Emergency Intercom System ("EIS")

An Emergency Intercom System (EIS) and historically referred to as a Warden Intercommunication System (WIS), is a dedicated, two-way local voice communication network engineered to facilitate the orderly evacuation and tactical management of building occupants of a building or structure1 during a fire or other life-safety emergency.2 The network establishes a point-to-point transmission pathway between the Emergency Intercom Control and Indicating Equipment (EICIE) and distributed Warden Intercom Points (WIP) throughout a facility.

An Emergency Intercom System may be integrated and also form part of the Emergency Warning System. In this case the combined system is refered to as an Emergency Warning and Intercom System (EWIS).

The National Construction Code NCC explicitly recognises AS 1670.4 as the primary referenced document for the design, installation, and commissioning of emergency warning and intercom systems. Under Clause C3D14(6)(g), "Emergency warning and intercom systems" are explicitly categorised as emergency equipment3.

• 1

  Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), National Construction Code (NCC) 2022, Functional Statement E4F1, p. 261.

• 2

  Standards Australia. AS 1670.4: Fire detection, warning, control and intercom systems—System design, installation and commissioning—Part 4: Sound systems and intercom systems for emergency purposes.

• 3

  Any electrical switchboard within the building that sustains the electricity supply to this emergency equipment must be constructed so that the emergency equipment switchgear is separated from non-emergency equipment switchgear by metal partitions to minimise the spread of a fault.