Fire Safety

In High Rise
Structures
 Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board
Community Safety Directorate Guideline No: GL- 18

GUIDELINE Prepared By:

MFESB Community
Safety Advisory Group
Evacuation of High Rise Buildings Authorised By:
Exe. Mgr Jarrod
Edwards

COMMUNITY SAFETY DIRECTORATE GUIDELINE

First Issued : Version No: 4 Reviewed: Page 1 of 7
24 June 2003 14 October 2007 4 October 2007

1. Purpose
This document has been developed to provide consistency when considering an evacuation
strategy from a high rise building.

Evacuation from facilities may be necessary in the event of fire, hazardous material incidents,
arson, structural damage, or equipment failure. The objective of this guideline is for fire
emergencies only, however, it may also be suitable for use in other emergencies.

These procedures have been developed for use in all high rise buildings predominantly over 25
metres in effective height, as defined in the Building Code of Australia (BCA). However, may give
guidance for buildings below this height where due consideration is given to the building’s
characteristics. Fire and life safety systems such as the fire alarm and/or occupant warning
systems need to be designed to satisfy the intended evacuation strategy. Further, to avoid
confusion, delay and possible injury, it is essential that a building’s evacuation plans and
procedures be understood and practised regularly by the building occupants prior to an
emergency.

The purpose of this guideline is to assist with the formulation of procedures for a suitable method
of evacuation to enable occupants in high rise buildings to avoid possible injury through the
provision of:

ƒ Emergency Management plans in accordance with AS3745;

ƒ Early detection and warning of emergency incident;
ƒ A safe and orderly evacuation strategy (Horizontal, Phased or full building evacuation); or
ƒ A protect in place strategy; &
ƒ Early Fire Brigade Intervention

2. Background

What is an Emergency?

Under the Emergency Management Act 1986 No. 30 (section 4), an “emergency” is defined as the
actual or imminent occurrence of an event which in any way endangers or threatens to endanger
the safety or health of any person, property, the environment or an element of the environment in
Victoria including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing an earthquake, flood, wind-storm,
fire, an explosion or other natural event; amongst others.

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3. Considerations for All High Rise Buildings
Development of ‘Building Specific’ Emergency Management Plans in accordance with AS3745.
The training of key staff to fulfil roles identified in AS3745.

3.1 Type of evacuation sequence, i.e. phased/controlled or full evacuation – The

evacuation strategy can be broken up into sequences. Phased evacuation involves the
removal of occupants from the floor of fire origin as well as 2 floors above and 1 below. A full
evacuation necessitates the removal of all occupants from the building
simultaneously/concurrently. An option that exists within tall buildings is to allow the
occupants of the first few floors to evacuate, as it is likely that they will do so before the fire
brigade arrives on scene. If a horizontal evacuation route or a safe refuge is available, then
partial/phased evacuation strategy to these areas may also be considered.

3.2 Protect in place - Protecting occupants in place is more suited for residential high rise
sprinklered buildings, as sole occupancy units are generally constructed of fire and smoke
resistant materials. Occupiers of the sole occupancy being the area of fire origin and others
in close proximity are instructed to evacuate, whilst occupants in other parts of the floor, as
determined by the evacuation plan are to remain in their rooms and initiate a strategy of self-
protection against fire hazard until it is safe to evacuate, be rescued or the emergency no
longer exists. The effectiveness of this strategy will depend on the type of emergency,
installed fire safety systems and occupant adherence to procedures and instructions.

3.3 Evacuation of Office Buildings – Evacuating occupants from office buildings is relatively
straightforward. These types of buildings contain occupants that are generally familiar with
the layout of the building arising from their induction program and daily duties. As office
buildings are not expected to contain occupants that are sleeping, the combination of a
structured warden system and vigilant occupier ensures the response and evacuation
response time are much more efficient when comparing them to residential buildings. In
sprinklered buildings where an open plan office exists, consideration may be given to
evacuate the fire floor, floor above and below and employ the “protect in place” strategy for
the other floors in the building.

