First aid and fire safety training for security guards

In a shopping centre, a hotel or a warehouse, the guard knows the building, carries a radio or phone, and at night is often the only person awake. That is why the first minutes of an incident land on them. The role is not to replace a doctor or a firefighter but to buy time the right way:

1. Safety first: never step into danger yourself; a second casualty helps no one.
2. Call for help: dial 112, the single European emergency number, free of charge (112.gr), or 199 for fire (Hellenic Fire Service), then inform your supervisor.
3. Protect people: move bystanders away from the hazard and keep access routes clear.
4. Basic help: do only what you have been trained to do until professionals take over.
5. Guide and report: meet the crews, tell them what you saw, and afterwards write an incident report.

Article 535 of the Labour Code (Presidential Decree 62/2025) says the employer:

• takes the necessary measures for first aid, fire safety and evacuation, suited to the size and nature of the business and taking account of other people present (§1(a));
• sets up links with the competent outside services for first aid, emergency medical care, rescue and fire safety (§1(b)) and regularly checks the first-aid equipment (§1(c));
• provides CPR and Heimlich training: with up to 50 workers in one installation, through videos and material supplied free by the Ministry of Labour; with more than 50, through courses by certified first-aid training bodies for half the staff of the installation, at least every three years (§1(d));
• designates the workers responsible for first aid, fire safety and evacuation, who must have appropriate training, be sufficient in number and have the right equipment (§2).

Article 538 adds that the employer gives every worker adequate health and safety training on hiring, on a change of duties and with new equipment, and that this training is not at the worker’s cost and takes place during working hours (§5). Workers, for their part, must attend the relevant sessions (art. 539 §3).

The Code speaks of the employer and the installation. It does not say every guard must hold a first-aid certificate. Ask your employer who is designated as responsible at your post and what training is scheduled.

Content varies by provider, but a basic programme usually includes:

• Scene assessment: when it is safe to approach and when it is not.
• Calling for help: what to tell 112 and how to stay on the line.
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and, where available, using a defibrillator.
• Choking: the Heimlich manoeuvre, which the law names explicitly.
• Bleeding, burns, falls and fainting: basic care until the paramedics take over.

This guide gives no medical instructions. Learn the techniques on a certified course with practice, and refresh them. In any incident, call 112 first.

Fire-safety training for a guard is mostly knowing the site and the procedure. On your first day at a new post, learn:

• The fire panel: where it is, what each indication means, and whom you call on an alarm or a fault.
• Firefighting equipment: where the extinguishers and hose reels are, and which extinguisher type is for which fire.
• Exits and escape routes: check they are clear on every patrol.
• The assembly point, and who counts people there.
• Shut-offs for power, gas or fuel, if your post orders tell you to operate them.

The law protects anyone who withdraws: the employer gives instructions so that in serious, imminent and unavoidable danger workers can stop work and go to a safe place, and a worker who leaves a dangerous area may suffer no adverse consequence (art. 535 §3(c) and §4).

1. Alarm and call: raise the alarm as your post orders say and call 199 or 112.
2. Direct people: lead visitors and staff to the exits and the assembly point with calm, short instructions.
3. Access: keep entrances clear for emergency vehicles.
4. Brief: tell the firefighters where the fire started, whether anyone is missing and where the shut-offs are.
5. Record: after the incident, times, actions and names go into the report.

An evacuation works only if it has been practised. If your post has never had a drill, ask your supervisor to walk you through the route on site.

• Start with your employer: health and safety training is given on hiring, during working hours, at no cost to you (art. 538).
• Ask for a certified provider: for CPR with hands-on practice, the law refers to certified first-aid training bodies (art. 535 §1(d)).
• Refresh: skills fade; for larger installations the law sets a cycle of at least every three years.
• Learn your post: every new post has its own plan, its own equipment and its own exits.

OVIT hires guards for its local teams through the Careers page. If you are just starting, see how to become a security guard in Greece and how new guards are trained on site.