If users are not quite sure whether the business complies with Australian standards or not, user might need to review the fundamental ways to fulfill fire safety regulations.
Here is a quick refresher on the most basic and essential regulations on fire safety for the real estate agency.
The Objectives Of The Legislation
In the quest to ensure the safest provisions for any establishment, regulations are set out to perform certain objectives. Australian fire safety standards require building officers to ensure that people can evacuate the premises safely and swiftly when a fire occurs.
It also ensures the prescribed fire safety installations are inspected and maintained regularly.
Evacuating
- Means Of Escape From Buildings: Building fire safety regulations require the existence of a path of travel from any place of the building to an exit leading towards a safe area outside.
- Keeping Routes Free From Obstruction: A person should not place anything in the evacuation route that may restrict, hinder, or delay the evacuee from escaping successfully.
Occupancy Limits For Buildings
The occupancy limits are based on the building's characteristics such as the following:
- The number of exit doors in the building.
- The clear floor areas of the building.
- The flammability of fixtures.
- The installed fire safety equipment was prescribed.
- The building's use.
- number of persons who use or are likely to use the building.
This section emphasizes the risk of the building considering the aforementioned factors to the occupants. Therefore, a limit is set to the number of occupants that can stay in the building at one time.
Evacuation Planning, Instruction, And Practice
Keeping fire and evacuation plans in a specified form is part of fire safety compliance, where certain details are provided in a fire and evacuation plan such as:
- Name and address of the building.
- Name, address, and contact numbers of the owner and occupier of the building.
- The evacuation coordination procedure for the building.
- Detailed instructions for evacuating the building safely by the evacuation coordination procedure.
- Step-by-step guide in using the fire safety equipment, especially the manually operated ones.
- Procedures for giving instructions to the building occupants on how to operate the fire safety equipment and ensuring that instructions are given correctly and completely.
Evacuation Signs And Diagrams
Evacuation signs and diagrams must be displayed in a conspicuous position at every evacuation route
The building manager should display correct evacuation signs and diagrams to guide occupants to safety in the event of emergencies. These signs must be displayed in a conspicuous position at every evacuation route.
This is a crucial fire safety material because it is responsible for guiding the occupants through a precise route that corresponds with the actual direction of the evacuation route.
Evacuation Practice
This section applies to the occupiers of the building, which requires them to carry out the essential evacuation practices regularly with an interval of not more than one year.
Prescribed Fire Safety Installations
A prescribed installation is important for every real estate agency, especially those in high-rise buildings. Consider the following installations and frequency of testing.
Essential Real Estate Fire Safety Regulations Measure
- Emergency Lighting and Exit Signage: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Extinguishers: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Alarm Panels and Occupant Warning Systems Monthly: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Doors: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Blankets: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Hose Reels: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
- Fire Sprinkler Systems: Monthly, 6 Monthly, and Annual Inspections
- Fire Hydrants: 6 Monthly and Annual Inspections
Obligations Of Persons Maintaining Prescribed Installations
The essential part of Real Estate fire safety regulations installations is keeping them in good condition. This requires the service of certified fire safety technicians.
The obligation of professionals to maintain the prescribed installations includes not only preserving them but also reporting issues that might affect the functionality of the equipment.
