Compliance & Legislation Hub

Fire Evacuation Compliance & Legislation in NSW

Managing a building, workplace, school, strata property, or commercial site can make fire evacuation compliance feel stressful. There are many procedures and records to keep track of. This page seeks to put in simple terms the areas of compliance so that building managers and owners know the potential documents and the reasoning for the documents.

This page gives general information. This is neither a compliance check of your site nor legal advice. Some requirements vary per building, some of these being fire safety. Emergency Evacuation Plans provide the necessary documentation to satisfy your fire compliance in Sydney and certain areas in NSW.

Responsibilities

Understanding Your Emergency Planning Responsibilities

Every workplace must establish procedures for an emergency that occupants can understand and follow. Procedures include the explanation of the response to an alarm activation, the designated relocation areas, the person in charge, and how accountability for every person in the workplace is achieved. Procedures that are too formal are likely to be disregarded. Procedures must be self-explanatory for staff and visitors and for use in an emergency.

Emergency planning is a collaborative effort best achieved with multiple supportive documents. Fire evacuation plans articulate the intended response. Evacuation diagrams portray response routes and assembly areas. Emergency procedure manuals and instructions supplement the diagrams and plans. Fire warden training and evacuation drills provide the opportunity for participants to practice the procedures.

AS 3745-2010

AS 3745-2010 is one of the major Australian Standards for Facility Emergency Planning. It covers many areas, including emergency planning, evacuation procedures, emergency control organisation, training, exercises, and evacuation diagrams. In a lot of workplaces, this is the standard for how the planning and documenting, displaying, and reviewing of the emergency arrangements are done.

AS3745 evacuation diagrams must be easy to read and understand, and must be relevant to the particular building. They may depict evacuation routes, emergency exits, fire safety equipment, assembly areas, and “You Are Here.” They must also include the location of fire safety equipment. Emergency procedure manuals must follow the same logic. They must depict the actual site and not a generic building, which is a copy of a site that could be anywhere.

WHS Emergency Planning Duties

The planning of emergency procedures must include Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Duties. Emergency procedures must take into consideration how employees and all persons present at the workplace will respond during an emergency. This may include visitors, contractors, clients, students, residents, and all other persons.

The workplace evacuation plan must incorporate the alarms that will be activated, the routes that will be taken during an evacuation, and the emergency contact persons and their roles. It must be communicated and explained to employees through training and or induction. If employees do not understand the documented plan, it may not be effective during an actual emergency.

BCA / NCC Considerations

The Building Code of Australia and National Construction Code can apply to fire safety planning as specific rules. These can depend on the building’s use. They can also specify things such as building design, exits, travel routes, fire safety systems, fire equipment, and other safety measures.

It’s best to be as simple and direct as possible when writing website content. Documenting emergencies should match the actual design and safety systems of the building. Changes to fire safety systems, equipment, exits, the tenancy, or the common area also necessitate a review of the fire evacuation plans and diagrams to ensure the building maintains the standards of safety and that the information remains relevant.

AFSS & Fire Safety Documentation

In NSW, some buildings can have Annual Fire Safety Statements requirements as well. An AFSS has a direct connection to some of the fire safety measures that are of a building’s concern. An AFSS and an evacuation plan are not the same. Nevertheless, they both concern the management of fire safety of the building and can be related in the fire safety documentation.

Owners/managers of buildings need to know the fire safety documentation their buildings need. Fire safety documentation can be evacuation diagrams, emergency procedures manuals, plans for fire evacuation, inspections/staff training records, and other records specific to a site. Being organised with these documents can help get ready for inspections from owners, staff, tenancy, contractors, or the council.

Why Documents Need Regular Review

Fire safety plans should not be made once and treated as good forever. Buildings go through plenty of changes over time. Fit-outs can be done, names of rooms can be changed, exits can be changed, staff can be added or subtracted, equipment can be moved, and new risks can be brought in. Procedures and diagrams may no longer be valid with these changes.

To maintain the accuracy of plans, regular reviews must be done. Reviews can be done due to building changes, changes in tenancy, changes in fire equipment, attending trials to evacuate, and changes in staff roles during times of emergencies. Reviews can also be done to identify instruction and processing gaps or faults that can benefit staff and the system being designed.

How We Can Help

Our company helps business and building managers with safety documentation in the form of fire safety plans, AS3745 evacuation diagrams, and emergency procedures and management plans. We also provide fire warden training. We ensure that our documentation and training include onsite-specific information and verbiage that staff will understand.

We undertake the documentation and training requirements and perform a safety audit of your building, and provide the necessary plans along with procedures, training and evacuation drills to link your safety plans and procedures to your compliance needs.