Use this space to note any additional information about your escape plan, i.e. who will assist
Smoke is poisonous and more deadly than flames.
If you breathe smoke for more than a few breaths it can kill you.
A house fire can kill you in less than three minutes.
Don't spend time trying to save possessions.
A closed door buys you time.
It slows down the spread of fire, giving you more time to get to safety.
People have died by going back into a fire.
Don't leave the meeting place to go back inside for any reason.
Having an approved evacuation scheme provides your building with protection for tenants and the building itself, is a competitive display of investment in fire safety and allows for the safe, prompt, and efficient evacuation of a building.
There are two types of evacuation documents a building may need, which depends on whether your building is classified as a
1. Buildings where 100 or more people can gather together.
2. Buildings where 10 or more people work.
3. Buildings where six or more people sleep, unless there are three or fewer households.
4. Buildings storing certain levels of hazardous substances.
5. Buildings used for early childhood, medical, and disabled care services, unless the building is a normal home.
6. Prisons and holding cells.
For a complete list and full details of buildings that are ‘relevant buildings’ refer to section 75 of the Act.
Most buildings used by the public must have an
Most buildings used by the public must have an evacuation procedure in place. If a building is a relevant building then the building owner must also provide and maintain an approved evacuation scheme.
Evacuation procedures for buildings that are not relevant buildings under section 75 of the Act don’t need Fire and Emergency approval. The requirements for evacuation procedures are set out in part 1 of the Regulations.
Buildings classified as a relevant building must also provide and maintain an approved
An evacuation scheme needs to include:
• the building’s evacuation procedure
• copies of fire action signs and notices
• description of the building’s firefighting equipment (if applicable)
• details of the places of safety, where they are located, and how they are reached
• description of the building’s automatic sprinkler systems (if applicable)
• description of the building’s fire alarm/means of warning occupants of a fire
• description of the building’s provision for people requiring particular assistance
• a plan for the regular maintenance of the evacuation scheme by either trial evacuations or training
During the application process you will be asked questions about your building and the evacuation process planned for the building, which is then reviewed by Fire and Emergency NZ. You will be contacted if any changes to the application are required. You will also receive notification when your application is approved.
Check you have the following before starting your application:
RealMe login
Copy of your proposed evacuation scheme (supplied to the occupants)*
Fire sprinkler system certification of compliance
Fire action sign/notice*
Evacuation training programme
Site plan and floor plan showing means of escape.
What you need to know when applying
Evacuation scheme applications are assessed by Fire and Emergency based on compliance with regulations, suitability with the procedures proposed and to ensure the scheme is fit for purpose in the event of a fire.
Assessments are completed within 20 working days, and once approved you'll receive an email and guidance on maintaining your approved evacuation scheme.
If the assessment has anything missing, you will receive an email advising that your application is incomplete or not approved with your assessment letter attached. The assessment letter will reference which questions have missing information or require clarification and provides guidance to help you complete the application.
If you've submitted your evacuation scheme application and then realised your building does not require one while your application is still in progress, you can log in to withdraw your application. Please note, withdrawing the application will delete this from your profile.
Fire and Emergency may ask to visit your building if it's new, you have a place of safety located inside the building or to confirm the proposed procedure listed in the application for the scheme will function in a manner to enable a safe prompt and efficient evacuation of the building. During this visit we may discuss other fire safety topics.
You will be notified by email and/or phone call if a building visit is required, and this will be arranged by agreement with Fire and Emergency.
Once you have an approved evacuation scheme, you must ensure everything described in the scheme is maintained.
This includes carrying out a trial evacuation or training programme on the date provided in your evacuation scheme depending on your answers to Questions 4.4 and 4.8. The type and frequency of maintenance will have been selected in section 4 of your evacuation scheme application.
To keep your scheme current, you must notify Fire and Emergency each time a maintenance action is completed. The easiest way to do this is to login and report your trial evacuation or training programme maintenance.
Reminder emails are sent ahead of time for these activities if you have applied online, otherwise you will need to keep track of trial evacuation and training programmes due dates manually.
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Quick Reference Guide Maintain your approved evacuation scheme. [PDF, 1.3 MB] This guide steps through the requirements to keep your approved scheme current and maintained: |
(Indicated by your answer to question 4.4 in your evacuation scheme)
If you applied online, you will be sent an email reminder that you're required to run a trial evacuation ten days before your next trial evacuation is due.
Undertake a trial evacuation on or before the due date
To avoid fire appliances being dispatched to your trial evacuation in error, please advise us of your trial evacuation 15 minutes beforehand by phoning our communications centre:
Northern Communications – 09 486 7948Complete an online trial evacuation report within 10 working days after your trial evacuation.
You can also submit an evacuation report for any unplanned evacuation of your building; including an evacuation in response to a false alarm or an actual incident. This will defer the date for your next trial evacuation as long as you submit your evacuation report within 10 working days of the evacuation taking place.
(Indicated by your answer to question 4.8 in your evacuation scheme)
If you applied online, you will be sent an email reminder that you're required to notify us of your training programme maintenance.
Undertake scheduled training as per your training programme
Complete an online notification to give us the required information about the training programme undertaken, including:
the number of people who have completed the programme in the period since the last notification
whether the training was initial or refresher training
results of their assessments
If there is a change to your building, or the purposes of which some or all of it’s used, please notify the Fire and Emergency by sending a Notification of Building Changes.
Your evacuation scheme will then be re-assessed against the building changes being made to ensure the building can be safely evacuated in case of an emergency.
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Printable form |
If the evacuation scheme is still fit for purpose it remains an approved evacuation scheme for your building which you need to maintain.
If the changes required are minor, your evacuation scheme is copied and assigned a new version number (number indicator). Login to review the changes required and submit the new version for assessment.
As part of the assessment, if any additional changes are found that haven’t highlighted in the building change notification they will be added. You may also be visited by a District Advisor if it's determined any of the changes need to be checked onsite.
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Quick reference guide |
This action is only taken after correspondence with the scheme owner if the building changes mean people would not be kept safe in the event of a fire with the current evacuation scheme, or if a building is being demolished or is no longer a relevant building.
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Quick reference guide |
If changes are significant enough, you may be required to submit an entirely new application.
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Quick reference guide Submit an online evacuation scheme application [PDF, 1.4 MB] |
Please note: these examples includes screenshots from the previous online services tool.
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Notification of Evacuation Training Programme [DOCX, 108 KB] |
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Authority to act on behalf [DOCX, 107 KB] When seeking information on a building, you must attach this form. |
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Notification that an evacuation scheme is not required [DOCX, 108 KB] |
