Question: How can I determine what fire measures are needed for our small building as per the NSW fire regulations?
I am the strata treasurer. We are undergoing a fire safety inspection in Newcastle NSW on a 2 level complex with 6 units. We have a car park underneath plus 2 units and 4 units directly above.
How can I determine what fire measures are needed for our small building as per the NSW fire regulations?
We have fire shutters that a new fire group have said are faulty and we have had secondary advice from a fire shutter contractor who stated that it would cost $2K just to do an inspection not including any additional costs for any repairs. We are seeking 2 other quotes from other contractors.
I can’t find any information on the NSW planning website regarding what is required for our type of strata building.
Do you have any suggestions or possibly a checklist?
Answer: The closest thing to a list is the schedule of Essential Fire Safety Measures contained within the building’s Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS).
There is no checklist for each property type. The “list” is set by the Building code of Australia at the time of construction and put in place by the certifier, so most buildings are different.
The closest thing to a list is the schedule of Essential Fire Safety Measures contained within the building’s Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS).
If the AFSS says you need fire shutters, then you must maintain them on your building. If it doesn’t list them, the answer may be different.
Fire Shutters are often proprietary equipment tested for the application. Most often you have to go back to the manufacturer or design documentation to determine their performance requirements.
Aside from the inspection itself, the research & therefore PI risk in deciding to endorse (sign-off) performance annually can be extensive.
Suggest asking the fire contractor for evidence outlining why the shutters are faulty plus how and what they used as guidelines to assess performance. If they provide this, their opinion should likely be relied upon.
If the contractor cannot provide the workings of how they made the performance assessment, then the owners would be best engaging an alternate contractor – preferably the manufacturer or specialist in those specific shutters.
This post appears in the July 2021 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Rob Broadhead 2020 Fire Protection E: rob.broadhead@2020fire.com.au P: 1300 340 210