I live in a 7-story residential apartment. For exercise, I use the staircase regularly to come and go. The staircase is also the emergency exit route in a fire.
Our body corporate has advised that the external doors will be alarmed and they will issue fines if the doors are opened. Is this legal?
Our annual fire door inspection resulted in a $4500 quote to have fire door stops fitted to four fire doors in the garage. The fire doors lead to our complex’s stairwells. The inspection company have never mentioned fire door stops in previous audits. Are these a legal requirement, and why have they not previously been required?
Our scheme of seven lots was built in 2001 and a Certificate of Occupancy - Form 11 was issued. The certificate covered two three-level buildings. Neither had fire extinguishers in the common entry. I believe these are now required.
If the buildings were certified for occupation without extinguishers in common entries, do we need to conform with current regulations?
Community title schemes that consist of only class 1A buildings are excluded from having formal fire evacuation procedures. This places the responsibility on the individual lot owners.
If a body corporate committee for an estate consisting of only class 1A housing puts in place its own procedures or purchases fire fighting equipment when they are not required by law, can this create a potential litigation risk to the body corporate in the event someone is hurt or killed following these procedures or using equipment?
We live in a 10-story, 20-year-old complex in Qld with 60 units. Our units' exhaust vents are ducted to the main risers. In the event of a fire, a fire damper closes at the junction with the riser to prevent fire from spreading into the riser or into an apartment.
We've been told that 20% of units must be inspected each year for the next five years to confirm the dampers work. If more than 10% of the sample is deficient, all dampers must be checked in the next 12 months.
We have never been inspected for this previously. Is this a new QLD law?
As per AS1851, our fire panel and diesel pump room batteries need replacing every 2 years. Can our body corporate purchase the replacement batteries through a certified supplier for our contracted fire services company to install? There will be considerable cost savings if we purchase the batteries.
Our strata scheme is a building format plan under the accommodation module.
For fire doors located in a boundary wall between a lot and common property, is painting the inside of the fire door and the fire door frame an owner's responsibility?
If the body corporate paints the inside and outside of the fire door, can an owner repaint the inside of the door with a colour of their choice?
A notice was sent to all owners and residents one month in advance for a scheduled fire door inspection. One lot was non-compliant because the technician was unable to access the unit after multiple attempts on the allocated day and time. The body corporate has since contacted the owner to reschedule the inspection—at their own cost, as stated in the original notice—but the owner has not followed through.