Fire and Emergency Services Minister Bill Byrne introduced the bill in September 2016 in response to the coroner’s report on Australia’s worst house fire. Eleven people, including eight children were killed in the 2011 house fire in Slacks Creek, south of Brisbane. At the time of the fire, two smoke alarms were fitted in the house, but neither had worked for a number of years. In his findings, Coroner James McDougall stated there was a “reasonable prospect that all or some of the victims could have escaped” had the smoke alarms been working at the time of the fire.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katrina Carroll says that working smoke alarms are critical in all homes, with research indicating they reduce the risk of death in a house fire by up to 50%. She welcomes the law’s requirement that photoelectric alarms be used. “Photoelectric smoke alarms are more effective at detecting a wider range of fires and are good at sensing smouldering fires or thick smoke,” she says.

Every home and workplace needs an evacuation plan – and if you live or work in a multi-storey building, you’ll also need to plan how occupants, including children, will escape if the usual exits are blocked. An emergency evacuation ladder provides an affordable and practical solution, transforming almost any upper-storey window into a portable fire escape. And importantly, they can be used to carry children and infants safely to the ground in the event of a fire. This makes them a potentially life-saving emergency tool – and one that every multi-storey home should have. 

All buildings must develop, implement and adopt emergency plans to ensure a safe environment for employees, residents and visitors.

When developing these plans the needs of people with disabilities must be considered. Ideally, all visitors should be able to independently evacuate from a level of a building, other than the entry level by way of an evacuation lift. However, it is acknowledged that buildings may not have been constructed to provide this level of accessibility in evacuation routes.

If an emergency strikes in a child care facility or a hospital where children are being cared for, the task of getting everyone out safely is challenging. Because babies and children all need extra assistance in an emergency situation any evacuation is going to take longer than usual – which is why having an escape plan and the right emergency equipment is vital.

In May 2011, new Federal and State legislation was introduced to improve access to buildings for people with a disability. The new access provisions do not specifically address egress or evacuation provisions for people with a disability, but there are still legal obligations that need to be met under the Federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation.

It is important for key stakeholders to understand their obligations and explore all appropriate options to ensure that people with a disability will be able to evacuate a building in an emergency.

Every home and workplace needs a smoke alarm - and it needs to be working to save lives. So how can you keep yours in good order, so that it’s ready for action?

By testing your alarm monthly and replacing the battery at least yearly, you should avoid most problems. But if you’re having issues with your smoke alarm, our troubleshooting guide is here to help.

Besides tending to the incidents that can happen on the field or track itself, they also have to make sure that those in attendance are safe. With popular sporting events often drawing crowds that number well into six figures in stadiums that are large and spread out, EMTs and paramedics often have a very challenging job.

In a stadium, arena, concert venue or theatre, getting to people in the crowd who have medical problems and then evacuating them from the venue requires lots of steps.

They're supposed to be an essential technology that helps us get where we need to go more quickly. But when something goes wrong with a lift, it can cause confusion, fear, and even danger if there is no backup solution in place. Lifts

Lifts break downs are serious issues. Even if no one gets stuck in the lift itself, when a lift isn't working it can prevent people from getting to places they want to go, which can lead to much frustration and negative feelings.

Why Lift Break Downs Cause Problems For most people a lift

For most people a lift break down is a minor inconvenience. They can exert themselves a bit more and take the stairs to get to where they need. But for those who are elderly or disabled, a lift break down can effectively strand them where they are.

With the holidays now over, and the anticipation of the school year ahead, it’s an exciting time for kids, parents and teachers alike. With every new year, there’s new challenges, and teachers have been busy planning – and this goes beyond just classes and the curriculum. Staff at all schools need to have plans in place to make sure that in the event of an emergency, everyone can get out safely.

An evacuation in a school is particularly challenging – that’s why having an emergency evacuation plan that caters for everyone – including those with mobility limitations - is essential. Here, we’ll discuss some of the unique challenges schools face in getting everyone out safely, and provide some tips to help you overcome them.

If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t thought too much about carbon monoxide. But carbon monoxide is a common cause of fatal poisoning in homes around the world – and the number of cases of poisoning is on the rise in Australia too.

In 2010, Chase and Tyler Robinson died from carbon monoxide poisoning from an unserviced gas heater in their rental property. They were only eight and six years old.

The Chase & Tyler Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organisation which was established to reduce the number of deaths and injuries throughout Australia caused by carbon monoxide. Through the efforts of the foundation to educate communities about this health hazard, Chase and Tyler’s legacy of saving Australian lives will live on.

It’s a colourless, odourless and non-irritant gas, which means you can’t tell when it’s present in the air – so you may not realise the danger until it’s too late.