Do My Staff Need Fire Extinguisher Training?

30 December 2025

In most workplaces, a row of fire extinguishers hangs on the wall and is checked once a year by the service engineer, and that is about as much thought as anyone gives them until the day something goes wrong. The question of whether staff should be trained to use them is one employers ask cautiously, caught between not wanting to turn the office into a fire brigade and not wanting to leave people standing helplessly next to a piece of equipment they have been given precisely to avoid that situation. The honest answer is that not everyone needs extinguisher training, but nobody should be working near an extinguisher without at least being told plainly what the extinguisher is for, whether they are expected to use it, and what they are expected to do instead if they are not. Silence on any of those points is the single most common failure in UK workplace fire safety, and it is the failure this article is about.

The short answer

UK fire safety law does not require every employee to be trained to operate a fire extinguisher, and in most office environments there is no good reason to train the entire workforce. What the law does require, under Article 13 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, is that premises are equipped with appropriate firefighting equipment where the fire risk assessment identifies the need, and that people nominated to implement firefighting measures are competent to do so. Article 21 sits alongside this and requires that employees receive adequate safety training, which must take account of the findings of the assessment.

The practical working position for most employers, therefore, is that a defined group of trained staff, often the fire marshals or nominated competent persons, should be equipped to deal with a very small, contained, early-stage fire where doing so is obviously safe, and the rest of the workforce should be told, as part of their general fire safety awareness training, that their job is to raise the alarm and leave the building. That is the basic architecture, and the rest of this article is about how to build it properly.

What the law actually expects

Article 13 of the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to ensure that the premises are, to the extent that it is appropriate, equipped with appropriate firefighting equipment and with fire detectors and alarms, and that any non-automatic firefighting equipment is easily accessible, simple to use and indicated by signs. The Order also requires that measures are in place to take action to fight fire on the premises, and that the number of competent persons appointed for that purpose is sufficient, having regard to the size of and specific hazards of the premises.

The important detail is that the Order does not expect every member of staff to fight fires, and it does not expect anyone to fight a fire that cannot safely be fought. What it expects is that where firefighting equipment has been provided, someone competent is available to use it if the circumstances make that the right decision, and that everyone else in the building knows how fire safety is supposed to work so that they respond safely and without confusion.

The selection and positioning of extinguishers themselves is a matter for BS 5306-8, the code of practice for the selection and positioning of portable fire extinguishers in non-domestic premises, with ongoing commissioning and maintenance governed by BS 5306-3. A competent fire risk assessor will refer to both when advising on what equipment a building needs and where it should be placed, and a good extinguisher service engineer will work to the same standards when checking and refilling what is already there.

What an extinguisher is actually for

A portable fire extinguisher is a tool for dealing with a very small, contained, early-stage fire, typically one no larger than a wastepaper bin, where the person using it has a clear route of escape behind them and has been trained to use the equipment. That is its entire job. Extinguishers are provided as a supplement to safe evacuation, not a substitute for it, and they are not provided to save property once a fire has progressed beyond the first minute or two. A workforce that understands this is a workforce that behaves sensibly around extinguishers, and one that does not is a workforce in which the extinguishers themselves can become part of the problem.

The most common failure mode is not people under-reacting to fires but people over-reacting to them, picking up an extinguisher and attempting to tackle something that has already grown too large to be tackled by one person with a nine-litre cylinder. Smoke inhalation is the leading cause of fatalities in building fires, and the minute or two someone spends struggling with an extinguisher in a thickening atmosphere is often the difference between an uneventful evacuation and a very bad outcome. Training, done properly, is what prevents this.

Extinguisher classes and what they are for

Extinguishers in the UK are colour-coded and matched to fire classes. A quick reference is worth having because it explains why your building has the extinguishers it has, and why one extinguisher at the back of a kitchen is not the same as one in a meeting room.

• Class A fires involve solid combustibles such as paper, wood, textiles and most general waste. Water, water mist and foam extinguishers are appropriate.
• Class B fires involve flammable liquids such as petrol, paint thinners and solvents. Foam and dry powder extinguishers are appropriate.
• Class C fires involve flammable gases. Dry powder is the usual option, though isolating the gas supply is almost always the first priority.
• Class D fires involve combustible metals such as magnesium, lithium and titanium. These require specialist dry powder extinguishers and are rare outside specific industrial settings.
• Class F fires involve cooking oils and fats, typically in commercial kitchens. Wet chemical extinguishers are the correct specification.
• Electrical fires are a separate consideration rather than a class in their own right. CO₂ extinguishers are the usual choice for energised electrical equipment, with the caveat that the power should be isolated as soon as it is safe to do so.

A well-equipped building holds a mix matched to the risks it actually presents, not a uniform fit-out of whatever the last service provider had in the van. If the extinguishers in your building do not obviously match the risks of the area they are placed in, that is a conversation to have with your fire risk assessor before the next service visit.

When extinguisher training makes sense

Extinguisher training is most clearly worthwhile in premises where small, contained fires are a realistic possibility and where trained staff are likely to be on hand when one breaks out. Commercial kitchens, workshops, plant rooms, laboratories, bakeries, manufacturing lines, hot-work areas and similar settings fall into this category, as do any premises where ignition sources sit close to combustible materials as a matter of routine. In these environments, training a defined group of staff is not about turning them into firefighters, it is about making sure that the first person on the scene of a fire that can be tackled does not waste the thirty seconds during which tackling it is still a safe choice.

