Question: Once a FPAS Accredited Practitioner has completed the Annual Fire Certificate, can section 8 and 9 be signed by the chairperson / lot owner?
We are a complex of 3 townhouses with minimal fire safety requirements. We employed an FPAS Accredited Practitioner to complete the Annual Fire Certificate and the chairperson owner signed sections 8 and 9 accordingly. However, at our AGM, our Strata Manager said that we are not qualified to sign and that we need to employ a specialist Fire Engineer to check the work was done correctly and sign sections 8 and 9 accordingly.
Apart from the additional cost, it seems illogical to employ an accredited contractor and then employ someone to check their work. Is this correct?
Answer: Sections 8 and 9 are to be signed by the owners or their agent.
Here is the latest version of the Fire Safety Statament. Sections 8 and 9 are to be signed by the owners or their agent. The person can be an engineer and the owners could choose to engage someone to sign it; however, they do not need to be an engineer.
The owners need only check that the practitioner(s) listed in sections 4, 5 and 6 are actually accredited for all measures they are endorsing. You can check the public register here: FPAS Accredited Practitioner Search.
This post appears in Strata News #625.
Rob Broadhead 2020 Fire Protection E: rob.broadhead@2020fire.com.au P: 1300 340 210