Apartment fire regulations

[Deactivated] on 15/10/2018 - 16:02

Just wondering where I can find out more about apartment fire regulations in NSW particularly in Sydney.

For example does anyone know if it’s mandatory to have a door closer fitted ?

What about a door sealer at the bottom of the door , is it ok not to have one or there is a law to have one?

I noticed also that our building internal firedoors are locked ,we have 16 levels,the building manager claims he can lock every 4th level???

Can any one assist me with this knowledge,my english is not good i know but im doing my best.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • John Kimble on 15/10/2018 - 16:08

    Contact your strata manager?

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2018 - 16:11
    +1

    The Strata manager and building manager seem to be doing this to save money,so cannot ask them

    They are not putting door closer or seal on bottom of door and lock Firedoors from inside even though he said this is ok under NSW law to do this?

    The building manager and strata manager are young guys and are very immature and will not tell me so im asking maybe i will have to report to the council

    I rang the strata manager who think it was funny mimic my accent when he was talking to me thats why i want to find out more info and get them into triuble

    • Caped Baldy on 15/10/2018 - 16:21
      +2

      Start putting your conversations in writing. There's a chance they'll ignore the email so you should write it as if there was a conversation eg write "as discussed …. if you disagree…".
      Council may help out with queries(building compliance).

      Fire stairs should be clear and allow easy passage and fire doors should not be locked from the actual hallways.

      PS: With the number of levels of your building it should have sprinklers.

  • Randxyz123 on 15/10/2018 - 16:22
    +1

    If you are concerned and think what they are doing is possibly not right just email your council and report them.

    They’ll investigate and either

    1) They’ll find no violation

    2) They’ll find the issue and make the building manager fix it.

    With fire doors from what I understand, you need to be able to get out but not back in.

    Internal doors on the stair side can be unlocked (eg if you lived on floor 16 and you had friends on floor 12) you could take the stairs.

  • Tech5 on 15/10/2018 - 16:23
    +2

    Why would they lock every 4th level? That's strange

    • altomic on 15/10/2018 - 17:27
      +1

      In Chinese the number 4 is pronounced "tsu" which sounds like the word "zu" which means death.

      Ergo Sum - the owner of the building is chinese.

      • HighAndDry on 15/10/2018 - 17:43

        ………

        I'm not sure how to reply because I think some people are taking your comment seriously when I'm fairly sure you're not actually being serious.

        For those people:

        1. Chinese/Asian cultures will omit numbers with "4" in them sometimes (e.g. have buildings with no 4th or 14th storey, floors with no "X04" door number, etc), and not what they're doing here; and

        2. THE BLOODY CHARACTER (and the character for 'death') IS PRONOUNCED AS "SHI" lol. Where did you get "tsu" from?!

        • altomic on 15/10/2018 - 18:43
          +1

          Sorry, I get confused with Japanese. My apartment in Tokyo was on the 4th floor ( just like most foreigners apartments) and the rent was much cheaper than other floors

          • HighAndDry on 15/10/2018 - 19:51
            +1

            @altomic: Is "4" in Japanese not "Shi" too? (Or "yon"?)

            • altomic on 15/10/2018 - 20:32
              -2

              @HighAndDry: yeah, I'm just making shit up at this point.

              • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 09:05

                @altomic: Haha busted! If you'd said Korean though you'd have been fine. I've no idea what any numbers are in Korean.

                • altomic on 16/10/2018 - 14:39
                  +1

                  @HighAndDry: in all honesty - I did live in Tokyo. and rent is cheaper on the 4th floor - most foreign companies can be found on 4th floors of buildings.

                  • HighAndDry on 16/10/2018 - 14:46

                    @altomic: Oh yeah no doubt - no one else wants to be there, less demand, same supply, lower prices. Foreign companies don't care, so they end up there.

      • Tech5 on 15/10/2018 - 19:04
        +1

        Wait, so rather than skip the naming of the 4th floor, they lock it to ensure death?

        • altomic on 15/10/2018 - 20:31

          yes. or as nick cave laments - "death comes creeping out of every doorway"

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2018 - 16:38

    Knick you are very right actually, I live on floor 16 and level 12 firedoors are open from inside but not some others

    • Randxyz123 on 15/10/2018 - 17:32

      As long as you can get onto the street in the event of an emergency that’s the main thing.

      If they are not complying with regulations because of a cultural supposition then that’s not right.

      If you are concerned contact the council and tell them your concerns.

      I’d also move out ASAP.

    • HighAndDry on 15/10/2018 - 17:45

      Fire doors don't need to open from the inside (of the fire escape) except for on the ground floor.

  • Cheapcuda on 15/10/2018 - 16:40
    +1

    From my architectural experience, this is a case by case scenario on how the building has been certified for a building approval.

    There seems to be a rise in providing "alternative solutions" with a fire engineering report which the certifier will approve.

    The information below is based on a residential building of 16 storeys, however, is dependant on the report above.

    First of all, depending on the floor plate and how big the volume is, you should be able to have a minimum of 1 unobstructed exit at all times (generally 2 if the floor plate is larger). All doors should be unlocked in the path of escape. The doors will not and should not allow people to access the building from the fire escape side (exception of the fire department).

    Doors are generally fitted with closers and smoke seals to compartmentalise each unit. In the scenario of a fire, the smoke can't travel into the unit itself and would be rated for a period of time.

    I would follow up an email with the Strata and Building manager stressing your concerns in the scenario of a fire. I would also contact Council.

    Hope these ramblings help.

    • xylarr on 16/10/2018 - 12:10

      I actually think the fire rating for the individual unit doors is there to keep the fire IN, though it will also keep it out.

      The idea is to prevent it spreading, contain it to the unit. To that end, the individual unit doors must have door closers. Also, if you have anything fixed that can hold the door open, such as a magnetic door stop, it will have to be removed.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2018 - 16:59

    Yes thankyiu guys ,im also interesting if and when yiu need the steel sealer at the bottom of the apartment door ?
    Or a door closer ,are they mandatory in NSW?

  • whooah1979 on 15/10/2018 - 18:00
    +2

    https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=9162

    Lodge a fire safety complaint with frnsw. Tell them that the building manager is locking the emergency doors to the stairs leading to the fire exit.

  • TheBilly on 15/10/2018 - 19:16

    In a new building each apartment is treated as a sole occupancy unit and separate fire compartment. In a fire compartment the door has to be fire rated, a closer installed and drop seals. You will be hard pressed finding an old building like this, but new buildings should definitely comply. Your entry door frame should have a tag on it that says something like 120 / 120 / 120.

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