3.4 Evacuation of Residential Buildings – The evacuation of residential buildings is more

complex compared to office buildings. Residential buildings have different occupant issues
to consider. These include occupants that may be very young, old, mentally or physically
impaired and possibly sleeping. Other possibilities may include pets and other livestock
present. Consideration must also be given for non-English speaking persons. Therefore
these types of buildings with installed sprinklers, may be more suited to phased or protect in
place evacuation strategies.

3.5 Evacuation of Health Care Buildings – Health Care facilities are the most complex and
need to have a coordinated approach to evacuation as the occupants can have variable
characteristics. Health Care facilities have a transient population, with many visitors, public
and temporary staff. In addition, they also have occupants that are disabled, sleeping,
medicated, and non-ambulatory with some in surgery. Therefore, all staff must be trained to
assist all patrons during an evacuation of these premises.

3.6 Assembly Areas – The identification of primary and secondary assembly areas.

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4. Systems to Enhance Fire Safety
The following systems are likely to enhance the levels of life and fire safety within a building.

4.1 Stair Pressurisation – The purpose of stair pressurisation is to limit smoke migration into
the main egress route. By adopting a phased evacuation strategy, the stair pressurisation
system is less likely to be compromised as the limited number of occupants entering the
stairs should ensure that it performs as designed with the required number of doors open.

4.2 Lobby Pressurisation – The advantage of having lobby pressurisation is that it provides a
relatively safe area of refuge for occupants on the floor of fire origin. When considering the
use of stairs or use of lifts for evacuation, lobby pressurisation is an advantage where it is
designed, installed and maintained accordingly.

4.3 Lobby Extraction- Depending on the building characteristics and system configuration
proposed, lobby extraction or smoke spill systems may be considered within the design of a
safe refuge.

4.4 Sprinkler System – In buildings greater than 25 metres in effective height, the BCA requires
a sprinkler system to be installed appropriate to the relevant standard. There are many
advantages to having a sprinkler system installed; where a sprinkler system is omitted, the
likelihood of smoke and fire spread is greater. Main egress routes may experience smoke
contamination at an earlier time and evacuation may not be possible, depending on the time
of notification and occupant response. Where a sprinkler system is not installed, occupants
must understand that the risk to life could be higher. If evacuation does not occur in the
initial stages of a fire, then the fire may escalate to a point where evacuation may not be
possible.

4.5 Alarm Sequence – The designed alarm sequence in high rise commercial and residential
buildings is crucial. This sequence of alarm notification determines the method of evacuation
adopted. For example, in a phased evacuation, the alarm sounds the floor of fire origin,
one/two floors above, and one/two floors below. However, in a full building evacuation, the
evacuation alarm may sound the entire building regardless of fire location. This alarm may
be connected to the fire brigade through an approved monitoring agency, depending on the
type of occupancy. The earlier the fire brigade can attend the fire scene, the quicker the
situation is under control. If the building has fully trained wardens, control should be
achieved relatively quickly after alarm initiation. The alarm system should also consider
persons with language problems (non-English speaking persons), and people with visual and
hearing impairments. The alarm should incorporate both fire detection and occupant warning
and be designed to suit the environment and ensure false alarms are minimised.

4.6 Signage – It is important that the signage within stairs, hallways and other building elements
is simple to understand. This is due to the fact that occupants could be from non-English
speaking families or they may have a disability and therefore necessitates the installation of
illustrative and written type instructions. It is important to note that within smoke filled
enclosures, a visual aide may not be as effective.

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4.7 Public Address System & Occupant Intercommunication – Previous studies have shown
that occupants who do not have clear instructions will automatically leave the building
through the same route they entered. Therefore, the public address system, ie.
intercommunication, PA system, occupant/emergency warning system, etc, should function
in accordance with the intended evacuation strategy. This in effect relies on an alarm system,
but also on the occupants that are provided with the information during an incident. An
appropriate system should be designed to ensure reliability and function to the particular
building requirements. Further, intercommunication where a warden type system exists is an
advantage to ensure clear direction is given to occupants from those trained to do so.

