The Role of the Serre File: Definition and Training

What is a fire warden and what is their role?

In an emergency situation, it is important to be able to safely evacuate the people present at a site. The fire warden is trained to act during an evacuation. Indeed, they work in tandem with the evacuation guide. Both are trained to secure the people present in an area of a building. This task is crucial because the actors of evacuation must be competent and well trained. The goal is to prevent a disaster from occurring or worsening. In this article, we will address the following points:

• What is a fire warden and what is their role?
• What skills are required for a fire warden?
• Which organizations provide training for fire wardens?
• When to renew the training of a fire warden?
• What is the validity period of a fire warden training?
• What are the obligations and regulations for fire wardens?
• How many fire wardens are required?

What is a fire warden and what is their role?

During an evacuation, the fire warden, as the name suggests, has a very specific role. Indeed, they close the march during the evacuation of areas. They must make sure to be the last person present in their area. Paired with an evacuation guide, they are tasked with completing the check of an entire area for which they are identified as responsible for evacuation.

What is the role of the fire warden?

Just like the evacuation guide, this role is taken on by brave, dedicated people. Indeed, they are volunteer employees who are trained in the various rules and evacuation best practices (as are the first responders or industrial safety officers). They are truly responsible for checking every room in their area (a floor, an open space…). From going through someone's office to the restrooms, they must make sure that no one remains. Thus, they must have an optimal knowledge of the premises. Finally, they will go to the assembly point to confirm whether the area has indeed been evacuated. And, they will need to check with the evacuation guide that no one leaves the assembly point until the end of the evacuation. They have one obligation: not to go back once they have begun evacuating. Today, CountAct is the first tool that allows the fire warden to have real-time support. They can also notify the Crisis Unit if they encounter a problem, unlike the current method where they must wait until reaching the assembly point before reporting the situation. The Crisis Unit can then call in other actors if needed.

What skills are required for a fire warden?

The first required skill for a fire warden is to stay calm during the emergency situation. They must act conscientiously and quickly mobilize their knowledge of the premises. They must also be able to disregard panic and ambient noise. Finally, they must have a strong sense of responsibility and be a good communicator.

Which organizations provide fire warden training?

Today, in France and across its regions, many organizations offer fire warden training. Our company CountAct can help you train your evacuation officers in Grenoble, Lyon, and Paris. We can also train all your company's or public-facility's safety actors. Feel free to request a quote :) Other organizations also provide training for your evacuation team members in regions where CountAct is not present; we have partnerships in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, in the PACA region… Feel free to send us an email: countact@countact.fr, and we will be happy to recommend organizations or guide you in your search for a training provider or training center for your evacuation guides, fire wardens, first-aid workers, first responders, industrial safety officers…

When should a fire warden's training be renewed? And what is the validity period of fire warden training?

Regarding the renewal of a fire warden's training, no rule currently exists (unlike for first-aid worker certification). French labor law regulations, and even INRS recommendations, provide no clear guidance. As a result, in some companies evacuation officers have their training renewed every 2 years, and in others every 3 years. At CountAct, we recommend first having real management and optimization of your safety staff (CountAct can support you with this). And in that same vein, carrying out refresher training every 2 years. CountAct also meets this need. Indeed, we provide various components ranging from theory to practice. It is important to understand workplace risks in order to anticipate them. The main goal is to guarantee the safety of all staff. Today, CountAct is the first tool that gives Safety Managers real-time visibility over their staff. Also, with CountAct, the manager has a dashboard providing visibility over their staff and safety actors.

What are the obligations and regulations? And how many fire wardens are required?

Today, every company is required to haveemployees trained in fire safety, including evacuation team members (fire wardens, evacuation guides, etc.). Thus, the employer is required to have the necessary safety staff available to guarantee the safety of all employees during a crisis situation. Regarding the question of how many fire wardens are needed: we recommend having 4 evacuation team members (evacuation guides and fire wardens combined) per area in order to address current flow management challenges (remote work, open space layouts…). CountAct offers you the ability to optimize the management of your safety actors and lets you know in real time how many fire wardens you have available. Feel free to reach out to us; we will support you in your internal safety strategy.

To conclude on the fire warden and their role

You now know what a fire warden is, as well as the various tasks they carry out during an evacuation. We therefore invite you to read our article on safety actors to further your knowledge of the important roles during a crisis situation, such as the Workplace First-Aid Worker, the First Responder, the Evacuation Guide and much more :)