A Fire Safety Adviser (FSA) is required to be appointed and trained for high occupancy buildings as defined under the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008.

High occupancy buildings include:

• Class 2, 3, 5, 6, 7b, 8, 9a or 9b buildings that are workplaces where 30 or more workers are normally employed.
• Class 2 or 3 buildings that are more than 25 metres in height.
• Licensed premises that have been identified by the Commissioner as at risk of overcrowding.

Who is responsible for appointing a Fire Safety Adviser?

It is the occupier’s responsibility to appoint and train a FSA for buildings that are classified as high occupancy.

What is a Fire Safety Adviser?

An FSA is person who holds a building fire safety qualification for an approved building fire safety course, issued within the last 3 years

If I have a Fire Safety Adviser do I still need Building Wardens?

An FSA is one who has been trained in fire safety and workplace emergency response.

Having a FSA does not mean that building fire wardens are no longer required.  A FSA is not necessarily building-specific and so may not be present in the building if a fire occurs.  However, building fire wardens are building-specific.  Occupiers still need to appoint and instruct a staff member to be responsible for evacuation coordination of a building (Chief Warden) as well as those responsible for carrying out the evacuation procedures in a building (building wardens).

What is the timeframe for appointment of a Fire Safety Adviser?

Under the transitional provisions contained in the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008, existing high occupancies have until 1 July 2009 to appoint and train FSAs. However, where new high occupancies are established before 1 July 2009, an FSA must be appointed and trained within one month of occupation of the building. If a FSA ceases to act as the FSA, or the FSA’s building fire safety qualification is no longer current, the occupier must appoint a person to be the FSA within one month of the change.