4.8 Emergency Power – A full emergency power supply should be available to the lifts and
essential services systems such as emergency lighting and an occupant warning system to
assist with building evacuation. Where lifts are incorporated into an evacuation strategy an
appropriate emergency power supply should be provided in accordance with MFB Guideline
GL-07.

4.9 Refuge Options – All buildings that intend to use the phased evacuation strategy should
have protected refuge areas. These should be compartments of fire and smoke resistive
construction, stairways large enough to accommodate wheelchair access without obstructing
people, means of communication with building occupant warning system and fire brigade
communications. In “super tall” high rise buildings, these refuge areas could consist of an
entire floor for every 20-50 levels.

4.10 Adequate Exits – In high rise developments it is expected there will be a large amount of
occupants; therefore, a sufficient number of exits must be available to accommodate this.
Reliable means of re-entry should be made available under normal and emergency
conditions. Discharge of exit stairs may be to outside or into a tenable area of the building.
Where lifts are to be used for evacuation, the MFB Guideline GL-07 (Single fire stairs and
lifts in high-rise buildings) should be considered.

4.11 Smoke Control Issues – Buildings over the height of 25 metres in effective height,
regardless of the intended use, must consider smoke control issues and smoke hazard
management. Smoke can be controlled in many ways, and it is essential that the exit routes
and safe refuge areas are smoke free, to enable occupants to evacuate without hindrance
that may cause delay or possible injury.

4.12 Maintenance of Systems in Buildings – Adequate maintenance of all matters listed under
essential services of the Building Act (1993) and the Building Regulations (1994) in
accordance with the relevant Australian Standards. Also, items deemed necessary for the
function and control of the life safety systems but not listed within Part 11 of the Building
Regulations, such as the training and evacuation procedures of occupants, should be
included. Ongoing maintenance to be ensured for the life of the building, and enforced via
the building’s Occupancy Permit (OP).

4.13 Compartmentation – Consideration should be made to incorporate door smoke/fire seals

and automatic closers to all doors opening into lobby or main evacuation route to stairs.
Sufficient fire resistive construction to compartments where deemed necessary.

4.14 House Keeping - Maintain relatively sterile main evacuation routes, lobbies, corridors, stairs
and safe refuge areas. Separation of combustible fuel loads from ignition sources where
practical.

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5. Evacuation Procedures and Awareness
The following considerations should be given to evacuation procedures and awareness in a fire
emergency.

5.1 Fire Safety Training – It is important that all occupants understand the building safety
systems and are trained appropriately for emergencies. For commercial buildings this may
include induction programs and update training and communication to occupants. Where
training may not be practical in residential type buildings then signage, brochures,
information videos all with a simple effective strategy for evacuation should be adopted.

5.2 Priority of Safety – In the event of an emergency, a building that utilises a phased
evacuation strategy should also consider the sequence of evacuation. Occupants may
initially be asked to evacuate horizontally into another fire safe compartment. If this is not
available, they may proceed to an enclosed stairway to evacuate the building vertically or to
another safe refuge area.

5.3 Full Building Evacuation – A full building evacuation will take time relative to the number of
occupants, height of the building; especially high rise and the number of exits available.
Therefore a building with a relatively small floor space and that is less than 25 metres in
effective height, a full building evacuation strategy should be considered.

5.4 Authority – It is important to establish a person to be Chief Warden, who is trained

appropriately with an AS 2220 EWIS warden structure in commercial buildings. This person
can make an educated judgement on whether or not occupants may evacuate the building,
until the fire brigade arrives on scene. In residential buildings this may not be practical;
therefore occupants may need to rely on fire brigade personnel to give clear instructions.
Before fire brigade arrival, an automatic warning system should provide occupants with
suitable instructions. For further assistance refer AS 3745 Warden Structure.

