20 min read
Fire safety
Last updated September 2024
This chapter explains how to manage fire hazards and emergencies in your workplace to comply with health and safety legislation.
How to meet your fire safety obligations
To meet your obligations under health and safety legislation in relation to fire safety, you must:
- manage fire and explosion risks in your workplace by:
- identifying fire hazards in your workplace;
- conducting a risk assessment of the hazards you have identified;
- implementing control measures to manage the risks posed by the hazards; and
- reviewing your control measures;
- introduce, maintain and know how to use appropriate firefighting equipment;
- develop and maintain an effective emergency plan;
- develop and maintain effective evacuation procedures; and
- notify the regulator when a fire-related incident occurs.
Caution: In jurisdictions under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act, officers can be held personally liable for any illness or injury suffered because of poor fire safety management at the workplace. In Victoria, directors, executive officers and senior managers can be held liable.