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Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017

Emergencies, fire control, industry brigades, water supply, and evacuation schemes - Evacuation schemes

76: Owner must provide and maintain evacuation scheme for relevant building

You could also call this:

"Building owners must have a fire escape plan to keep people safe"

Illustration for Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017

You own a building that needs an evacuation scheme. You must provide a scheme to help people escape safely in case of a fire. You can find out more about getting your scheme approved under section 77. You must maintain the evacuation scheme once it is approved. However, you do not need a scheme if your building has a special sprinkler system and is used for certain purposes, like those mentioned in section 75(1)‎(a)‎(ii) and (iii). You must tell Fire and Emergency New Zealand in writing if your building does not need a scheme. If you do not follow the rules, you can get in trouble. You might have to pay a fine or go to prison if you break the rules on purpose. An automatic sprinkler system is a special system that helps put out fires, and an evacuation scheme is a plan to help people escape safely.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6678644.

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Part 2Emergencies, fire control, industry brigades, water supply, and evacuation schemes
Evacuation schemes

76Owner must provide and maintain evacuation scheme for relevant building

  1. The owner of a relevant building must provide an evacuation scheme that is designed to enable evacuation from the scene of a fire or an alarm of fire safely to a place of safety within a reasonable time.

  2. The owner of a relevant building must maintain an evacuation scheme that has been approved by FENZ under section 77.

  3. However, the owner of a relevant building is not required to provide or maintain an evacuation scheme for the building if—

  4. the building is used only for either or both of the purposes specified in section 75(1)(a)(ii) and (iii); and
    1. the building has an automatic sprinkler system; and
      1. the owner of the relevant building notifies FENZ, in writing and in the prescribed form (if any), that the building does not require an evacuation scheme.

        1. A person who knowingly contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction,—

        2. in the case of an individual, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding $75,000, or both:
          1. in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $150,000.

            1. In this section,—

              automatic sprinkler system means an automatic sprinkler system that satisfies the minimum standard required by regulations made under section 192(1)(c)

                evacuation scheme means an evacuation scheme that complies with regulations made under section 192(1)(b).

                Compare
                Notes
                • Section 76(3)(a): replaced, on , by section 49 of the Statutes Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 75).