Somerton firms learn value of fire safety training

Businesses in the south-west of the UK have been improving workplace standards by training employees in fire safety.

Members of staff from several Somerton companies attended an open evening aimed at raising awareness of fire hazards and were taught how to make their premises safe, the Western Gazette reports.

Local traders were also given an insight into fire procedures and instructed how to use a fire extinguisher.

The event was set up by Somerton Fire Station and manager Neil Tidball said his role is to ensure that adequate information is available on the hazards and risks associated with workplaces and to correctly respond with the appropriate resource to manage these dangers.

He added: "The community business night has already received some very good feedback and not only has [it] strengthened our relationship with business, [it] has also given us potential areas to follow up."

According to Mr Tidball, attendees described the evening as "very informative" and praised the fire service for its professional display.

"People said it was a great opportunity to meet the Somerton Team and take a look behind the scenes," he remarked.

It is likely that following the event, lots of local organisations will now apply their new-found knowledge to their everyday business practices and make their workplace much safer.

Companies that have yet to organise similar training for their staff could do so by turning to e-learning providers such as Virtual College, which offers a dedicated online fire safety course - entitled Fire Safety and Evacuation - that helps bosses to equip their employees with the skills required to act accordingly in the event of a fire.

As well as being a cost-effective way of delivering education to workers, it is also an extremely flexible way to learn and all resources can be accessed in people's spare time, no matter where they are. What's more, this particular course has recently been reduced to just £15 and bulk discounts are available for maximum affordability.