You’re unplugging your MacBook, latte in one hand, trying not to trip over someone else’s bag when the emergency tones sound.
Where’s the nearest exit?
You don’t know. Because the only evacuation diagram is hidden behind a whiteboard covered in OKRs and half-erased doodles.
Desks move. Tenants rotate. The coffee machine is sacred. But somehow, evacuation diagrams are treated like an afterthought, wall clutter, paper noise, something to “deal with later.”
That’s how people get hurt.
Evacuation Diagrams Aren’t Optional
In Queensland, evacuation diagrams are legally required under the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (BFSR 2008).
They’re not for aesthetics.
They’re not for show.
They’re not “nice to have.”
They’re compliance. And more importantly, they’re life-saving tools.
Under BFSR 2008, if your building is used for work or public access, you need:
-
A written Fire and Evacuation Plan
-
Diagrams that are:
-
Clearly displayed
-
Location-specific
-
Up-to-date
-
Visible and unobstructed
-
Easy to understand for anyone on site
-
Miss the mark, and it’s not just a compliance failure; it’s a liability. If someone gets hurt, it’s on your organisation.
Hot Desks Kill Static Signage
Coworking spaces are built for flexibility.
Desks on wheels. Sliding walls. Pop-up podcast booths.
What was a hallway yesterday is now a nap pod.
That fluidity is great for creativity. Terrible for fixed evacuation signage.
In a traditional office, people know the layout. In coworking, most don’t even know where the kitchen is yet.
Your evacuation diagrams have to do the work.
They need to be strategically located, and they need to make sense to someone who’s never seen the floor plan before and might be seconds from smoke inhalation.
Fire Doesn’t Care About Your Aesthetic
Too often, diagrams get shoved behind furniture, stuck in corners, or taken down because they “clash with the vibe.”
Newsflash: BFSR 2008 doesn’t care about your brand palette.
This isn’t about appearances.
It’s about getting people out, fast.
If you’re blocking, hiding, or forgetting to update diagrams, you’re not doing your job legally or ethically.
Placement Is Strategy
According to BFSR 2008, evacuation diagrams must be placed:
-
In common areas
-
On exit routes
-
Near exits
-
Clearly visible at all times
That’s not always simple in shared spaces with beanbags, kombucha taps, or six whiteboards on wheels. So you need to get creative.
Try this:
-
On the back of every hot desk number
-
As vinyl decals on the floor
-
Inside meeting room doors
-
On wayfinding signage
-
Linked via QR codes to digital versions (but remember: Wi-Fi might fail in an emergency)
Pro tip: Never rely on digital alone. Physical copies need to be present, clear, and fast to read—because emergencies don’t wait for loading screens.
Orientation Isn’t a Detail. It’s Life or Death.
The diagram must be aligned to the viewer’s perspective. If “up” on the map means “left” in real life, people will freeze or worse, run toward the fire.
This happens more than you think.
Operators reuse the same map across locations, assuming people can mentally rotate it.
They can’t. Not under stress. Not in smoke.
Bad orientation equals bad decisions. And in an emergency, that’s everything.
If the Space Has Changed, So Must the Diagram
New wall? Closed hallway? Moved exit?
Update your diagrams. Now.
Under BFSR 2008, any layout change that affects evacuation paths must trigger a diagram update. You’re also required to review and update the Fire and Evacuation Plan annually.
In coworking, the layout can change faster than your members rotate Spotify playlists.
So someone on your team needs to own this. Make updates part of your operational checklist.
No One’s Reading the Manual Mid-Evacuation
When the emergency tones sound, no one’s opening the binder with the plan.
No one’s checking the onboarding email.
No one’s scrolling your intranet for the emergency PDF.
They’re scanning walls. Looking for exits. Listening for direction.
In that moment, the diagram either helps or it’s useless.
If it’s visible, clear, and accurate, it guides them.
If it’s outdated, obscured, or missing, you’ve failed.
Not just in compliance. In responsibility.
Build Safety Into the Culture
Here’s the real shift:
Stop treating evacuation signage as a tick-box.
Start treating it as part of your community’s safety culture.
You want to foster collaboration, innovation, and belonging? Great.
But none of that matters if people can’t get out when it counts.
So integrate evacuation awareness:
-
Mention diagrams in walkthroughs and onboarding
-
Include exit info in event briefings
-
Run an occasional “spot the nearest exit” exercise with teams
Make it normal. Make it part of how your space operates.
The more embedded it is, the less people panic when it matters.
Because When It’s Go Time…
…no one’s thinking about their charger, their Slack channel, or your brand wall.
They’re thinking one thing:
How do I get out of here?
Make sure that the answer is on the wall.
In the right spot.
Facing the right way.
Every single time.