Every year in the UK, emergency services attend more than 550,000 fire-related events across the country. No matter how minor a fire initially seems to be, these incidents can escalate quickly and cause serious risk to life. They also cause extensive damage to property that they come into contact with.

In fact, in England and Wales alone, these cost £2.35 billion worth of damage and are one of the biggest sources of insurance claims in the country. Because of this, they can pose a serious threat to the long term security of UK businesses. 

Understanding fires and fire prevention ensures that you can protect your business. Whether you’re just starting out or are recovering from a fire in your building, fire investigation training can help.

So what does this involve? Read on to find out everything you need to know about fire investigation training and how it could help you.

What is Fire Investigation Training? 

Fire investigation training is a specialist kind of training that focuses on the events after a fire has happened. It teaches you about understanding the event leading up to a fire and identifying the source of it. It can also help you plan what you should do when recovering from a fire.

This is essential training even if you have not recently had a fire in your place of work. After all, the last thing you want is to be rushing through training while handling the fallout of a fire in the workplace.

Who Should Attend Fire Investigation Training in the UK? 

Whether you are doing online fire investigation training or attending sessions in person, anyone managing a workplace with employees, stock, or customers in it can benefit from this. This includes: 

• Anyone working in the fire services in the UK or abroad
• Police officers
• Crime scene officers
• Forensic investigators
• Fire investigator agents
• Office managers
• Hotel and hospitality managers
• Health and safety delegates in corporate companies
• Retail managers
• Corporate fire wardens

Each person in this list may have to come into contact with a fire investigation at some point in their career. For some, this training may be a compulsory part of their training. Even when it isn’t compulsory, it ensures that all staff who need to be prepared for fire-related incidents are.

What are the Learning Objectives of Fire Investigation Training?

Most fire investigation training aims to teach attendees to have a more thorough understanding of basic fire science, including: 

• Combustion
• Toxicology of debris left after a fire
• Fire behaviours and movement patterns
• What happens when electricity causes a fire
• Identifying the effects of an explosion at the scene of a fire
• Identifying signs of arson after a fire
• Understanding how fires occur, spread in and affect different environments

This will help them to identify the origins of a fire and analyse it. This might involve recreating the conditions of the fire itself in a controlled environment to understand how it spread.

On top of this, attendees learn how to handle the scene of a fire, both immediately after and during an investigation. This includes: 

• How to secure the site of a fire 
• Health and safety regulations for fire investigation
• How to recover and identify debris from the scene of a fire

They will also learn about the different agencies involved in fire investigations — including independent agencies and how to contact them directly. This involves teaching them how to work alongside different investigatory teams’ processes.

Training sessions also involve information on how to write up a report after a fire. This is essential for every company’s records, especially if anyone has been injured during a fire or if you have lost any property. Your training will come with plenty of tips and advice on how to properly store your records for future use.

What Does Fire Investigation Training Involve?

As you can see, fire investigation covers a lot of different areas.

However, it is possible to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time with the right teacher. In fact, most courses run for half a day or a full day. This ensures that you and your employees do not have to take long periods of time off work for the training.

Some training courses specialise in different fire environments. For example, if you are working in an office space you will need to know more about commercial or corporate fire investigation. In that case, training for areas like alternative energy fires or wildlife fires will be a lot less important.

Fire investigation training does not require a formal examination at the end of training. That said, most courses should offer an optional test. This gives you the opportunity to assess your employees’ understanding of the area so you support those who need a little more help with it.

What are the Benefits of Business Fire Investigation Training?

People who are planning careers in fire investigation are not the only ones who can benefit from fire investigation training.

As you’ve already seen, this specialist training provides a much deeper level of understanding of fires and what causes them. It can also help you better understand the damage that a fire can do.

After a fire, knowing how to handle the scene is essential for the health and safety of people working, living, or staying in your building. This helps to secure it and helps you recover as much property as possible. 

Understanding fire investigation can also be essential if you are planning to make an insurance claim. This helps you understand whether or not your insurance policy will cover the cause of your fire. If your insurance company does raise an issue, having specialist knowledge can help you to challenge this if you need to. 

Fire Investigation Training and Risk Assessment Planning

Fire investigation training doesn’t just help after a fire. It can also make it a lot easier to organise your fire risk assessment planning.

Understanding how a fire can start and spread can make it easier when trying to think of preventative measures. For example, it can increase your awareness flammable materials within an office, so you can take precautions to make sure they don’t catch alight. It will enable you to plan how to handle and store them properly.

If a fire does break out in your place of work then carrying out a thorough investigation is essential if you are going to stop it from happening again. This can highlight flaws and learning opportunities in your risk assessment. This is why it is important to always review your risk assessment plan after a fire investigation.

Tips for Finding Corporate Fire Investigation Training

Now you understand what to expect from fire investigation training and how it can benefit you, how do you find a decent training course? Well, there are several things you should look for. 

Ideally, you want a course that isn’t going to last more than a day. This is ample time to cover all of the necessary fire investigation training and means you won’t have to organise cover for staff on training days. Day or half-day courses also offer you the best value for your money, which is an important consideration if you have a lot of staff to train.

It’s also worth making sure that the course you choose is accessible to all of your staff members. Some people may find it easier to carry out online learning or may have other requirements. It’s worth asking about these needs and discussing them with a course provider in advance.

Reviews are another great place to find out more about a training course from previous clients. Ideally, look for independent reviews rather than the ones on a company’s site. This is a great way to find out honest feedback. 

However, one of the most important things is to look for a company with experience in teaching fire training. You want to work with a company that offers a range of different specialist courses and offers attendees certification at the end of a course. That way you know you are receiving training from people who know what they’re talking about.

Learn More Today

As you can see, anyone working in business management or safety can benefit from fire investigation training. If you have recently experienced a fire in your workplace, this ensures that you find the source of it as quickly and safely as possible.

This also helps you and your managers remain aware of dangers in your place of work so that you can protect your staff and customers as much as possible. So what are you waiting for? 

To organise fire investigation training for you or your team, get in touch today. We’re here to help!