Fire Sprinklers Forced upon Tenants

fishka2 on 20/11/2024 - 18:44
Last edited 20/11/2024 - 19:52 by 1 other user

Our landlord who also owns the building, suddenly decided to install fire sprinklers in all residential apartments.

This happened after a relatively small fire incident in the building. Mind you we already have a sophisticated fire system including centralised smoke and temperature sensors.

Can they even force it on us? I’ve never seen sprinklers anywhere apart from commercial or common areas. In my opinion it’s ugly and flooding danger. One thing is when alarm starts shouting on every meal preparation, the other is when you get flooded if there’s malfunction.

Any specialist advice would be appreciated.

Home & Garden Fire Extinguisher

Comments

  • Porker on 20/11/2024 - 18:47
    +9

    This happened after a relatively small fire incident in the building

    Small fires can turn into big fires - big fires can kill buildings and people.

    • spackbace on 20/11/2024 - 18:49
      +8

      Blame big fire

      • Yummy on 20/11/2024 - 18:59

        I would blame the marshmallow and those campers.

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 20/11/2024 - 22:07

        Big fire in the Big Smoke!

    • freefall101 on 20/11/2024 - 19:22
      +7

      Luckily everyone in London who remembers that small bakery fire that turned into a big fire has been dead for 400 years, otherwise this post would be really triggering them.

      • EightImmortals on 21/11/2024 - 08:05

        shh before one of their descendants starts on about 'compensation'.

        • Tiller76 on 21/11/2024 - 12:13
          +2

          Should not have been down voted!!!!!!

  • altomic on 20/11/2024 - 19:04
    +12

    sprinkler systems don't accidentally "go off"

    Can they even force it on us???

    they can't force you to stay if you are so opposed to <checks notes> the owner installing a fire deterrent system to stop the building going up in flames and the residents potentially perishing in that fire.

  • Drakesy on 20/11/2024 - 19:09
    +17

    This is my 2 cents
    The landlord has undertaken a fire risk study which has recommended these along with other items.
    If the building burns down and kills someone and the landlord's on the hook for negligence given they were recommended the improvements.

    If it's 3 stories or more then it's mandatory, anything less and it's a nice to have.

    Notably this only applies to New buildings.

    Personally i'd like a proactive landlord, admittedly it may be quite disruptive.

    • MrFrugalSpend on 21/11/2024 - 00:02

      Yes but that 3 stories or more is only new after NCC 2019 if my memory serves me correctly it was 25m or more before that or a carpark fire compartment of more than 40 cars, and yes they don't have to retrospectively install it if it wasn't on the building approval then…

      Alternatively, the building may have a now non-compliant combustible / toxic cladding, which is a retrospective code change that requires a fire safety assessment by a fire engineer mandated by safer buildings provisions on existing buildings after Grenfell tower and Melbourne fires. Immediate rectification is not necessarily mandatory but disclosure is and it then does present a liability question until rectified.

      However the more likely scenario is the insurer has reviewed it post-fire or asked for a fire engineer review, and based on that said they will jack the premiums up significantly after a fire claim, if they didn't install them to reduce it back down.

  • Gunnar on 20/11/2024 - 19:11
    +9

    You should take that to the Civil and Administrative tribunal of the state you’re in for their input. If you receive anything more than laughter you’ve done well

    • Tommyaka on 21/11/2024 - 09:19
      +3

      The audacity of a landlord installing a standard fire control mechanism in a bid to protect their property and their tenants.

  • sumyungguy on 20/11/2024 - 19:13
    +2

    Sprinkler systems are supported by fire services in all jurisdictions; e.g. in NSW The combined damage from a fire and the water
    firefighters use to extinguish it, is significantly higher than the damage when a properly installed sprinkler system is used.

    • MrFrugalSpend on 21/11/2024 - 00:08

      Exactly, contrary to what you see in movies, most systems (if not all in residential) don't just flood the entire building because smoke is detected! When fire raises the heat near a sprinkler head hot enough, a component inside it reacts, either melting or breaking the plug such as an alcohol-filled glass tube (the little red mercury thermometer type thing in a sprinkler head) and the stopper pops out to allow the valve to spray water where it is hot enough for this to occur.

  • MS Paint on 20/11/2024 - 19:18
    +9

    @Sye

    I think we know which tenant started the fire.

    • spackbace on 20/11/2024 - 19:33
      +7

      OP didn't start the fire
      It was always burning
      Since the world's been turning

      • MS Paint on 20/11/2024 - 19:45
        +5

        I'm thinking it was that dude heating the hot coals over the cooktop for wonderful winter warmth in the living area.

