Fire Safety - Our Statutory Requirements

Most stratas must issue to Council an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) on their buildings annually to prove compliance with the regulations is achieved. The requirement for building owners to maintain a fire safety schedule came into effect in July 1988. Buildings built before 1 July 1988 and that have not had a change in classification, additions/alterations or fire safety orders issued since, would not have a fire safety schedule nor a requirement to issue an AFSS.

Pacific Harbour (our building) had the strata plan registered in December 1988. However, there is no record of an initial fire safety schedule, nor a requirement to issue an AFSS. Also, there is no available records of any fire safety orders, or voluntary periodic inspections for fire safety measures. It seems Pacific Harbour has slipped under the Council radar with regards to an AFSS.

The Strata Committee met with Sean Connolly, Fire Safety Engineer to discuss the status of our building and fire safety measures. The SC also asked our Strata Manager, Bright & Duggan to research our fire safety circumstances. Both have recommended that our Strata establish:

• a fire safety schedule of the essential fire safety measures (both current and proposed) in the building with specification of the minimum standard of performance for each of those measures;
• periodic (annually or semiannually) inspections of fire safety measures;
• Annual Fire Safety Statements to keep on strata records; and
• progressive improvements to the buildings fire safety measures.

Our strata has not consistently inspected nor maintained the fire safety measures. In particular, the fire doors have been neglected and modified to a point which is below the standard intended for fire doors.

Wormald does perform semi-annual inspections of our fire hydrants; and have recently recommended that our strata place fire extinguishers on each floor and in the garage.

The strata committee will arrange for the recommendations in the bullet points above; and for the installation of the fire extinguishers. And, we will post our voluntary AFSS in the building's notice boards.