Fire marshal vs fire warden vs fire safety awareness: which training do you need?

What is the difference between a fire marshal and a fire warden?

In practice there is no legal difference. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which covers England and Wales, never uses either title. It asks the responsible person (usually the employer or the person in control of the premises) to nominate a sufficient number of competent persons to help carry out the fire safety measures in the premises, including evacuation and the use of firefighting equipment. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety law with the same expectation.

Employers choose the title they prefer. Some workplaces use warden for the person who does routine checks and marshal for the person who leads an evacuation, but most use one word for both jobs. If your job description says fire warden and the course you are looking at says fire marshal, you are looking at the right course.

The three levels of fire training in a UK workplace

Course details checked on liftcollege.co.uk on 17 October 2026. Organisation pricing is on each course page and via a free organisation account.

Fire safety awareness: what every worker needs

Fire safety law expects employers to give staff adequate fire safety training when they start, and again when risks change. For most people that means a short awareness course that explains the fire triangle, the common causes of workplace fires, good housekeeping, what the alarm means, the nearest safe exit and the assembly point.

Lift College's Fire Safety Training covers this in 5 short modules and 2 hours of learning, with the fire safety law for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland explained. Lift College recommends a refresh every 12 months, and the refresher is free when it is due.

Fire marshal or fire warden: what nominated people need

A fire marshal does two jobs. Day to day they carry out proactive checks on escape routes, fire doors, signage, emergency lighting, alarms and extinguishers, and they report faults. When the alarm sounds they sweep their area, close doors, guide people to the assembly point, help anyone with a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, run the roll call and report to the fire and rescue service when it arrives.

That is a bigger job than awareness training prepares you for. Lift College's Fire Marshal Training covers the role in 6 modules: the marshal's role, how fire behaves, proactive duties, signs and equipment, reactive duties, and fighting a fire safely. Lift College recommends a refresh every 3 years, with a fire drill at least once a year in between.

Do fire marshals need a practical extinguisher session?

Online training covers the knowledge: which extinguisher suits which fire, when it is safe to tackle a small fire and when to leave it. Many employers add a supervised practical session with live extinguishers, and some fire risk assessments require one. An online course does not replace that session where your employer asks for it. Lift College's course page says this plainly, so there is no surprise when you show your certificate.

How many fire marshals does a workplace need?

The law does not give a number. Your fire risk assessment does. You need enough marshals to cover every floor or area on every shift, with cover for holidays and sickness. Low risk offices often work on one marshal per 20 to 50 people per floor. Higher risk premises such as care homes, hotels and warehouses need more, because people may need help to evacuate or the building has more fire hazards.

A practical way to count: list every area that must be swept during an evacuation, then make sure at least two trained people are usually present for each one.

Is online fire marshal training valid in the UK?

Your employer decides what training the fire risk assessment calls for, and online fire marshal training is widely used because the knowledge part of the role suits it well. Employers checking a certificate usually look for the course name, the hours of learning, the completion date and a recommended refresh date. The Lift College certificate shows each of these, with a unique number and a verification link.

Your employer will still walk you through the layout, alarm and assembly point for your own building. No online course can teach you where your fire doors are.

How often should fire training be refreshed?

Fire safety law says training must be repeated periodically where appropriate. It does not set a fixed interval, so employers follow guidance and their own risk assessment:

• Fire safety awareness: every 12 months is the common standard, and new starters should be trained at induction.
• Fire marshal: Lift College recommends every 3 years, with a drill at least once a year so marshals practise their evacuation duties.
• Fire drills: at least once a year for most premises, more often where the risk assessment says so.

Lift College emails you 30 days before your refresh date, and the refresher is free.

Which course should you buy?

• You are a new starter, or your employer has asked everyone to complete annual fire training: Fire Safety Training.
• You have been nominated as a fire marshal or fire warden, or you are responsible for a floor, department or shift during an evacuation: Fire Marshal Training.
• You manage a site and need both for different people: open a free organisation account at /business and enrol each person on the right course.
• You want the detail on what employers check before accepting an online certificate: read Fire marshal training online in the UK.

Both courses sit in the health and safety courses range alongside COSHH, working at height, lone working and manual handling.