At a recent meeting of the Health and Safety Committee the following strategy was adopted in relation to training staff in the use of fire extinguishers.
Training all Highland Council staff in the use of fire extinguishers was not a reasonable and practicable option bearing in mind the initial and on-going cost in relation to the risk (i.e. frequency of use).
It was also considered that it was more important to evacuate a building safely rather than have staff remaining to fight fires.
On that basis it was decided that "staff should be instructed not to use a fire extinguisher in the event of a fire, unless they had been trained in its safe operation and that the fire could be tackled safely (for example a small fire in a waste paper bin)".
This means that Services who have not trained staff in the use of extinguishers will not now be required to do so. It is also recognised that some Services may have trained staff in certain high-risk premises (or may wish to do so) and that, plus any refresher training should continue. It must be stressed however that people who have been trained in the use of extinguishers must not put themselves at risk when attempting to tackle a fire.
It would be helpful if you could copy this advice note to your Area Service Managers requesting that they bring it to the attention of all of their staff.
Allen Williams
Health and Safety Manager
(17 July 2000)