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Improving fire safety

NSW Department of Customer Service

Version:  2021.  (Current)
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Publication date
October 2021.
Pages
98
Current status
Current
Description

Fire systems are critical to ensuring the safety of our buildings and their occupants. While much of NSW’s current approach is robust, the data from building audits and recent research highlighted that there was room for improvement. In response, this industry working group was formed and tasked with developing practical responses to three issues facing the sector:

• Provide building owners and industry practitioners clear information on how to manage and maintain fire safety systems by producing a template building manual,
• Outline the roles, experience and qualifications of fire safety practitioners throughout the building lifecycle (design, construct, maintain) to increase awareness and provide an evidence-base to inform reform discussions, and
• Identify ways to enhance the trustworthiness of Fire Safety Schedules, Fire Safety Certificates and Annual Fire Safety Statements given their critical role in ensuring that fire safety systems are appropriately installed and maintained.

This report includes well-developed proposals in response to each of these challenges, putting forward options that were developed through close collaboration between government regulators, local councils and industry practitioners associated with the design, installation and maintenance of fire safety systems.

Scope

While there have been a range of reforms to improve fire safety, there remains room for improvement. Serious defects in fire safety systems are the second most common defect identified by inspections of class 2 buildings undertaken under Fair Trading’s occupation certificate (OC) audit program, arising in around 46% of buildings. Also, recently published research found serious fire-related defects were in around 14% of strata buildings completed in the last six years.

This project was commissioned by the Office of the Building Commissioner (OBC) to draw upon specialist industry expertise to identify a range of practical responses that the NSW Government could apply to help improve fire safety in class 2 residential buildings. A working group was formed involving senior representatives of fire practitioners, certifiers, strata and building managers, engineers, educators and regulators. Members were invited to join the group based on having expert knowledge of the relevant NSW legislation and technical standards.

Considering the current state of the industry and research into fire safety, the working group identified three issues where it would focus its attention:

• Ensuring that building owners and fire practitioners are provided with a building manual that provides relevant information on how to manage and maintain fire safety systems,
• Providing clarity on the roles, experience and qualifications of fire safety practitioners throughout the building lifecycle (design, construct, maintain) to help better inform the industry and community of the current requirements and provide the baseline information necessary to be able to discuss opportunities for reform, and
• Identifying options to enhance the trustworthiness of Fire Safety Schedules (FSS), Fire Safety Certificates (FSC) and Annual Fire Safety Statements (AFFS) given their critical role in ensuring fire safety systems are appropriately installed and maintained.

Over a period of nine months these issues were interrogated within sub-committees established to deliver feedback to an overall working group chaired by Mr Michael Lambert.

Collections
Attribution
Construct NSW.
Licence
© All Rights Reserved
NSW
Sector
Residential
Improving fire safety 2021 cover