5.5 Documentation - Information relative to fire safety systems in the building are
communicated back to the occupants and fire brigade, using suitable signage, such as
tactical fire plans and evacuation plans. Education and ongoing training of all occupants and
users of the building should be conducted on a regular basis.

6. Fire Service Requirements

The following represent some fundamental fire service requirements to assist with decision made
by fire service personnel in an evacuation strategy with consideration of their standard operational
procedures.

6.1 Fire Safety Installations – Access around the building, water supply reliability and
availability, building fire safety systems, i.e. fire resistance levels, smoke control for visibility
and tenability, etc. The fire service personnel should also be considered as building
occupants to ensure Fire Brigade intervention, including search and rescue to be facilitated
within the building design.

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6.2 Fire Brigade Intervention – When the Fire Service arrives on scene, the Officer in Charge
(OIC) may give instructions to occupants. For example, if the building has two stairs, the
OIC may instruct occupants to evacuate using stair ‘A’, so firefighters can perform their
duties using stair ‘B’. An appropriate system of reliable communications should be available
for announcement of instructions to building occupants and Fire Service personnel. In
addition clear identification of all stairs.

6.3 Fire Service Communications - Communication within concrete buildings in the past have
cause concerns with fire service radios due to lack of transmission and interference.
Therefore in high rise structures, a reliable means of intercommunication is provided where
the building communication system does not provide this function, such as emergency
telephone and/or fire service telephones. Consideration may also be given to the installation
of infrastructure to support the emergency services digital radio network.

6.4 Fire Service Turnout Details – In order to determine the evacuation strategy, a key
consideration is the fire service turnout details. These can be used to conduct a Fire Brigade
Intervention Model to predict when the fire service is estimated to arrive on site to assist with
evacuation, search and rescue and deal with the fire situation by application of a suitable
suppression medium.

6.5 Entry into the Building – Where an Emergency Lift is provided it shall be in accordance
with AS 1735.2 and lift key are to be available to the Fire Service. Any security access in the
building, including re-entry provisions into stairs should be provided for the fire service.

6.6 Dangerous Goods Issues – High rise commercial and residential buildings are expected to
have low dangerous goods issues; where this is not the case, then advice should be sought
from the Dangerous Goods Department of the MFB.

7. Protect in Place Strategy

The ‘protect in place’ strategy is dependent on the time of alarm and notification to occupants for
example, a preferred evacuation strategy may be as follows.

7.1 If occupants receive early and reliable notification a tactic might be able to fully evacuate the
entire building.

7.2 If occupants receive a late alarm, or no alarm, they might be safer to remain in place and
initiate self-protection strategies against fire hazards.

7.3 If the fire is at remote sections of the building, the sections unaffected may be safer to remain
in place until further instructions.

7.4 If evacuation and main egress routes are smoke filled then occupants must return to a
relatively safe fire and smoke separated area to await further instructions.

7.5 When safe to do so, or as instructed by attending fire service personnel, evacuation of the
building may still occur.

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8. Conclusion
As all performance based buildings are no longer typical standard designs. Consideration must be
given by Designers to ensure all recommendations and installations are specific to the type of
building and occupant characteristics. All building users may play a part by self-education and
determining specific safety systems available in their building and what the safety procedures are
for evacuation. Therefore safety system information should be passed on to communicate with all
building users, managers and local fire service personnel.

Further Reference

AS3745 Emergency control organisations and procedures for buildings

AS4083 Planning for emergencies-health care facilities
AS1428.1 General requirements for access (persons with disabilities)

It should be noted that a supporting decision made for one building does not automatically
infer that the same decision will be made for another. Each building shall be reviewed on
its own merits, with all justification documented.

Note: This is a controlled document and may only be modified by authorised personnel after
review by the MFESB Community Safety Advisory Group

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