Fire Systems & Equipment

Client:

First National Real Estate Newtown

Project Type:

Fire Systems Equipment – Fire Order Upgrade

Building Type:

Apartment building

Location:

Newtown, Sydney NSW

Situation

First National Real Estate manages a block of aged studios in Newtown.

The building was served with a Council Fire Upgrade order for non-compliance. Local Councils, as the regulatory bodies for buildings in NSW, are required by legislation to ensure all existing buildings are brought up to a current level of life safety.

Council has the legislative right to make this order and communication needs to be started while the order is still in the 21-day proposal period. On receiving the order quotes were sought and 2020 Fire Protection won the tender.

Actions Taken

A Fire Engineer assessed the building and reported that the building required the installation of new electrical cabling and equipment, alarms, smoke detection sensors, emergency & exit lighting, and sprinklers.

Andrew Fanos commented “2020 Fire Protection began planning discussions with the Project Manager, Fire Engineer, and Certifier. The challenge of upgrading is in finding a viable method to allow an old building, constructed with materials that would not be permissible under today’s building codes, actually meet a ‘current level of life safety’.

To achieve a current level of life safety – equivalent to a current building which would be segregated and fire rated using concrete walls and floors; an automatic fire sprinkler system combined with smoke detection and occupant warning system was suggested as a method to reach current levels of life safety.”

“2020 Fire Protection on behalf of the owners, went directly to the Fire Engineers and Certifier and discussed, negotiated and planned a hybrid system that could be validated under a Fire Engineering Solution accepted by the Certifier and regulatory authorities.

2020 Fire Protection were a great help managing the fire upgrade process. They negotiated the most economical outcome and coordinated the installation. They made the installation as headache free as possible.”

Outcomes

Andrew concluded “2020 Fire Protection installed a solution for the owner’s long-term benefit. They were easy to work with, their communication was excellent, and no call to them went unanswered for longer than a few hours. They were diligent and always on time with very good workmanship.

The upgrade is not yet complete and there’s still more work to be done on doors and window screens. However, 2020 Fire protection’s work has been successfully completed.”