Essential Fire Safety Measures
(formerly referred to as Essential Services under approvals and Orders issued by Council prior to 30 June 1997)
Following is a list of essential fire safety measures that may commonly be found in buildings:
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List of Essential Fire Safety Measures - 7 KB
Who Determines Which Essential Fire Safety Measures Are Required?
In the majority of cases the installation of essential fire safety measures is required by building regulations (such as the Building Code of Australia) which Council enforces. There may be some situations, however, where Council will request other items of equipment or methods of construction which are not part of a typical list of essential fire safety measures, for the purpose of ensuring the safety of persons in a building in the event of fire, or perhaps the prevention of fire or to prevent the spread of fire.
When Are Essential Fire Safety Measures Required to be Installed?
Council may require the installation of essential fire safety measures or the fire safety upgrading of buildings in the following instances:
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Development Applications for building works
When a Development Application for works involving the rebuilding, alteration, enlargement or extension of an existing building is submitted to Council for approval, the application will be assessed for compliance with current building regulations (ie the BCA). Council will determine and nominate the essential fire safety measures to be installed as required by the regulations and will inform the applicant via placing conditions on the development consent. At this same stage, pursuant to Clause 94 of the Environment Planning & Assessment Regulation, Council also has ultimate discretion to decide whether it would be appropriate to require the existing part/s of the building to also be brought into total or partial conformity with the BCA.
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Development Applications for change of use
Where the use of an existing building is proposed to be changed, but the applicant does not seek the rebuilding, alteration, enlargement or extension of the building, Council must still consider the consequences to the safety of persons proposed to occupy the building as a result in the change of circumstances and purpose for which the building will function. In considering the change of use, Council will determine and nominate any essential fire safety measures that are needed to be installed, thereby requiring building work to be carried out even though none is proposed as part of the application.
As part of its internal fire safety upgrading program, Council may, at any time, assess the fire safety level of an existing building and if it is considered necessary, order the owner/s to carry out upgrading works and install essential fire safety measures compatible to the building use and inherent with the risks involved as part of an overall risk management strategy.
What Am I Required To Do?
If you have existing essential fire safety measures in your building and:
intend to carry out work for which development consent or a Complying Development Certificate is required, or
intend to change the use of the building for which consent is required;
you will need to engage a suitably qualified competent person in order to research and verify the design standards to which those measures were originally installed. Once this has been undertaken, verification in the form of a fire safety audit report is to be forwarded to Council's Assessments Department. Assuming approval is granted, Council will nominate (via either consent conditions and/or a Fire Safety Schedule), any additional essential fire safety measures required in the building and the appropriate design standard to which they must be installed.
If you intend to construct a new building, approval is required from Council. Forming part of any consent that is granted, Council will nominate the essential fire safety measures required and the design standards to which they must be installed.