Fire safety training for employees: what the law requires and how often

Fire safety training is the one every employer in England and Wales must give, from the first day. This is what the law and the government's own guidance say, quoted from legislation.gov.uk and gov.uk on 19 October 2026. It is a summary, not legal advice.

Key takeaways

• Train at the start and whenever staff meet new or increased fire risks.
• No fixed refresher interval in law: "repeated periodically where appropriate".
• At least one fire drill a year, recorded, says gov.uk.
• Fire marshals and wardens need more comprehensive training.
• In working hours, always.

What article 21 requires

Article 21 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 says the responsible person "must ensure that his employees are provided with adequate safety training— (a) at the time when they are first employed; and (b) on their being exposed to new or increased risks". Those new risks include a transfer or change of responsibilities, new or changed work equipment, new technology, or a new or changed system of work.

The training must "include suitable and sufficient instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard himself and other relevant persons on the premises", and it must:

• "be repeated periodically where appropriate";
• "be adapted to take account of any new or changed risks";
• "be provided in a manner appropriate to the risk identified by the risk assessment";
• "take place during working hours".

How often

The Order sets no number. The government's guide for England, Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops says: "All staff should receive basic fire safety induction training and attend refresher sessions at pre-determined intervals", and "Training should be repeated as often as necessary". On drills, gov.uk's workplace fire safety page says: "You should carry out at least one fire drill per year and record the results."

What to cover

The same guide lists what all staff should be trained on, as a minimum. The list includes:

• "the items listed in your emergency plan";
• "the importance of fire doors and other basic fire-prevention measures";
• "where relevant, the appropriate use of firefighting equipment";
• "the importance of reporting to the assembly area";
• "exit routes and the operation of exit devices, including physically walking these routes";
• "assisting disabled persons where necessary".

An online course can cover everything on that list except walking the routes, which still happens on site. The guide also says training "should be verifiable", because "Enforcing authorities may want to examine records as evidence that adequate training has been given."

Fire marshals and wardens

The same guide says: "Staff expected to undertake the role of fire marshals (often called fire wardens) would require more comprehensive training." Their role may include helping people leave, checking the premises are clear, using firefighting equipment if safe, and liaising with the fire and rescue service. The Order itself requires "a sufficient number of competent persons to implement those procedures in so far as they relate to the evacuation" (article 15).

Turn your fire safety slides into a course

Most workplaces already have a fire safety PowerPoint. Reigniter turns it into a short interactive course: a voiceover, the slides, questions such as "where is the assembly point?" and branching for wrong answers, shared by a link your team opens on any phone. Your first module is free. Paid plans add a talking presenter, certificates with an expiry date, learner results and SCORM for your LMS. See how in PowerPoint to training video.

For every other topic the law requires, see what training UK law requires.