This article discusses whether residents can access garage during power outage by using a fire door and what steps to take if the strata manager refuses to unlock it.
Question: What can we do if the manager refuses to unlock a fire stair door during a prolonged power outage so we can access our cars?
I own an apartment in western Sydney. The only access to the garage is via the lift, the electric roller door, or a fire stair located on the outside of the building next to the driveway entry. The fire stair is just one flight of stairs, separate from the main stair shaft.
In a recent power outage that lasted a few days, residents were unable to access the garage to use their cars for work or family commitments. The building/strata manager holds the key to the fire door but refused to unlock it, saying they were unsure what to do and that the door was not meant to be opened from the outside.
The garage roller door is mesh, and the surrounding fence is open bars, so it is easy to see that there was no fire or smoke in the space.
In situations like this, can the fire door be opened so residents can reach the manual override for the roller door and access their cars? What practical steps can we take when the strata manager refuses to unlock the door during a prolonged power outage?
Answer: In circumstances like this, it is acceptable to facilitate access by opening the fire door, provided it is monitored and re-secured afterwards.
It appears there is some confusion around compliance from your building/strata manager’s perspective. In circumstances like this, it is entirely acceptable to facilitate access by opening the fire door, provided it is monitored and re-secured afterwards. The main consideration is that doing so will temporarily compromise building security.
In our view, and having dealt with a very similar situation previously, the owners corporation should consider whether they wish to install a handle on this door and enable controlled access, either by issuing keys to each lot or, if you have an access control system, by installing swipe hardware to release the door as needed.
James Delany
Alliance Management Services
E: james@alliancemanagementservices.com.au
P: 02 7201 0418
This post appears in the February 2026 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Read next:
- NSW: Q&A Apartment fire door regulations – Compliance, Access
- NSW: Q&A Are we expected to pay the huge fire call out fee?
- NSW: Changes in Legislation to Annual Fire Safety Statements (AFSS)
Visit our Maintenance and Common Property OR NSW Strata Legislation.
Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.
After a free PDF of this article? Log into your existing LookUpStrata Account to download the printable file. Not a member? Simple – join for free on our Registration page.
