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Fire safety

Last updated November 2022

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; and
    • implementing control measures to manage the risks posed by the hazards;
  • 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.

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