One of the first steps to choosing the best fire safety training is determining who will receive the training. Once you do that, you can determine the best place to look for a program and better understand what teaching elements to expect from it. Price might play a role as you decide, but sometimes free and low-cost programs are available depending on where you look and even the manufacturer.
Some of the most common places you can look for quality fire safety training include government and professional organizations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in America provides a variety of programs related to occupational health and safety, including employee fire safety training. Other professional programs provide training programs for personal and workplace fire safety. Many design programs especially for children, designed for household safety, school safety, or both.
A quality fire safety training program will teach you common prevention and evacuation tips, as well as provide training specific to your needs. For example, a training program for domestic purposes might teach students how to use fire extinguishers, how to plan an evacuation route, and how to respond to common household fire sources, such as grease fires in a kitchen. Most programs help students develop a fire safety plan specific to their own homes. Depending on where you live, you might be able to obtain such training from a local fire department, for free or a low cost. Contact the government agency that handles fire safety or your local fire department directly to ask about the possibility.
On the other hand, workplace fire safety programs might focus on fire extinguishers but also on the importance of avoiding elevators. Of course, a workplace program must also focus on any fire hazards specific to that workplace, such as chemicals, equipment, or the use of fire during operations. Often, this is when OSHA training becomes the preferred method of training.
Generally, fire safety training programs for school settings must focus on training relevant to the students’ ages. The overall substance of the training is similar regardless of age, though. Training will focus on how to respond to a fire and proper evacuation methods. Some school training programs, such as those for high school students and college and university students, will teach students how to use fire extinguishers. This kind of training is especially important among students who live in dormitories.
Note that many organizations provide more than just fire safety training. Some allow students to walk away with additional materials, such as checklists of fire prevention steps and special materials like posters and activity books for children. When choosing the best fire safety training program, such materials might seem more fun than necessary. Still, if they provide helpful materials that cater to other demographics they might be worth considering. For example, disabled adults and elderly individuals who live alone might benefit from specialized instruction, such as keeping fire extinguishers at wheelchair level or considering sleeping in a bedroom on the ground floor.
Cost varies and depends on factors like the specifics of the fire safety training program, included teaching materials, and any required third-party teachers. Some programs are free and available at local libraries or covered by a company’s headquarters. For example, an area’s board of education most likely purchases a program for each school to use, taking the responsibility and burden of cost away from the teachers and principals. Usually, those that cost an individual or company out-of-pocket expenses end up paying for themselves in the long run, as they will be used over and over. Browse various organizations and compare their training programs against one another before making a decision.
