bromborough
- Southport
- St Helens
Need a fire risk assessment as well? See fire risk assessments across Merseyside.
Practical competence. Not just awareness.
01 — Equipment familiarisation
Components, function, and storage
Every delegate handles the evacuation chair and learns the function of each component — the braking system, restraint harness, deployment mechanism, and the storage and maintenance requirements.
02 — Practical deployment
On your actual staircase
Training is delivered on the specific staircase where the chair will be used — not a simulated environment. Every delegate deploys and operates the chair on the actual gradient, width, and configuration they will encounter in a real emergency.
03 — Safe handling technique
Posture, braking, and speed control
Correct operator posture, braking technique at different gradients, speed control, and the management of a chair occupant who may be anxious, unwell, or non-communicative.
04 — Emergency scenarios
When things go wrong
Practical preparation for real scenarios — a chair that doesn't release from storage, an occupant needing additional support, a partially obstructed staircase, or a fire that develops faster than anticipated.
05 — PEEP integration
How the chair fits the evacuation plan
How evacuation chair use integrates with the broader evacuation plan — the trigger for deployment, communication with other fire marshals, liaison with emergency services, and post-evacuation accounting.
06 — Certification & records
Certificates for every delegate
Every delegate who completes the training receives a certificate of competence. Training records are provided for the responsible person's fire safety documentation — evidence of competence for fire authority and CQC audits.
Any building where not everyone can use the stairs unaided.
Care homes
Residential care and nursing homes
Care homes are the highest-priority premises for evacuation chair training — non-ambulant residents require staff who have actually practised assisted evacuation, not staff who have read a procedure document. CQC expects evidence of trained competence.
Hotels & hospitality
Hotels and guest houses
Hotels and guest houses across Merseyside regularly accommodate guests with mobility limitations. Staff who are designated as evacuation chair operators need practical training on the specific staircase where the chair will be used.
Offices & commercial
Multi-storey commercial premises
Offices with upper floors across Merseyside where staff or visitors may have mobility limitations require evacuation chair provision and trained operators. PEEP arrangements are only credible if the designated operators have practical training.
Schools & colleges
Education premises with mobility needs
Schools and colleges across Merseyside where students or staff have mobility limitations require evacuation chair training for designated operators — particularly in multi-storey buildings where lift evacuation is not available.
Managing agents
Residential blocks
Residential blocks where managing agents have identified non-ambulant residents in their PEEP review require trained staff to implement the evacuation plan. Practical training is the evidence that the plan can actually be carried out.
Warehouses & industrial
Multi-level industrial premises
Industrial and warehouse premises with mezzanine levels or multi-storey structures where mobility-limited staff or contractors may be present require evacuation chair provision and trained operators.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google.
★★★★★
"Without doubt one of the best and most professional businesses I have used. Tim Fletcher is a highly regarded professional in his field. Don’t take a chance — protect your staff, protect your building, protect your business."Chris H. · Google Review
★★★★★
"Fletcher Risk Management recently undertook a project to survey 180 car park risk assessments for one of our major clients. The reports were of a very high standard and throughout the project communication for all stakeholders was excellent."Mike Lewis · Google Review
How fire safety is enforced across Merseyside
Merseyside is covered by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. In the year to March 2025 it carried out 2,076 fire safety audits, and 22.6% found premises unsatisfactory: tenth lowest of the 44 services in England.
Where people cannot use the stairs unaided, inspectors expect evacuation arrangements that actually work, including trained chair operators.
Audit results partly reflect how each service targets its inspections, so they show where enforcement attention falls rather than how safe an area is. Source: MHCLG FIRE1202, year ending March 2025.
Read our Merseyside enforcement analysis →Evacuation chair training in Merseyside — your questions answered.
How much does evacuation chair training cost in Merseyside?
£495 per session, delivered at your Merseyside premises. Certificates issued to every delegate who completes the training. Call 01244 450 990 to discuss your premises and the number of staff who need training.
How many staff can attend each session?
Typically up to six delegates per session — practical staircase training with individual hands-on time requires a smaller group than awareness training. For larger teams, multiple sessions can be arranged. We will advise on the most efficient structure when you contact us.
Do we need to provide the evacuation chair?
Yes — the training is delivered on your own chair, on your own staircase. This is the point: the training must be specific to the equipment and the environment your staff will actually use in an emergency.
How often should evacuation chair training be renewed?
Annual refresher training is appropriate for most premises. When staff who are designated as evacuation chair operators leave and are replaced, the new designees should be trained before they are included in the PEEP as competent operators.
Do you cover other fire safety services in Merseyside?
Yes — alongside evacuation chair training we offer fire risk assessments, fire door inspections, fire safety training, fire evacuation plans, and fire safety policies across Merseyside.
Some other services we offer in Merseyside.
Evacuation chair training
in Merseyside. £495.
On-site delivery. Your staircase. Certificates included. Covering Merseyside from our Chester base.