Hand over responsibility
Fires endanger not only employees, but also the very existence of a company. Damage caused by fire can interrupt orders and in the worst case the company can even be threatened with insolvency. For this reason, occupational health and safety, building law and insurers place companies under obligation. As a rule, they prescribe a fire protection officer who is responsible for fire protection in the building and helps with this:
- Prevent fires,
- propose measures and
- keep consequential damage to a minimum.
This can also be an external fire protection officer: he is familiar with the regulations and has a neutral view of fire protection in your building. CWS can gladly support you with an expert.
External fire protection officer
Internal fire protection officer
External fire protection officer from CWS
An external fire safety officer from CWS Fire Safety advises and supports you throughout Germany to ensure greater safety in your company. Our experts have many years of experience in fire safety and are familiar with the regulations thanks to regular training.
Contact our experts for a consultation.
Your advantages with us
Many years of experience
Our external fire safety officers have years of experience and negotiate safely with authorities, fire brigades and insurance companies on a daily basis.
More capacities
External fire safety officers relieve your employees and assume responsibility for the protection of people and systems.
Neutral view
As persons external to the company, our experts detect risks without operational blindness and advise management with a neutral eye.
Time/cost savings
With CWS, you save the time required for regular training and further training of your internal authorised representatives.
Reliable inspection
We ensure that site inspections take place at least once a month and are professionally documented.
Complete service
Consultancy, coordination with authorities and partners or on-site inspections: a wide range of tasks that you receive from us from a single source.
Request fire safety officer
External help
We will be happy to advise you comprehensively, by telephone or by e-mail - just get in touch with us. Together we will go through which tasks an external fire safety officer must fulfil and how often he is there for you. The catalogue of services will be part of the contract between you and our CWS Fire Safety Team.
Fire safety officer training
CWS Fire Safety offers fire safety officer training in accordance with current regulations at the Fire Safety Academy.
With its own training workshop and over 1,000 square metres, the training centre has the ideal conditions for theoretical and practical training to become a fire safety officer.
FAQ
Is it compulsory to have a fire protection officer?
A fire protection officer is always recommended, but not every company needs to have one. As a rule of thumb: for facilities and workplaces with a particularly high fire risk and a high number of potentially endangered persons, it is compulsory to have a fire protection officer. Information is provided on building regulations, state building regulations, fire protection concepts, risk assessments and building permits. Insurance companies also often require you to have a fire protection officer. On top of this, occupational health and safety guidelines must also be observed.
It’s mostly the following types of workplaces that require specialists:
- Industrial buildings with a floor area of more than 5,000 m2
- Sales outlets with a floor area of more than 2,000 m2
- Office and administration buildings with more than 3,000 m2 of floor space
- Special buildings (e.g. high-rise buildings, clinics, hotels, retirement homes)
How many fire protection officers are necessary?
Some companies need more than just one fire protection officer. You can check how many you need in the stipulations of the state building regulation, the fire protection concept, the risk assessment or the property insurer
How are fire protection officers different from fire safety assistants?
A fire protection officer completes more comprehensive training according to the vfdb guidelines and takes on more tasks in the field of preventive fire protection. Only they can provide comprehensive advice to the person responsible for fire protection – i.e. employer or facility manager. Fire safety assistants, on the other hand, are supposed to initiate initial measures in the event of a fire, such as instructing the fire brigade. They also take part in a training course, but mainly possess basic knowledge. Often the fire protection officer trains the operational assistants. These fire protection training courses are also part of CWS’ service.
Is an internal or external officer best?
You have to weigh up what makes the most sense for your company. We’d be very happy to support you in this. Not every company has the capacity to employ a fire protection officer in its own staff. Employees can be responsible for occupational health and safety and fire protection at the same time, but cannot act as fire protection officers. Assigning this responsibility-intensive task to your own staff adds a lot of work for them. External experts can relieve such a burden on the workforce.
By the way, if guidelines require several experts, a combination of internal and external officers can also work. Our experts coordinate with all parties involved within your company and work hand in hand with them
How often does a fire protection officer work?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The larger the task area of an officer, the more frequently they are called into action. However, their work also depends on the building itself as well as building law guidelines. In principle, the officer should visit the place of work at least once per month in order to check fire protection measures.
Additional CWS fire safety products
Consultation, planning & documentation
We’re also happy to support you with fire protection concepts, escape plans and their official documentation.
Installation and acceptance
Our technicians install the equipment and check its operation for official approval.
Maintenance and repair
We check fire protection doors and gates, installations etc. for functionality and repair defects.
Fire protection training
We make sure your employees are well prepared in the event of an emergency.