Do companies train employees in fire safety?

How safe are employees with fire accidents in the workplace and how often are they trained to use firefighting equipment? Doesn’t the law provide for mandatory training of employees on fire-fighting?
Joel

Dear Joel,
Every workplace is required by law to ensure safety of all employees at the workplace. All organisations in Uganda are required by law to take out insurance covers for their staff under the Workman’s Compensation Act.
The Federation of Uganda Employers conducted research and found out that workplace fires are one of the foremost threats to the people and property of any organisation. It is estimated that 45 per cent of businesses never re-open after a fire incident. Such losses are avoidable by applying basic fire prevention controls and being prepared for emergencies.
It is, therefore, critical for organisations to identify staff whom they train as Safety Officers and then invest in equipping them with knowledge, skills and confidence to prevent fires, appropriately respond to fire emergencies and use proper equipment and procedures to save lives and property.
In addition, organisations must invest in creating safety awareness among all employees such that everybody knows what to do or where to go in case of any emergency. I know of some multinational companies that take workplace safety so seriously. These companies invest heavily in ensuring that their operations conform to world class safety standards and, they would not hesitate to close any branch irrespective of the money that branch is making if their safety standards audit finds breaches in the safety measures on the ground.

Moses Ssesanga
Head Human Resource
NMG - Uganda
[email protected]