HS104 Fire evacuation scheme

Licensing criterion and guidance for HS104 fire evacuation scheme.

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Criterion HS104

The premises are located in a building that has a current fire evacuation scheme approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Documentation required

A current fire evacuation scheme approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Guidance

How to show you are complying

You need a fire evacuation scheme approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ). This is a plan that will allow for adults and children in the centre to evacuate in a reasonable time in the event of a fire, or a fire alarm going off.

If the service is in a building with other tenants, the FENZ-approved fire evacuation scheme applies to the whole building and its tenants. The building owner is responsible for this scheme.

To maintain a fire evacuation scheme, you must carry out a trial evacuation or evacuation training programme at least every 6 months. You must report the results to FENZ within 10 working days.

You must also notify FENZ, in writing, if certain events occur. For example, if there is a change in your fire detection systems.

You may also need to amend your evacuation scheme and get FENZ approval if your building’s layout changes.

When assessing whether you comply with HS104

Questions we are likely to ask

  • How do you remember to notify FENZ within 10 working days of your fire evacuation drills?

  • Since your fire evacuation plan was approved, has anything changed in the building’s layout or how the building is used?

We are likely to look at, measure or count

  • Look at the date of your last notification to FENZ.

  • Count how many months have passed since that date.

We are likely to request

We might ask for a copy of your FENZ-approved fire evacuation scheme, and evidence that you have maintained it.

The tools below are here to support you. You do not have to use them. You can use other tools or methods that work better for your service.

Applying for a licence

You must have a FENZ-approved evacuation scheme before we can grant you a probationary licence. In most cases, FENZ has up to 20 working days to approve an application. We recommend you give FENZ at least 30 working days to approve your scheme before submitting a licence application.

FENZ information

Evacuation Schemes and procedures – Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Apply for or manage your evacuation scheme – Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Maintain your scheme (trial evacuations and training programmes) – Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Evacuating from above ground level

It may be more difficult to evacuate children from services that are not at ground level. A specific guidance tool is available for services based in high rise buildings.

Guidance for service providers, evacuation plans for ECE services in high rise buildings [PDF, 271KB]

By maintaining a FENZ-approved fire evacuation scheme, service providers should be well placed to keep children and adults safe in the event of a fire.