Fire Safety Standards in Australia

The main documents that set the rules are:

  • National Construction Code (NCC) – building design and fire safety features

  • AS 1670.1 – Fire detection, warning, control & intercom systems

  • AS 1851 – Maintenance of fire protection systems

  • AS 1670.4 – Emergency intercom systems for buildings

Fire Doors & Curtains

 

 

 

  • Fire Doors

    • Heavy, solid doors with a fire rating (e.g. 2 hours).

    • When a fire alarm triggers, some close instantly (electro-magnetic holders release them).

    • Designed to seal off a fire compartment immediately so smoke and flames can’t spread.

Must be kept closed or self-closing – that’s why you see those "Do Not Block Fire Door" signs.

  • Fire Curtains (Smoke or Fire Curtains)

  • Flexible, roll-down barriers hidden in the ceiling.

  • When activated, they lower gradually instead of slamming shut.

  • This gives people a little time to pass through while they’re still evacuating.

  • After a short delay, they fully deploy to stop smoke/fire spreading.

  • Common in shopping centres, airports, or atriums where wide open spaces exist instead of walls.

 

Information

Placement

  • Speakers must cover all areas of the building that people occupy, including:

    • Corridors

    • Lobbies

    • Inside large rooms (meeting halls, shopping centres, auditoriums)

    • Carparks (if part of evacuation path)

  • They must be close to exits so people hear directions right before leaving.

  • Lift lobbies and stairwells also need speakers — so people moving between floors still get instructions.

  • Alarm tone/voice must be ≥10 dB above average background noise in the space.

  • Example: if a shopping centre has 65 dB background noise → evacuation tone must be ≥75 dB.

  • Minimum Levels:

    • 65 dB(A) in sleeping areas (like hotels, aged care, apartments).

    • 75 dB(A) in most other occupied areas.

    • Max 120 dB(A) anywhere (too loud can damage hearing).

 

Fire Safety in High-Rises 

Emergency Warning & Intercommunication System (EWIS)

  • Mandatory in high-rises >25m.

  • Consists of:

    • Speakers in every occupied area, stairwell, lift lobby, etc.

    • Warden Intercom Phones (WIP) on each evacuation floor, connected back to the Fire Indicator Panel (FIP).

    • Control panel in the fire control room where fire wardens or the Fire Brigade can manage evacuations.

 Staged Evacuation

High-rises don’t empty all at once (chaos + bottlenecks). Instead:

  • Fire floor + floor above + floor below → evacuate first.

  • Rest of the building stays on Alert tone until/if needed.

  • Fire wardens (or fire brigade) can then expand evacuation zone floor by floor.

  • Helps keep stairwells safe & manageable instead of overcrowded.

Alarm Tones

Australian Standard AS 1670.1 defines two main tones:

  • Alert Tone – “Beep beep beep beep” (slower pace) = get ready to act.

  • Evacuation Tone – “Whoop whoop whoop whoop” (faster, continuous) = evacuate immediately.

Some systems also include a voice message after the tones, e.g. “Attention please, evacuate the building by the nearest exit.” or "Emergency Evacuate Now"

 

 

Fire Indicator Panel (FIP) Operation

1. Normal Condition

  • Screen shows “System Normal”.

  • Detectors and devices are quietly monitored in the background.

  • Security doors are locked, fire doors held open on magnets, lifts work as normal.

2. Alarm Initiation

  • A detector (smoke/heat) or sprinkler head activates → panel goes into Alarm (Alert stage).

  • Alert tone (beep beep beep) sounds in most zones.

  • System logs which device triggered (e.g. Level 7 Lobby Smoke Detector).

  • Fire Brigade is auto-notified (via 000 connection).

 

3. Acknowledgement Window

  • There’s usually a 2–5 minute window where the system waits for a warden or Fire Brigade officer to attend the FIP.

  • In this time:

    • Alert tone continues.

    • Wardens may investigate the source of alarm.

  • If someone presses “Acknowledge” on the FIP → alert can be held while they check.

4. Escalation to Evacuation

  • If no one responds at the panel → after the set timer, system auto-switches to Evacuation mode.

  • If a second detector or sprinkler activates → system immediately jumps to full evacuation (no waiting).

 

5. Evacuation Mode

  • Evac tone (whoop whoop) plays in the affected evacuation zone(s).

  • Other zones may still stay on Alert tone (staged evacuation).

  • Speakers broadcast voice messages.

  • Emergency doors unlock, fire doors close, curtains deploy, lifts recall to ground.

6. Manual Controls

From the FIP, authorised users can:

  • Manually trigger evacuation in all zones or selected zones.

  • Silence sounders (tones) once evacuation complete.

  • Reset system once Fire Brigade declares the building safe.

  • Use the EWIS panel to talk over the PA or via Warden Intercom Phones.

 

7. Other Functions

  • Fault monitoring: shows if a detector, speaker, or circuit is damaged or disconnected.

  • Power backup: battery inside FIP to keep it running if mains fails.

  • Integration: connects to sprinklers, smoke exhaust fans, stairwell pressurisation fans, and electronic locks.