Evacuation systems re paramount to helping protect the safety and lives of people.

An Emergency Warning and Intercommunication System (EWIS) – as the name suggests – contains two major components:

• The Emergency Warning System component (EWS) is used to evacuate occupants in the event of an emergency, such as a fire or bomb threat. Alert and evacuation tones, coupled with systematic voice-over commands using the emergency public address facility, will ensure that all occupants are aware and informed. These emergency fire evacuation systems implement visual alarms, as well as a speaker system in areas with high noise levels.
• The Emergency Intercommunication System component (EIS) provides a dedicated emergency communication system between zones of a building so that Fire Wardens can communicate with each other to confirm the complete evacuation of a building.

In most circumstances, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) requires that evacuation system installations in Queensland, including the EWIS, must comply with Australian Standards. These Standard detail the requirements of equipment design and manufacture, with a focus on operation, colour, layout and electrical characteristics. The Standards also provide details on the installation and commissioning of equipment and the integrity required for the cabling systems.

The QFE team have an in-depth knowledge of BCA requirements and can advise you of the types of evacuation system installation in Queensland that are mandatory for your particular building. An EWIS must be installed under a number of circumstances. Some of the main circumstances include buildings with an effective height of more than 25 metres, buildings of 3 or more stories that are used as the residential part of a school, and accommodation for the aged, children or people with disabilities. The BCA requirement for the installation of an EWIS system also includes schools with 4 or more stories and any building that is used as a theatre, public hall, or gathering place where it has 3 or more stories or the floor area is more than 1000m2.