Compliance Consultants

A building can be rebuilt - human life cannot. That is why our fire design services include the invaluable Trial Evacuation report.

Here at Compliance Consultants, we are deeply knowledgeable of the NZ Building Act. It is crucial to us that your building passes its compliance inspections, but it is far more important that, in the unlikely but very possible event of an emergency, your staff and any other occupants of your building are trained in safe evacuation procedures.

Growing up, we all had to do fire drills in school, be it primary, intermediate, or high school (trials should be run at every level). We also all should have been instructed on how to proceed in the event of a tornado, earthquake, tsunamis and other disasters, natural or otherwise.

As adults, most of us, at one place of work or another, have gone through trial evacuation procedures to practice evacuating with regard to the layout of a particular building, for while all competent adults are familiar with the concept of evacuating, carrying out the task efficiently, unrehearsed and amidst the panic of a hazardous situation, can be difficult and hazardous in itself.

During the tumultuous time period that spanned from the beginning of our first lockdown to the end of the second, trial evacuations did not occur because of the physical distancing procedures in place at the time. As of February 2021, however, these restrictions with regard to running trials are completely lifted and so now, as before, we can safely rehearse what we are to do in the event of an emergency.

The importance of filling out a Trial Evacuation Report

Trial Evacuation Report

The aforementioned reasons prove why not only trial evacuations but the essential reportage of them are such an important part of an institution’s practices (be it workplace, university, daycare, or anything in between). These reports detail any complications that arose from the trial evacuation so that they may be effectively and safely addressed and dealt with. Some factors that these reports take into account are:

  • Any injuries that were received during the trial evacuation, either as a result of the evacuation itself or because of extenuating circumstances
  • Whether the alarm (or other warning system) was heard clearly from every area of the building by every occupant, or not
  • The state of the building’s exit ways - were they clear or obstructed at the time of the trial evacuation?
  • Whether any “FIRE ACTION NOTICES” were in place at strategic points around the building
  • Whether anyone in your building was unable to evacuate, and what systems (if any) were in place to effectively and safely assist them
  • Whether either every occupant was accounted for OR the building was officially declared clear in accordance with your evacuation plan currently in place

For more detailed info on evacuation procedures with particular regard to fire emergencies, please visit the New Zealand Government’s fire & emergency website.

Trial Evacuations

Where human life is concerned, no effort is too great if made to preserve it. That is why, to correctly carry out all the Trial Evacuation Report processes, we must diligently follow all steps to the letter - doing otherwise may have dire consequences for all involved. It is not enough to carry out a trial evacuation, fill in the report, and file it away to be eternally forgotten. There is a certain protocol that all buildings should adhere to, if they want to make the most of these trials and their accompanying reporting.

When you applied for an evacuation scheme, you most likely will have specified a date on which to hold a trial evacuation. It is imperative that you conduct your trial on or before the due date, and complete and submit an online report within ten days of the completion of the trial. If there are any issues raised in the report, you can check the box requesting that you would like to speak with an official from Fire & Emergency services regarding your trial evacuation, and someone will be in touch to organize a meeting where you can discuss and come up with solutions to these issues.

Evacuation Schemes

Compliance Consultants

What is an evacuation scheme, you may be asking? The New Zealand Fire & Emergency website outlines it as any plan/scheme/written sequence of actions that defines and includes the following:

  • Your building’s evacuation procedures (who will go where, from where, and how they will achieve this)
  • Copies of fire actions, notices and signs
  • Descriptions (if applicable) of any firefighting equipment in the building
  • Details of designated places of safety, their exact location and the best way to go about reaching them
  • Descriptions (if applicable) of your building’s built-in sprinkler system
  • The building’s fire alarm system (or other method of warning)
  • Details of how your building gives assistance to those who may need it in an emergency
  • Plans for the maintenance of the evacuation scheme (by means such as the aforementioned Trial Evacuation report)

Advantages of trial evacuation reportage

Can you put a price on safety? The ultimate advantage of carrying out regular, compliant trial evacuations and reporting on said evacuations is that the occupants of your building are kept safe from harm. However, the benefits do not end there!

Failure to have in place appropriate emergency procedures will spell trouble for your business, not only in the event of serious injury or death, but even if no one is harmed and during an inspection or audit your emergency procedures are found to be, as the saying goes, “not up to scratch”.

The legal ramifications of this are serious and too numerous to note here - let it suffice to say that the blow you will suffer will be hard to recover from.

Contact us

To prevent these disastrous consequences, have a chat to us about Trial Evacuation Reports today! Get in touch at 0800 325 435 or email us at enquiries@compliance.co.nz and let us know if you have any questions, or want to book a consultation today.