Fire Safety Certification !

When the expansion of cities causes a scarcity of new building sites the price of land rises and the only option to house more residents is to adopt the phenomenon known as " the vertical village ".
The city of Sydney now has a skyline of huge apartment towers and these are fast becoming the style of building in its suburbs.

Concern is growing that this construction boom is far outstripping the laws that apply in ensuring that apartments meet fire safety standards and this was illustrated by a fire fatality in Bankstown in 2012.
In that instance a very ordinary flashover fire in a BBQ on an apartments balcony trapped two female overseas students from their escape because the lounge room had been illegally subdivided to provide an additional bedroom,

The rapidly advancing fire forced them into a bedroom with a single window with a several floors drop to the street outside.   They were forced to hang from this window with the aluminium frame actually melting in their hands before the heat forced them to let go and take the fall.   One died instantly and the other received severe permanent disabilities.

The coroners report was scathing.   This relatively new building had never attained the necessary fire safety rating even at the fitting out stage and subsequent work had been carried out without authority to further increase the fire hazard.   This building is still occupied - and even today it fails to meet the relevant fire safety standards.

One of the failings that the government seeks to correct is a multiplicity of organizations who are permitted to issue fire certification certificates.   In many cases, these can involve a conflict of interests and it seems likely that the numbers will be reduced to those hard core entities with the expertise to demand strict compliance.

Another issue is the timing of inspections.  A fire safety certification is required before any new building is cleared for occupation by residents, but there seems to be few - if any - followup requirements.   Some buildings rely on fire certification that may have been issued decades earlier.

The government plan is not clear, but there have been calls for a new fire certification every time a unit in a tower block changes hands.  Just what that involves is controversial.   It could apply to just that single unit, but many would like to see such certification renewal applied to the entire building.  That would certainly flush out the many units furnished with false walls and many beds and rented on a " hot bed " basis to multi tenants.

An entire building re-certification would also ensure that the full fire safety code got a thorough check.  Exit doors must swing outwards and escape routes must be clear.  Fire extinguishers must be in working order and under present regulations smoke detectors must be installed - and in working order.   Where sprinkler systems are installed, renewal compliance should be on an annual basis as a bare minimum.

Of course such a regimen will involve cost and inconvenience but it seems certain that many of Sydney's stock of high rise apartments would fall short of what the law requires.   That tragedy at Bankstown was a wakeup call.    The fire safety laws are not meeting standards and urgently need renewal.  Many living in high rise apartments will sleep soundly at night in the knowledge that their building meets fire safety standards if the government toughens the requirements.