A Fire Safety Report is an assessment of the building in relation to fire safety regulations.
When Tyrrells prepare a Fire Safety Report, our team will thoroughly inspect your building and carefully assess available plans to determine whether it complies with these regulations.
Fire safety in buildings has 2 main purposes:
- The primary purpose is to keep you alive during a fire including getting you out safely &,
- The second is to protect the building you are in and adjoining buildings.
Our Report will include:
- identification of serious fire safety breaches,
- appropriate remedial work where applicable,
- alternative strategies for older buildings which were built prior to the requirements of the Building Code of Australia
Prior to end of warranty, the purchase or upgrade of properties such as units, retail, commercial or industrial buildings, or voluntarily as the building ages.
Fire Safety assesses the building to ensure it achieves the minimum level of life and asset safety with respect to the BCA.
Tyrrells can assess these items, examples include: ensuring there is adequate fire separation in the roof cavity between semi’s & townhouses, that fire corridors are adequate for the class & use of a building, absence of fire rated doors, etc.
We do not however, inspect &/or assess services.
Fire Services are the systems in place to deal with a fire ie sprinklers, alarms, mechanical dampers, etc.
The Fire Services are typically designed & assessed by a Fire Services Engineer & maintained by a proprietary organisation.
Many older or more complex buildings, especially units/flats are unsafe during a major fire. This is because some units and apartments were built prior to the more stringent fire regulations required by the Strata Titles Act (1971). Even relatively new buildings can face expensive upgrade because they may not comply with the BCA that became law in 1996.
Every Strata Scheme is required to be aware of and comply with the fire safety requirements of the BCA (now called the NCC). Tyrrells can outline your immediate fire safety requirements to complement the advice you already are receiving from the contractors servicing your fire safety services.
Typical fire safety breaches in buildings include:
- absence of a fire-rated front door,
- absence of effective fire protection between adjoining apartments or spaces,
- inadequate escape from a building – the staircase may not be properly fire isolated
- missing fire services such as hydrants and hose reels
- ceiling not fire rated or unsealed holes around service pipes
- non-compliant handrails and balustrades
- Granny flats, residential spaces built above shops and offices or warehouses which have been illegally converted to residential buildings are also at risk.
