Strata Owners Must Be Alarmed 22/05/2006 Owners of strata titled properties have been included in the safety net of fire legislation that came into effect this month designed to reduce the number of fatalities that occur in buildings where people sleep.
A NSW strata property specialist, Mr Richard Tooker, says it is important for people to understand that strata titled properties will be treated the same as any other type of real estate under the new regulation which came into effect on May 1st.
His company, New South Wales Strata Management handles hundreds of properties and agrees with the need for a more effective administration of the use of smoke alarms, the fitment and placement of which are a low-cost but highly effective method of saving lives.
“People need to know that smoke alarms must now be fitted in all existing buildings, including those operating under strata title schemes. Owners of such properties will be responsible for ensuring smoke alarms are installed within six months.
“Inexpensive to buy and easy to install a smoke alarm is an excellent early warning device that can alert occupants of the presence of fire. The new legislation has quite purposely made it very easy for owners to comply and the Department is hoping for a quick take-up. A battery powered ionisation alarm can be purchased from most hardware stores for as little as $10 and can be self installed in minutes.”
The small smoke alarms meet a minimum standard designed to make it easy and affordable for all owners to have at least some form of smoke detection in place. Some buildings have fixed systems wired-in and of much greater sophistication and others are required to have both fire alarms and fire-fighting apparatus installed as per building code requirements.
The new regulation is aimed at building upon the existing use fire safety systems by extending a highly practical safety practice onto a wider range of housing.
Mr Tooker says that prior to the new legislation the fitment of alarms applied mainly to newly constructed buildings or buildings undergoing redevelopment. But the new safety requirement, officially called the Building Legislation Amendment (Smoke Alarms) Act 2006 now includes all existing buildings in which people sleep.
“Those wishing to install a more sophisticated system may of course do so, but at least we will now have a minimum safety standard for all existing buildings. Many people are simply unaware that a large majority of fire fatalities take place whilst people are asleep, so smoke alarms can indeed be the difference between life and death.”
Mr Tooker says that while the new regulation sets out where smoke alarms should be placed a general principle can assist. It states that smoke alarms should be positioned to detect smoke before it reaches sleeping occupants. Suitably positioned, the sound of the alarm will wake occupants and provide them time to evacuate.
“Owners of strata property are not required to obtain consent of their building owners’ corporation when installing a smoke alarm or heat alarm in a dwelling unit or apartment.”
Owners wanting specific information about where to place smoke alarms, or wishing more information about compliance can contact the NSW Department of Planning at www.planning.nsw.au and the NSW Fire Brigades at www.fire.nsw.gov.au.
Enquiries can also be made to the Smoke Alarms Helpline on 1300 858 812 or email smoke.alarms@planning.nsw.gov.au.
New South Wales Strata Management (formerly Gilmour Strata Management) commenced business in early 1991, as a member of the highly respected J A Gilmour & Sons group of companies. Licensed solely and specialising only in strata management services, the company has steadily grown to become one of the largest such organisations in New South Wales.
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