Fire marshals and nominated competent persons in any premises will usually benefit from extinguisher training as part of their wider marshal duties, because their role often places them in the position of being first to arrive at a developing situation. Whether the rest of the workforce receives extinguisher training is a question for the fire risk assessment, and the answer for most offices, retail units and similar premises is that general staff should be told clearly that they are not expected to use extinguishers and should concentrate on raising the alarm and leaving the building.

The test for any individual member of staff is simple. Has your fire risk assessment identified you as someone who might use an extinguisher, have you been trained, and is the fire small, contained and between you and the route the fire is taking rather than between you and the exit? If the answer to any of those is no, the extinguisher is not for you, and your job is to raise the alarm and leave.

When it is not appropriate

There are plenty of workplaces where expecting staff to use extinguishers introduces more risk than it reduces, and saying so plainly is a legitimate position provided it is documented in the fire risk assessment and communicated clearly to the workforce. Small offices with routine hazards only, retail units with limited staff, premises where the typical occupant is a visitor or a customer rather than a trained employee, and any environment where the fire and rescue service response time is short and the fire loads are modest, can all reasonably take the view that extinguishers are there for the brigade to use if they need them and that nobody else is expected to touch them. What matters is that this decision is taken deliberately and is understood by everyone on the premises, rather than being left as an unspoken default.

What a decent course actually covers

A competent fire extinguisher training session, delivered on site to a defined group of staff, should leave attendees able to identify the extinguisher types in their building and match them to the fires they are designed for, apply the PASS method of operating an extinguisher (Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep across the base), recognise the conditions under which using an extinguisher is a reasonable choice and those under which it is not, understand the specific extinguisher locations and the escape routes in their own building, and know at what point they should stop attempting to tackle a fire and leave immediately.

The practical element, where attendees actually discharge an extinguisher, is the part that most reliably changes behaviour. It does not need to be done often, but once in a working life makes a surprising difference, because the weight, the noise, the recoil and the speed with which the cylinder empties are all things that are difficult to convey in a classroom. Training without a practical element can still be defensible, but it is less memorable and less useful to the people it is meant to equip.

Live-fire versus simulated training

Practical extinguisher training comes in two forms. Live-fire training uses a real controlled fire, typically in a specialist tray or rig, and real extinguishers, and gives attendees the most authentic experience of what operating the equipment actually feels like. It requires a safe outdoor space, competent supervision, and a provider equipped to handle the logistics, and is usually the best option for kitchens, workshops and industrial premises where a realistic feel for the equipment matters most.

Simulated training uses electronic or gas-based simulators that reproduce the look of a fire without the combustion, and allows attendees to practise the PASS method in indoor settings or in locations where live fire is not practical. It is less visceral but still useful, particularly for offices and similar lower-risk environments, and it avoids the operational complications of a real burn. Either can be appropriate, and the choice is usually made on the basis of the premises, the group and what the provider is equipped to offer.

How often should extinguisher training be refreshed?

• Every one to three years Standard refresher interval for staff with defined extinguisher responsibilities, shorter where risk is higher or where the workforce turns over quickly.
• After staffing changes When trained staff leave or change role, or when new staff are recruited into positions that include extinguisher duties.
• After changes to equipment When extinguisher types, locations or the equipment in the building change in ways that make the previous training incomplete.
• After incidents or drills Whenever a real activation or a practice reveals gaps, confusion or near-misses worth addressing in training.
• On significant change of use When the building or part of it changes use in ways that affect the fire risk profile and therefore the extinguisher provision.

The gap most employers leave open

The single most common failure we see is not in the training itself but in what the workforce has or has not been told about extinguishers in the absence of training. Extinguishers are installed, serviced annually and inspected monthly, and yet no one has clearly set out whether staff are expected to use them or not. Silence on the question leaves people to fill the gap in the moment, which is an unreliable way to run a fire safety strategy, and it is the kind of gap that becomes very visible after an incident when investigators ask what staff had been told.

Closing the gap is straightforward and does not necessarily require a training budget. A clear written policy, communicated as part of induction and reinforced in fire safety awareness training, stating which staff are trained and expected to use extinguishers in which circumstances, and what the rest of the workforce should do instead, is usually enough. Where the fire risk assessment identifies the need for more, the training budget follows from that, rather than the other way around.

A practical starting point

The right starting point, as with most questions in fire safety, is a current and competent fire risk assessment. The assessment should identify the extinguisher provision appropriate to the premises, nominate the staff who should be trained to use them, state clearly what the rest of the workforce is expected to do, and set a review interval that keeps the arrangement matched to the building over time. Everything else follows from the assessment, including the training, the servicing and the written policy that communicates the whole arrangement to the people who work in the building.

Fire Extinguisher Training in Chester, the North West and North Wales

If you would like an independent view on whether your staff should be trained to use fire extinguishers, or if you are looking to arrange on-site training for your fire marshals and nominated staff, we can help. We deliver practical extinguisher training built around the premises, the fire risk assessment and the people who will actually be called upon to act, for employers across Chester, Cheshire, the Wirral, the North West and North Wales. If you would like to discuss your arrangements, please get in touch.

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This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Fire safety duties and the appropriate extinguisher provision and training depend on the specific premises, activities, occupancy and findings of a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. References to legislation and British Standards reflect general industry practice at the time of publication and should be verified against current editions before being acted upon. Competent professional advice should be sought in relation to any particular premises.