It is a question that sits at the heart of any fire evacuation strategy, and one that has become significantly more complex in the years since flexible and hybrid working became the norm across a wide range of industries.
Getting the answer right matters.
Too few fire wardens and your evacuation procedure is undermined at the moment it matters most.
Too many, and you are creating an administrative burden and a training commitment that your business may struggle to sustain.
And in a workplace where the number of people present on any given day varies significantly depending on hybrid working patterns, the answer is rarely as straightforward as it might first appear.
What is a Fire Warden?
A fire warden, sometimes referred to as a fire marshal, is a person appointed by the Responsible Person to assist with the safe evacuation of a building in the event of a fire.
The two terms are often used interchangeably, though some organisations use fire warden to refer to those with responsibility for a specific area or floor, and fire marshal to refer to those with a broader coordinating role.
Fire wardens play a critical role in any evacuation procedure.
They are responsible for directing occupants to exits, checking that their designated area has been cleared of people, assisting any occupants who need help to evacuate, reporting to the assembly point, and confirming to the person in overall charge of the evacuation that their area is clear.
In premises with more complex evacuation strategies, such as phased evacuation or progressive horizontal evacuation, fire wardens may also have responsibilities for managing the movement of occupants between compartments and for communicating with the fire and rescue service on arrival.
What Does the Law Require?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541) does not specify a minimum number of fire wardens for any given premises.
What it does require, under Article 13, is that the Responsible Person nominates a sufficient number of competent persons to implement the procedures for serious and imminent danger and to carry out the evacuation of the premises.
Under Article 21, the Responsible Person is required to ensure that employees receive adequate fire safety training, including training in the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire.
The determination of what constitutes a sufficient number of competent persons is a matter of professional judgement, informed by the specific characteristics of the premises, the nature of its occupancy, and the evacuation strategy in place.
In practice, the number of fire wardens required will be identified through the fire risk assessment process and should be kept under review as the nature of the occupancy changes.
What Factors Influence the Number of Fire Wardens Required?
A number of factors influence the appropriate number of fire wardens for any given premises.
The size and layout of the building is one of the most significant.
A large, multi-storey building with a complex layout, multiple escape routes, and a large number of occupants will require significantly more fire wardens than a small, single-storey office.
The nature of the occupancy is another important factor.
A premises occupied primarily by able-bodied adults familiar with the building and its evacuation procedures requires fewer fire wardens per head of occupancy than a care home, a school, a hotel, or a hospital where occupants may be less mobile, less familiar with the building, or less able to respond independently to an alarm.
The evacuation strategy is also relevant.
A simultaneous evacuation strategy, where all occupants evacuate the building at the same time on the sound of the alarm, requires fire wardens to ensure that all areas are cleared quickly and efficiently.
A phased evacuation strategy, common in multi-storey buildings and hospitals, requires fire wardens with a more complex role in managing the staged movement of occupants between floors or compartments, and may require a greater number of wardens with more specialised training.
The hours of operation of the premises must also be considered.
A building that operates around the clock, or that is used at evenings and weekends as well as during normal business hours, requires fire warden cover at all times, not just during the standard working day.
And the specific risks present in the building, including the presence of vulnerable occupants, complex layouts, high fire loads, or significant life safety risks, may require a greater density of fire warden cover than would be needed in a lower-risk premises.
The Impact of Flexible and Hybrid Working
The widespread adoption of flexible and hybrid working patterns since the pandemic has created a significant and often underestimated challenge for fire warden management in many organisations.
In a traditional office environment where all staff are present five days a week, fire warden cover is relatively straightforward to plan and manage.
A defined number of wardens are appointed, trained, and assigned to specific areas or floors, and the Responsible Person can be confident that those wardens will be present and available to fulfil their role in the event of a fire.
In a hybrid working environment, this certainty disappears.
On any given day, some fire wardens may be working from home, others may be in the office, and the distribution of wardens across floors and areas may bear no relationship to the coverage required for the number of people actually present.
A floor that is fully occupied on a Monday may have only a handful of people present on a Friday, and the fire warden assigned to that floor may be one of those working from home.
The consequences of this variability for evacuation safety are significant and must be actively managed.
How Should Organisations Manage Fire Warden Cover in a Hybrid Environment?
There is no single approach that works for every organisation, and the right solution will depend on the size of the premises, the nature of the hybrid working arrangements, and the resources available to manage fire safety.
However, a number of principles should guide the approach.
The first is to appoint significantly more fire wardens than would be required if all staff were present every day.
Where a traditional office might require one fire warden per floor, a hybrid workplace with variable attendance patterns may need two, three, or more wardens per floor to ensure that adequate cover is maintained on days when attendance is lower and some wardens are absent.
The ratio of fire wardens to occupants recommended by most guidance is in the range of one warden per 20 to 50 people, depending on the risk level and complexity of the premises.
In a hybrid environment, this ratio should be applied to the maximum expected occupancy on any given day rather than the average, and the number of wardens appointed should be sufficient to maintain the required ratio even when a proportion of those wardens are absent.
