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  • #9299
    leif
    Flatchatter

      The Local Council delivered an order of Fire requirements.

      At first deemed as a helpful to keep a high standard of fire safety.

      But when the Building Contractor quoted the costs was extremely high and the thought was did it achieve anything towards safety.

      The question then was is the Council in its right to demand and was the demand actually achieving enhanced safety.

      The building was built in 1971 and has no changes in usage or construction

      Can the council then out of the blue do a fire safety inspection?

      Clearly many but not all requests seem to be affordable and increases fire security.

      But the old fashion milk boxes not the ones going through with a door on each side but a simpler one mounted on the outside but about 2.5cm in to the wall was requested to be removed.

      The distance from the box to inside the unit is about 3.5 cm concrete assumed to be a “brick?” the inside is a long corridor and opposite the bath room hence even in a sever fire nothing to burn in the area.

      Also the owners did not get the option to fire prof the box only the option to remove.

      And as usual the EC hides all the information and nothing is shown to the owners hence the question before any actions and has only on the Agenda two quotes for annual Fire Safety to be discussed but as normal the minutes later will state quote approved again with no relevant info for the owners (this off course is a separate issue that the EC does not understand the minimum requirements of Agendas and Minutes and Votes)

      Simple Question and does anyone know

      Can the Council out of the blue without any declared reason quote the EPA reg 2000 and demand when no changes have occurred.

      Can the Council demand removal without the option to fire prof the feature

      Is the actual feature a fire risk as it does not penetrate the wall?

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    • #20603
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster


        @leif
        said:

        Simple Question and does anyone know

        Can the Council out of the blue without any declared reason quote the EPA reg 2000 and demand when no changes have occurred.

        Can the Council demand removal without the option to fire prof the feature

        Is the actual feature a fire risk as it does not penetrate the wall?

        Generally speaking, according to our friends at Integrated (ibc.net.au) councils will hit buildings with the Rolls Royce assessment of what is required to meet fire safety regulations but a smart consultant would then sit down and negotiate with them what is both acceptable and achievable.

        If you come at this from the point of view that what the council really wants is to make your building safe and what they really don’t want is to be wasting time and money dragging Owners Corps through the courts to achieve that, then suddenly areas of compromise and agreement open up.

        Depending on how hefty your upgrade is likely to be, you could do a lot worse than hire a consultant (preferably one who knows the council concerned) to steer this one through for you.

        However, at the end of the day the council can wave a copy of the fire regs under your collective noses and demand that you comply with every bit of it that they think is required. And if you want to dig your heels in, better lawyer up and get ready for an expensive battle in the courts.

        So negotiate – they don’t want to see an emergency order slapped on your building any more than you do.

        I’m not sure what you mean by “with no reason” and “out of the blue” but it’s true that councils will respond to a report from someone who thinks a building isn’t fire safe and they will also do their own surveys, street by street, of buildings they think may not be compliant.

        But surely the significant factor in all this is whether or not a building is safe.  It’s not so long ago that apparent breaches of fire regs led to the death of a young woman in Sydney

        The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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