In all states of Australia, it is a requirement of AS3745 2010 (‘Planning for Emergencies in Facilities’ Section 3.5) to have Evacuation Diagrams in all facilities, including common areas when referring to multi-tenanted buildings.
In Queensland, it is also a requirement of the Qld Building Fire Safety Regulations 2008 Sections 18, 29 and 30.
Other Standards such as AS4083 2010 ‘Planning for Emergencies in Health Care Facilities’ and Legislation such as Health and Safety Regulations (Codes of Practice) should also be taken into consideration dependant on the type of facility that the diagrams are to be placed.
An Evacuation Diagram is a tool that shows the Floor plan of a facility and provides Emergency and Evacuation information to advise Occupants of:
Where they are spatially in a facility as indicated by the ‘You are here’ and how to escape an emergency via the nearest safe exit.
Where the fire equipment such as Extinguishers, Hose reels, MCP’s, WIP’s, Exits, Egress paths, Fire blankets, FIP etc are located, in relation to where they are standing in the building.
Where the Assembly area is located in relation to the facility, which also shows the egress paths from the facility to the Assembly area.
The Evacuation Diagram will typically also show the Site Plan (showing the Assembly area and egress paths from the building) as well as the Emergency Procedures to follow. The diagram should also have a Legend describing what the symbols used on the diagrams represent.
These diagrams quite simply can save lives.
There are 12 minimum elements that need to be included on the Evacuation diagrams which can be found in AS3745 2010 Section 3.5.5. (hydrants no longer need to be shown on these diagrams)
Optional elements may also be used on an Evacuation Diagram:
There are 10 optional elements that may be used on an evacuation diagram which can be found in AS3745 2010 section 3.5.6 (hydrants are now an optional element)
Number and Location of Diagrams:
The Evacuation Diagrams should be positioned at a height of between 1200mm and 1600 mm from the floor level.
Evacuation Diagrams require to be correctly oriented to the building in which they are placed relevant to the ‘You are Here’ location. The Site Plan, if displayed on the Evacuation Diagram must be oriented in the same direction as the Floor Plan.
The minimum size of an evacuation diagram using only minimum elements is A4. The pictorial size of the Floor plan shall be at least 200mm x 150mm.
The Minimum size of an Evacuation diagram using any of the Optional elements as well as Minimum elements shall be A3. The pictorial size of the Floor plan shall then be (200mm x 300mm).
In Queensland (just to confuse you further) the Qld Building Fire Safety Regulations state that the egress paths must be shown on the diagrams. However AS3745 states that the egress path is an optional element. Therefore, if we are developing diagrams in Qld and we must show an optional element, then all diagrams developed in Qld must be developed in A3 (200mm x 300mm)
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
At the end of the day, these Diagrams demonstrate to you where you are within a facility and how to escape to the nearest safe exit and how to make your way to the Assembly area if required.
It is also important for Occupants of Facilities to be aware of where their Fire stair exits, extinguishers, MCP (Manual call points), WIP’s (Warden inter-communication phone) and other fixed fire equipment is installed within their facility in the event that activating an alarm or extinguishing a small fire is required. For this reason, General and First Response training is also a requirement for all employees within a facility under these Standards and Regulations. This Training topic will be covered in a future post.
For more information, visit: www.andersonemc.com.au
