From a legal perspective, hotels need to abide by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005/Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. The buildings must meet the required standards and all staff must have adequate fire safety training.

Training typically needs to include:

• Induction training to cover general fire awareness
• Periodic refresher training, or extra training where the level of fire risk increases as a result of changes in your procedures
• Training to support people in meeting their fire safety duties
• Training to build appropriate skills such as fire risk assessment, fire warden or using fire extinguishers

However, this is not the full story, as it is vital that you also consider the additional fire safety requirements of a hospitality and hotel environment. You will also need to assess and account for any aspects of fire safety relating specifically to your accommodation and facilities. Conference rooms, marquee events, sport facilities and any other relevant situation should be considered in your approach. Some things to think about are:

• Have you and all your shift teams read and understood your fire safety policy?
• Do you and your teams know the locations of fire assembly points and fire exits?
• Do you know what you would do if an exit route is blocked by fire?
• Is there sufficient general knowledge of the use of safety equipment?
• Have you planned for unusual behaviour from guests in the event of a fire?
• Have you considered difficulties that may be encountered by less mobile guests?
• Have you remembered that all your teams, including agency workers, should be aware of fire safety?
• During a conference, wedding or other event, would your fire safety procedures still be effective?
• Do you have enough documentation and awareness of CoSHH hazards?
• Do your policies also include fire prevention?
• Have you considered the risks around guest activities in rooms?
• Have you prepared a grab bag for each shift?

For more information on this topic, see our blog Fire Safety in Hotels.