The second principle is to implement a system for monitoring and managing fire warden attendance on a daily basis.
This might involve a daily check-in process through which fire wardens confirm their attendance and their area of responsibility for that day, or the use of a rota or booking system that allocates warden responsibilities to those who are confirmed as being in the office.
Many organisations use desk booking systems or office attendance tracking tools to manage hybrid working, and these systems can provide a useful basis for managing fire warden allocation as well.
The third principle is to ensure that fire warden responsibilities are clearly communicated and understood across the organisation, so that wardens who are in the office are aware of their responsibilities and are prepared to act even if they have not been specifically reminded on that day.
The fourth principle is to ensure that the fire risk assessment specifically addresses the management of fire warden cover in the context of the organisation’s hybrid working arrangements, and that it is reviewed and updated whenever those arrangements change significantly.
And the fifth principle is to ensure that fire warden training is kept up to date for all appointed wardens, including those who work from the office infrequently, so that all wardens are confident and competent in their role whenever they are present.
What Training Do Fire Wardens Need?
Fire warden training is a legal requirement under Article 21 of the RRO, and the training provided must be adequate for the role that the warden is expected to fulfil.
As a minimum, fire warden training should cover the causes and consequences of fire, the fire risks specific to the premises, the operation of the fire detection and alarm system, the evacuation procedures for the premises, the role and responsibilities of the fire warden during an evacuation, the management of occupants with mobility or other impairments, the use of firefighting equipment, and the reporting procedures on reaching the assembly point.
Training should be refreshed at regular intervals, typically annually, and whenever significant changes are made to the premises, its use, or its evacuation procedures.
For wardens with responsibilities in more complex evacuation scenarios, such as phased evacuation or the management of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans, additional specialist training will be required.
Fire warden training should be practical as well as theoretical, and should include regular fire evacuation drills in which wardens can practise their role in as realistic a setting as possible.
Fire Evacuation Drills
Under Article 21 of the RRO, the Responsible Person is required to ensure that fire safety training includes practice fire drills at appropriate intervals.
For most premises, an annual fire drill is considered a minimum, with more frequent drills in higher-risk premises or where significant changes have been made to the building or its occupancy.
In a hybrid working environment, the timing and management of fire drills requires additional thought.
A drill carried out on a day when attendance is unusually high or unusually low may not accurately reflect the conditions that would apply on a typical working day, and the findings of the drill may therefore not provide a reliable basis for assessing the effectiveness of the evacuation procedure.
Organisations should consider carrying out drills on days that are representative of typical attendance patterns, and should record and analyse the results of each drill to identify any areas where the evacuation procedure could be improved.
The management of fire warden cover during the drill should reflect the real-world challenges of hybrid working, including scenarios where some wardens are absent and their responsibilities need to be covered by others.
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans
The management of occupants who may need assistance to evacuate is an important responsibility for fire wardens, and one that requires careful planning in any workplace.
Under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled employees and visitors are not placed at a substantial disadvantage, which extends to the provision of suitable evacuation arrangements.
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan should be developed for any occupant who may not be able to follow the standard evacuation procedure, setting out the specific arrangements for their evacuation and the responsibilities of named individuals for assisting them.
In a hybrid working environment, PEEPs must take into account the variable attendance patterns of both the PEEP holder and the individuals responsible for assisting them.
Where the person responsible for assisting a PEEP holder may not always be present on the same days, alternative arrangements must be identified and documented to ensure that the PEEP holder is never left without adequate support.
Keeping Records
The Responsible Person should maintain clear and up-to-date records of all appointed fire wardens, including their area of responsibility, their training record, and the date on which their training is due for renewal.
In a hybrid working environment, records should also document the arrangements for managing warden cover on a day-to-day basis, including the system used to track attendance and allocate responsibilities.
These records should be available for inspection by the fire and rescue service or any other enforcement authority, and should be reviewed and updated regularly as part of the ongoing fire safety management process.
We Can Help
At ESI: Fire Safety, we work with businesses of all sizes to develop fire evacuation strategies and fire warden management arrangements that are appropriate for their specific premises and working patterns, including the increasingly complex challenge of managing fire safety in hybrid and flexible working environments.
From fire risk assessments that specifically address the management of fire warden cover, through to fire warden training, evacuation drill planning, and the development of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans, we provide the expertise and support you need to ensure that your evacuation arrangements are robust, compliant, and fit for purpose.
If you are concerned about the adequacy of your fire warden arrangements, or if changes to your working patterns have created gaps in your fire safety cover, get in touch with our team today.
Further Reading and Key Legislation:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made
Equality Act 2010: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
HSE Fire Safety at Work guidance: https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/fire.htm
National Fire Chiefs Council guidance on evacuation: https://nfcc.org.uk
GOV.UK Fire Safety guidance for businesses: https://www.gov.uk/fire-safety-law
This post is intended as a general guide. The appropriate number and management of fire wardens varies significantly depending on the specific characteristics of the premises and its occupancy. Always seek advice from a qualified fire safety professional for guidance specific to your premises and circumstances.
