Fire Orders

Receiving a Fire Orderblock of units

It’s becoming increasingly common for strata and commercial properties in Sydney to receive a Fire Order from the local council. The implications relating to a Fire Order are far reaching and the terms of the Order must be taken seriously by the Executive Committee and all owners.

Council Fire Orders normally come about in one of three ways – firstly if the owners in the building advise the Council that the building is not compliant with current regulations, a person makes a complaint about fire safety, or if the building is the subject of a random inspection by the NSW Fire Brigade or Council Fire Compliance Officers.

Random inspections are becoming increasingly common, with Council usually selecting a street or area and inspecting all Class 2 multiple story dwellings. Both Council and the Fire Brigade have the authority to carry out these inspections without notice under the terms of the Environmental Planning Assessment Act 1979.

Owners Corporations who are not providing the local Council with Essential Services Fire Certificates every year are most at risk of receiving an order. Fire Orders that are placed on a building as a result of a random inspection or proactive action by Council, the proposed Fire Safety Schedule is likely to include the most expensive options for compliance and installation.

For any building that’s more than 10 years old, we would advise owners be proactive and engage us at FutureSafe to complete a Fire Services Audit. This way you will know where you stand in terms of compliance and if not, what the most cost-effective methods can be used to make the building safe and compliant.

While many local Councils are currently working through huge backlogs, it’s inevitable that every building in Sydney will eventually need to ensure compliance.

But it is not the end of the world and having a company like FutureSafe to help you through every step of compliance you can achieve a safer environment for all occupants and completed with the least amount of headaches and cost.

Start the process and chat to one of our team today on 9343 0033 or click here.