This article discusses whether tougher compliance and testing rules genuinely drive up expenses or are essential for protecting lives and assets under QLD strata fire safety costs considerations.
Question: Do more fire testing legislation and more licensing for Qld strata buildings just mean more costs for body corporates?
Answer: 90% of the time we don’t use any of the fire equipment installed in the building, but if you do have a fire, you wanted the equipment well maintained and working.
What we have to bear in mind is that the new legislation applies to life safety equipment. It comes down to building asset protection and also the equipment that firefighters need to do their job. There may be big cost implications and 90% of the time we don’t use any of the fire equipment installed in the building, but if you do have a fire, you wanted the equipment well maintained and working. Fire safety equipment is not a luxury item that we can do without. If you live on level 35 and a modern high rise building, and there’s a fire in the building, you want to know that the fire alarm system and all associated interconnect systems have been tested and are working.
In the past, checks could have been as easy as just ticking a few boxes and going “Yeah, it’ll be alright”. These days, fire contractors have got to put their licence number under their signature and say, “I’ve tested this”. And it’s not the company that is responsible, it’s the individuals themselves that sign a statement saying, “Yes, it’s all in working order”. I do understand the cost implications, but, the bigger the building, the higher the cost, the smaller the building, the smaller the costs.
This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Stefan Bauer Fire Matters E: sbauer@firematters.com.au P: 07 3071 9088