On this page8 sections
- 01What the Fire Safety Order requires
- 02Fire marshal or fire warden: what's the difference?
- 03How many fire marshals do you need?
- 04What fire marshal training covers
- 05How often to refresh fire marshal training
- 06Fire drills test the training
- 07What to record for fire marshal training
- 08How SkillProof helps
What the Fire Safety Order requires
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers workplaces and other non-domestic premises in England and Wales. The responsible person, usually the employer or whoever controls the premises, must carry out a fire risk assessment and provide staff with fire safety information, instruction and training. GOV.UK points to different rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Article 15 requires the responsible person to nominate a sufficient number of competent persons to carry out the evacuation procedures. Where firefighting measures are necessary, article 13 requires competent persons to carry them out, with their number and training adequate for the size of the premises and its specific hazards.
Article 21 covers training for all employees. A competent person is someone with enough training and experience or knowledge, and other qualities, to do the job properly.
Nominate enough competent people to run an evacuation
Article 15(1)(b)
Have enough trained people for firefighting, where needed
Article 13(3)(b)
Train staff when they start and when risks change
Article 21(1)
Repeat training periodically where appropriate
Article 21(2)(b)
Give the training during working hours
Article 21(2)(e)
Fire marshal or fire warden: what's the difference?
There isn't one. HM Government's fire safety risk assessment guide for offices and shops describes fire marshals as "often called fire wardens". The Fire Safety Order uses neither name; it talks about competent persons. Use the name in your emergency plan, and keep it the same on your training records.
The guide says fire marshals need more comprehensive training than other staff, and that their role may include:
- Helping people leave the premises
- Checking that everyone has left
- Using firefighting equipment, if it's safe to do so
- Meeting the fire and rescue service when it arrives
- Shutting down vital or dangerous equipment
- Supervising during a fire
How many fire marshals do you need?
No law or GOV.UK guidance sets a number or a ratio of fire marshals to staff. Articles 13 and 15 ask for a sufficient number, adequate for the size of the premises and its specific hazards, so the number comes from your fire risk assessment.
GOV.UK says to make special arrangements for people with mobility needs, such as people to help wheelchair users downstairs, and that responsible persons in shared buildings must co-ordinate their fire safety plans.
When you work out the number, plan for:
- Each floor, building and area people use
- Every shift, including nights and weekends
- Holidays, sickness and staff turnover, so cover doesn't lapse
- People who need help to leave, and visitors or the public
- Every site, each with its own nominated marshals
What fire marshal training covers
The offices and shops guide lists what training for the role may include. Your fire risk assessment and your premises decide the detail.
- Your fire safety strategy for the premises, in detail
- How people behave in a fire
- Encouraging people to use the best escape route
- Searching safely, and spotting areas that are unsafe to enter
- Helping disabled people, and any special evacuation plans
- Using firefighting equipment, and what sprinklers and other fixed systems do
- Reporting faults, incidents and near misses
How often to refresh fire marshal training
The Fire Safety Order doesn't set a refresher period. Article 21 says training must be repeated periodically where appropriate, and adapted to new or changed risks. The offices and shops guide says all staff should attend refresher sessions at pre-determined intervals, with training repeated as often as necessary.
So set the interval yourself, based on your fire risk assessment, and record it so the next due date is visible.
When someone starts work
Article 21(1)(a) and GOV.UK's guidance
When someone becomes a fire marshal
The offices and shops guide
When the work, equipment or risks change
Article 21(1)(b) and 21(2)(c)
When your emergency plan changes
The offices and shops guide
At the refresher interval you set
Article 21(2)(b)
Fire drills test the training
GOV.UK says you should carry out at least one fire drill a year and record the results, keeping them as part of your fire safety and evacuation plan. The offices and shops guide adds that a drill should be at least annual or as your fire risk assessment decides, and more often if you have high staff turnover.
A drill shows whether the training worked. Fire marshals check their areas are clear and report back, and what you learn feeds into the next round of training.
What to record for fire marshal training
The offices and shops guide says training should be verifiable, and that enforcing authorities may want to see records as evidence that adequate training has been given. A useful record shows who you nominated, where and for which shift, when they were trained, by whom, and when the training is next due.
Here is a fictional fire marshal row in the free staff training record template, using the template's own columns.
- Staff member
- Daniel Hughes
- Role
- Warehouse supervisor
- Team/
site - Goods in, Leeds distribution centre
- Requirement
- Fire marshal training
- Completion date
- 14 September 2026
- Renewal/
review date - 14 September 2027, a yearly interval the company chose
- Trainer/
provider - External provider, half-day course
- Evidence status
- Attached
- Evidence reference/
link - Course certificate, 14 September 2026
- Notes
- Ground floor, day shift. In the October drill.
How SkillProof helps
Assign fire marshal training to the people you nominate at each site. Set basic fire safety training as a role-based requirement, or as a site rule so new starters there are assigned it with a due date counted from when they arrive. Training records and role-based requirements are on every plan.
Record each completion with the date, trainer and certificate. Starter shows basic due dates and sends standard automated training due and overdue email reminders. Growth adds configurable reminder schedules, recipients and templates.
From Growth, run fire safety briefings and drills as Sessions and record who attended. Drill results still belong in your fire safety and evacuation plan.
Starter includes 1 site, Growth includes 5 and Professional includes 20. The Training Matrix and Reports show compliance by site, so you can see where a marshal's training is overdue or expiring soon.
SkillProof doesn't provide fire training or fire risk assessments. It keeps the record of who was trained, when, and when they're next due.
Official guidance used for this guide
Checked
Fire safety law for England and Wales, and GOV.UK guidance, used for this article. Always check GOV.UK's current guidance and your own fire risk assessment.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 13
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 15
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 21
- GOV.UK: Fire safety in the workplace
- GOV.UK: Fire safety equipment, drills and training
- GOV.UK: Fire safety and evacuation plans
- HM Government: Fire safety risk assessment, offices and shops
Questions this guide answers
Is fire marshal training a legal requirement?
The law doesn't use the term. The Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to nominate enough competent people to carry out the evacuation procedures, and to give staff adequate fire safety training. Your fire risk assessment decides who needs fire marshal training.
What's the difference between a fire marshal and a fire warden?
There isn't one. They're two names for the same role, and HM Government's guide for offices and shops treats them as the same. Use the name in your emergency plan.
How many fire marshals do I need?
No law or GOV.UK guidance sets a number or ratio. The Order asks for a sufficient number, adequate for the size of the premises and its hazards. Base it on your fire risk assessment, and plan for every floor, shift, site and absence.
How often does fire marshal training need refreshing?
The Fire Safety Order doesn't set a period. Training must be repeated periodically where appropriate and adapted when risks change. Set an interval from your fire risk assessment and record it.
How often should we hold a fire drill?
GOV.UK says at least one fire drill a year, with the results recorded and kept as part of your fire safety and evacuation plan. High staff turnover can mean more often.
Does SkillProof provide fire marshal training?
No. SkillProof doesn't provide fire training or fire risk assessments. It records who you've nominated, who has completed training and when it's next due, and sends reminders.