Fire Safety is one of my biggest concerns. I personally would never lease a unit where I walk into the foyer and noticed the building does not have even the most basic fire safety measures installed such as smoke detectors or fire extinguishers. Some strata managers suggest ignoring fire safety concepts and waiting until the local council issue you with a order to engage a fire consultant and force you to install fire items in the building as per this consultants report. I believe sitting back and waiting for council is dangerous. What if there was a fire and someone was badly injured or in the worst case, died? Furthermore, who holds responsibility or liability for not adding fire safety items? Often the strata manager has written into minutes that they asked the question and the owners just said not to bother…

All to often we see these stories on the news where a building has just gone up in flames. To avoid this horrific scenario I suggest owners corporations consider immediately installing some basic, but potentially life saving fire items. These items are; smoke detectors in all common areas (I prefer hard wired), smoke detectors in all units, fire extinguishers on each landing and foyer, fire blankets on each landing and foyer, exit signs, emergency lighting, etc. If the building has enough money- install or fix the fire doors and frames for each unit, with a door closer fitted to each door.

If you want to immediately be fire cautious, ask your strata manager to suggest a fire consultant who can check your building properly and suggest the exact fire measures you should install. This report is usually a couple of thousand dollars. Lastly once you have installed some fire items in your building, start getting a yearly check to make sure they are working correctly. Some people refer this check as an Annual Fire Safety Statement/ Certificate. This statement/ certificate can only add value to your building and improve safety for residents.

Visit Fire & Rescue NSW to learn more about fire safety  – http://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=879

Want to chat more about Annual Fire Statements/ Certificates or your strata scheme feel free to contact me-http://www.stratarevolution.com.au/contact-us/

For more useful information regarding Strata Management head to Strata Revolution’s website. 

Michelle Russell – Managing Director