        • blitz on 20/11/2024 - 20:37
          +1

          I sang this as the next line in the song and it actually works quite well

          • MS Paint on 20/11/2024 - 21:35

            @blitz: It was that dude heating
            the hot coals over the cooktop
            for wonderful winter warmth
            in the living area.

            verse

            • pegaxs on 21/11/2024 - 08:31

              @MS Paint: That dude was heating
              Hot coals over the cooktop
              Wonderful winter warmth

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 20/11/2024 - 22:10

        Random tenant:
        Hey, hey, hey
        I'm a fire starter, twisted fire starter
        Hey, hey, hey

        • EightImmortals on 21/11/2024 - 08:07
          +1

          The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
          The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
          We don't need no water, let the mother'ker burn
          Burn, mother'ker, burn

      • Speckled Jim on 21/11/2024 - 11:29

        Now I'm hanging ten now, baby
        As I ride your sonic wave
        Good God, y'all!

        I'm on fire

  • mbck on 20/11/2024 - 19:22
    +6

    Are you sure theyre sprinklers? Maybe theyre localised 5g modems that actually reads your minds and give you random horny thoughts throughout the day.

  • BillyStm on 20/11/2024 - 19:23
    +5

    Id be more concerned why smoke alarms go off for you every meal preparation….might need to look into those preparations accordingly.
    The funny thing about sprinklers is if there's no smoke, there's no fire and therefore they don't activate!

  • justworld on 20/11/2024 - 19:34

    Yeah let's get the landlord to deactivate the sprinklers. When there's a fire that kills you, I'm sure your estate won't then sue the landlord for having taken insufficient steps to discharge his duty as an occupier.

  • pjetson on 20/11/2024 - 19:38
    +2

    The funny thing about sprinklers is if there's no smoke, there's no fire

    Sprinklers are activated by heat, not smoke.

    • BillyStm on 20/11/2024 - 20:20

      Im aware of that, and heat is produced by fire…

      • brendanm on 20/11/2024 - 22:25
        -1

        He's pointing out that you said they are activated by smoke.

  • mapax on 20/11/2024 - 19:52

    I’ve never seen sprinklers anywhere apart from commercial or common areas. In my opinion it’s ugly and flooding danger

    My apartment building was built around 2008 and has sprinklers in each of the apartments and in the carpark.

    To my knowledge it has only leaked once in the car park and there was one flood when the sprinklers activated in an apartment that caused severe water damage to a heap of apartments and caused multiple ceiling collapses on multiple floors below. But that sprinkler was damaged when something was thrown and hit it.

    • chaise-COMBATwhen on 20/11/2024 - 21:46

      In our apartment building (built around 2022) we have 5 levels and a carpark.

      The sprinkler system was already there when I started renting, but I suspect it was foisted on the previous tenants. It hardly ever goes off. Only in the presence of heat. The sprinkler ran unchecked in a neighbours apartment whilst they were on holidays causing the ceiling to collapse onto the unsuspecting tenants below. We all thought it was funny, in retrospect it was surprising.

      • kiitos on 21/11/2024 - 08:02
        +1

        What causing the sprinkler to go off?

  • plmko on 20/11/2024 - 20:24

    Specialist advice: GTFO out of that apartment and buy your own home.

  • wetsandwich on 20/11/2024 - 22:10

    They probably realised the sprinklers have to legally be there and the fire nearly cost them their entire life savings because insurance wouldn't have covered it.

    No, you can't argue against a safety feature that pretty much HAS to be installed to allow you to keep living there (I may be wrong, but I've never seen any apartment without sprinklers)

  • elgrande on 20/11/2024 - 22:27
    +3

    My last appartment had sprinklers.

    Tip: shower under sprinkler for reduced water bill. Goes well with park bbq's.

  • Caped Baldy on 20/11/2024 - 23:35

    Alternatively, my landlord knew the risks of fire in my apartment block but didn't install sprinklers.

  • Randxyz123 on 21/11/2024 - 01:27

    Look at incidents like the one in London a few years ago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire

    There were no sprinklers and look what happened. It is not normal for them to go off regularly.

  • HeWhoKnows on 21/11/2024 - 08:24
    -2

    LETS REMIND OP THAT YOU DONT OWN THE PROPERTY

    You dont get to chose what improvements are made for your conveneince and safety.

    Some are governed by law as may be the case here

    And now some expert advice for you

    STOP COMPLAINING

    You obviously have a very responsible landlord so be happy for that!

    If you dont like whats happening move elsewhere!

    FUTHER EXPERT ADVICE

    Pull this ridiculous post down as you are just embarrassing yourself

  • Odin on 21/11/2024 - 09:12

    There are multiple ways to meet the fire code

    This is one of them.

    Yes, it's dumb.

    The fire code gets applied retrospectively, so you get old buildings never built with the current code in mind having to be brought up to 2024 standards. Often it's impossible so you get compromises like sprinklers inside units.

    It sucks

    But that's what living in strata is like

  • JIMB0 on 21/11/2024 - 10:12
    +1

    What a horrible person the landlord is for spending all this money just to piss you off.

    • Tiller76 on 21/11/2024 - 12:15

      Is the "piss you off" considered a gift with purchase?

  • Jake D on 21/11/2024 - 13:21
    +1

    landlord who also owns the building

    Is there another type of landlord?

  • 2esc on 21/11/2024 - 19:21

    Another bloody evil landlord how dare they think about the safety of the residents!

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