Release 1.  This is the first release of this unit of competency in the PUA Public Safety Training Package.

This unit of competency involves the skills and knowledge required by occupants to recognise emergencies in a facility, to report emergencies and to take appropriate action during facility emergency situations. It includes preparing for emergency situations, reporting emergencies, responding to emergency warnings and advice, choosing the most appropriate course of action and evacuating from a danger area.

The unit has been developed to cover the facilities as specified in Australian Standard (AS) 3745 and AS4083. For this unit, as covered by AS3745 and AS4083, occupants are people attending a facility on a permanent or temporary basis such as an employee, contractor, student, resident but not a visitor or patient and a facility is a building, structure or workplace that is, or may be, occupied by people (occupants).

All aspects of the unit must be undertaken in accordance with legislative requirements, organisational policies and procedures and accepted safe practices. It applies to occupants who are required to be ‘emergency aware’ in their facility.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

Not applicable

Facility Emergency Response

Public Safety

ELEMENTS 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

Elements describe the essential outcomes.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.

1  

Prepare for emergency situations 

1.1 

Facility emergency procedures to be used by occupants are identified and followed

1.2 

Emergency resources in a facility are identified and located

1.3 

Emergency response exercises are participated in, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

2 

Report emergencies  

2.1 

Emergencies are identified and reported, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

2.2 

Occupants in any immediate danger from an emergency or potential emergency are alerted, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

3 

Respond to emergency warnings and advice 

3.1 

Emergency warnings and advice are responded to, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

3.2 

Instructions from emergency control organisation or attending emergency services are complied with during an emergency

4 

Choose most appropriate course of action 

4.1 

Emergencies that require evacuation are determined

4.2 

Emergencies that require occupants to shelter-in-place (no evacuation) are determined

4.3 

Shelter or refuge is assessed to determine suitability and sustainability when a shelter-in-place response is the preferred option

4.4 

Emergencies that require lockdown are determined

4.5 

Appropriate cover is assessed when lockdown is required

5 

Evacuate from danger area 

5.1 

Need to evacuate from danger area is determined and issued under facility emergency procedures

5.2 

Work area is prepared for evacuation, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

5.3 

Area of danger is evacuated, in accordance with facility emergency procedures

5.4 

Where it is safe to do so, assistance is provided to occupants who may require it

5.5 

Evacuation procedures and instructions from emergency control organisation or emergency response personnel are followed

5.6 

Alternative pathways or methods of evacuation are identified, assessed and chosen, in accordance with facility emergency procedures, if usual means of evacuation are blocked or occupants are endangered

5.7 

Communication system is used to respond to facility emergencies, in accordance with facility procedures

Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Range is restricted to essential operating conditions and any other variables essential to the work environment.

Non-essential conditions may be found in the Companion Volume Implementation Guide.

This unit replaces and is equivalent to PUAWER004B Respond to facility emergencies.

Release 1.  This is the first release of this unit of competency in the PUA Public Safety Training Package.

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all the requirements of the elements and performance criteria on at least one occasion and includes

• applying Work, Health and Safety (WHS)/Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements
• complying with legislation, industry standards, codes of practice and regulations
• evacuating from work area
• following facility emergency procedures and direction of emergency control organisation members and/or attending emergency services
• identifying and evacuating occupants who may require assistance
• identifying and reporting emergencies
• maintaining own safety and the safety of others in emergency situations
• participating in emergency response exercises including briefings, debriefings, simulations, reviews and desk top drills
• preparing for emergency situations
• responding to emergency warnings and advice
• selecting the most appropriate course of action during an emergency

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and includes knowledge of

• circumstances where evacuation may need to be modified
• emergency response exercises including participation in briefings and debriefings
• evacuation alarms and facility emergency procedures including action to take when evacuation to a location external to the building might expose evacuated occupants and/or personnel to a greater level of danger
• facility emergency documentation, policies and procedures
• facility emergency reporting systems and procedures facility emergency warning system, signals and instructions
• legislation, industry standards, codes of practice and regulations
• locations of assembly areas and post evacuation actions
• locations of emergency equipment in a facility
• roles, responsibilities and authority of emergency personnel, emergency control organisations and emergency response teams
• types of emergencies, hazards and evacuation actions associated with each one
• types of occupants who may require assistance
• where Personal Emergency Evacuations Plans (PEEPs) for occupants who have a disability are kept
• Work, Health and Safety (WHS)/Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements

As a minimum, assessors must satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, which include requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations current at the time of assessment.

As a minimum, assessment must satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, which include requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations current at the time of assessment.

Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.

Assessment must occur in workplace operational situations. Where this is not appropriate, assessment must occur in industry approved simulated workplace operational situations that reflect workplace conditions.

Resources for assessment must include access to

• a range of relevant exercises, case studies and/or simulations

• that reflect emergency situations that may occur in a facility and include shelter in place, partial evacuation and/or full evacuation

• relevant and appropriate materials, equipment, tools and personal protective clothing and equipment currently used in industry
• applicable documentation including organisational policies, facility emergency plan, facility emergency response procedures, industry standards, equipment specifications, regulations, codes of practice and operation manuals.