Have you ever read an evacuation diagram and wondered “How would I get out if there was a fire??”
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The only question that needs to be answered from a fire safety perspective is:
Yes, a few minutes – potentially that’s how long you have to ensure the safety of everyone in your building in the event of a fire.Could your team and anyone else on site find safety in less than a few minutes?
Talk to one of our Guides to make sure you’ve done what you can to keep your people and clients safe.
Emergency Evacuation Diagrams
The biggest tool in your emergency planning toolbox is a well-crafted emergency evacuation diagram. Evacuation diagrams need to be simple, easy to read, and clearly show building occupants where they currently are in the building and how to get to safety quickly and easily. They should also show an alternative safe exit in case the nearest exit is not able to be accessed. At Australian Compliance Management we create Emergency Evacuation Diagrams that not only meet all Australian fire safety compliance requirements, but are simple, easy to read, and are in fact, National Best Practice. Make contact with one of our Guides and they can talk you through the process of creating diagrams specifically designed for your sites. Once we have drafts of your new evacuation diagrams, we will forward those for your review. Each diagram will include:- Clear concise information on evacuation procedures.
- Highlighted “You Are Here” notifications for each diagram.
- The location of your nearest Emergency Exit and the clearest path to get there.
- An alternative pathway to the next closest Emergency Exit (in case the nearest pathway becomes inaccessible).
- The location of all Fire Equipment (Fire Hose Reels, Fire Blankets and Extinguishers).
- Details of all Assembly Areas.
- Emergency Contact information.
Where are the evacuation diagrams? Did anyone put them up? Wait, where did I see them?, I’m not sure what to do.. Is this a drill or.. ? Oh Goodness… Will someone turn off that damn noise, I can’t think..!!
Don’t let this be you, let’s work together, and plan to be safe…
Replacement Evacuation Diagrams
Did you know that to meet Australian Standard AS 3745-2010: Planning for Emergencies in Facilities, it is compulsory to replace diagrams every five years?? Any changes to a building’s layout and design or its Fire Safety and Emergency Management Plan will also require evacuation diagrams to be updated and replaced. What that means for you is:- If you alter the structure of your building (tear down walls or add to the building) all your Emergency Evacuation Diagrams need to be changed to reflect that work.
- If a Fire Safety Audit recommends changes of any kind, then your Fire Safety & Emergency Management Plan needs to reflect what you’ve done in relation to those recommendations.
- Are oriented correctly and include an accurate “You Are Here” designation.
- Clearly identify the nearest emergency exit and the path to get there.
- Are in appropriate and ideal locations throughout the building.
- Contain all mandated compliance requirements.
People Have Asked
Evacuation diagrams are a very important aspect of fire safety and are required under Australian Standards AS 3745-2010 for any workplace regardless of size. Evacuation diagrams show the occupants within your building the safest exit paths to escape the building during an emergency and where to assemble. The diagrams will also show you where the fire equipment is located if you are in a safe position to extinguish the fire.
There is a misconception out there that you need to install an evacuation diagram next to every door that is an ‘exit’, however this is not the case. The location of the evacuation diagrams are decided by your Emergency Planning Committee (EPC), and should be installed in suitable locations that are along the paths of exits out of the building.
Evacuation diagrams are required to have information on them as outlined in Australian Standards AS 3745-2010, however these are broken down into required and optional elements. As a minimum evacuation diagrams should have — 1) A pictorial representation of the floor or area. 2) The title ‘Evacuation Diagram’ (or Fire Evacuation Plan in QLD). 3) The designated exits to the building which should be noted in green. 4) Any fire equipment installed in the building. 5) The validity date. 6) The location of Assembly Areas. • A legend to reflect any symbols used.
We recommend that evacuation diagrams be installed into a snap frame or something similar, and then secured to the wall. The bare minimum to secure the diagrams would be double-sided tape, you should not use Blue Tack. The diagrams need to be installed between 1200mm and 1600mm from the ground and orientated to the ‘you are here’ pictorial.
One of the hardest things to work out when installing evacuation diagrams is whether they are orientated correctly. We recommend when you stand in front of the diagram that you locate the “you are here” pictorial and that the diagram matches your location, e.g. if the diagram says the kitchen is to your right, and a door is to your left of the “you are here” pictorial, and that’s what you see when you look around, then you know you are standing in the right spot.
Australian Compliance Management can help you with simple, easy to read evacuation diagrams. Our team can create brand new diagrams for your building or recreate and update your existing diagrams. We listen to you, get a sense of your working environment (we can do a walkthrough of your building), and then make recommendations on what evacuation diagram elements we believe would work best for your building. All our evacuation diagrams are compliant with Australian Standards AS 3745-2010 and Building Fire Regulations (QLD).