This Media Release is a warning about cigarette and lithium battery fires for apartment buildings and has been provided by Strata Community Association (WA).
An average of 10 fires break out in West Australian apartment buildings every year and strata communities must be vigilant to help prevent them, WA’s peak strata body warns.
With discarded cigarettes a leading cause of fires in WA multi-storey residential buildings, SCA (WA) President Catherine Lezer urged people to be aware of the dangers they posed and to dispose of butts properly.
As overheating lithium batteries become a new fire concern, Ms Lezer said residents should be careful and not charge them inside apartments or near flammable materials.
She said apartment communities should heed the online information and advice available from the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
Strata communities could help prevent fires by making sure they attend to general maintenance and servicing matters and by ensuring fire safety equipment was working and checked regularly, she said.
“Fires in apartment buildings can be deadly as we’ve seen in overseas disasters such as the Grenfell Towers tragedy in the UK in 2017,” Ms Lezer said.
“It’s vital apartment communities do all they can to prevent fires in the first case – and also know what to do if there is a fire.”
Basic fire measures were found to be missing or inadequate in Grenfell Tower. Fire, fuelled by the building’s cladding, quickly engulfed the 24 storey West London property, killing 72 people.
Ms Lezer said good housekeeping by managers and occupants in WA apartment complexes could help reduce the risks of a fire starting or taking hold.
Fire safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, sprinklers and smoke alarms should be maintained in good working order and fire doors needed to be clear of any obstructions.
Buildings should also have an evacuation plan – and residents should be familiar with it.
“Talk to family members and neighbours about what you would do in a fire,” Ms Lezer said. “And practice it.
“For those of us who live in vertical communities, it could save lives.”
Strata Community Association (WA)
This post appears in Strata News #588.
Have a question about cigarette, lithium battery fire warning for apartment buildings or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Read Next:
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- WA: Refurbishment Works – Consider the Impact on Fire Safety
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Hi, I live in NSW and I cant find any information instructions on Lithium Ion Batteries storage and containment in apartments buildings. Is the tenant / resident responsible on common property if this happens who pays? FRNSW says its an accident so the cost to repair is born by the Strata. Strata Management do not have any by laws or notices on this. Although it looks like the resident will pay although it maybe no ones fault that it started. Insurance companies do not have any articles on this question either.
Hi louise
Thanks for this question. We did touch on the insurance aspect in a recent webinar with Tyrone Shandiman from Strata Insurance Solutions:
How is insurance impacted by Electric Vehicles in an underground car park?
Also, this is a WA article. Here is a list of articles referring to EV charges in NSW strata buildings.
We hope that helps.
I quote “ As overheating lithium batteries become a new fire concern, Ms Lezer said residents should be careful and not charge them inside apartments or near flammable materials” perhaps Ms Lezer would like to provide advice on where residents should charge their multiple mobil devices, if not inside their lots. How does she suggest residents charge their mobile devises outside their lot in a safe and secure environment, safe from theft and other interference.