When you have your commercial property assessed for fire prevention safety, you want to ensure that your fire safety consultant has all the important qualifications to perform a thorough and highly effective inspection. You need a consultant with expert training, professional experience, and knowledge of the fire safety regulations in your locality. This consultant must be well qualified to perform the necessary audit of your business premises and make correct recommendations for all necessary property repairs and installations to ensure excellent fire protection for your commercial property and all employees who work within the building as well as all valuable equipment and other business assets.
Important Qualifications that Your Fire Safety Consultant Must Possess
Important professional qualifications that your fire safety consultant must possess in order to perform a complete inspection, audit, and report of necessary improvements for your commercial property include the following:
• Expert Knowledge and Experience. – Your fire safety consultant must have the training, knowledge, and experience to perform a thorough assessment and audit of your commercial building premises, carefully examining all fire safety equipment along with the structure and layout of your building, including the placement of your emergency exits and lighting.
• Professional Audit Skills. – The fire safety expert that you hire to inspect and evaluate your commercial building for fire safety compliance must have excellent professional audit skills for making a complete audit of any repairs, replacements, or installations of fire safety equipment that may be needed for your property. All areas of the building must be inspected and included in the audit report, and relative recommendations are to be made for necessary changes by your fire safety consultant.
• Knowledge of all Building Regulations. – Your fire safety consultant must exhibit thorough knowledge of all fire safety building regulations that are applicable to your building. Your consultant then must ensure that every aspect and area of your building’s interiors are in compliance with these regulations. Some basic building requirements for fire safety include adequate sprinkler systems, emergency exits, fire detectors, fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems, fire doors and emergency lighting, and exit signs. All commercial buildings must have current interim and final Annual Fire Safety Statements (AFSS) and Fire Safety Certificates (FSC), and the FSC must always be displayed in an easily accessible public area of each building.
• Relevant Qualifications. – Although there are no legal minimum requirements for becoming a qualified fire safety consultant, anyone who presents him or herself as a fire safety consultant should be prepared to show proof of adequate training, experience and knowledge in commercial property fire safety requirements and compliance. Many fire safety consultants in Australia today are members of such esteemed organizations and associations as the Fire Protection Association of Australia (FPAA) and the Australian Institute of Building (AIB).
When you consult our fire safety and compliance experts at Key Compliance in Kogarah, NSW, you will receive excellent advice, consulting services, building inspection, assessment, and auditing services as well as professional recommendations for necessary building improvements for meeting standard fire safety regulations compliance. After these improvements are made, you will receive your building’s AFSS and FSC.
Essential fire safety consultation services are a necessity for the safe operation of companies in all business strata today. With top-quality professional information, inspections, audits and maintenance advice from a professional fire safety practitioner, you can protect your company’s premises, employees, equipment and inventories from disastrous injury and damage from fire. As the owner or operator of a business, you know how difficult it can be to keep all areas and aspects of your company operating smoothly for high levels of production. Even if you have knowledge concerning current fire safety measures and regulations, ensuring that all safety regulations are being met by your company is virtually impossible while running your business.
Expert Fire Safety Consultation Services to Ensure Your Business Compliance with Fire Safety Requirements
In order to ensure that all areas and aspects of your company and its operations comply with current fire safety regulations, it is best to engage the professional services of a top-rated fire safety practitioner. Your fire safety consultant will provide the following services for your company:
• Perform an Inspection. – Your fire safety practitioner and crew will carefully inspect your company offices, showrooms, factories or warehouses to ensure that all updated fire safety measures are in place and operating at top capacity. These fire safety measures will include fire detectors and alarm systems, fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, emergency lighting, exit signs and others. Your fire safety compliance professional will ensure that your company’s fire safety measures comply with all NSW regulations, including the visible posting of a current Fire Safety Certificate (FSC).
• Generate an Audit Report. – Your fire safety consultant will generate an audit report that documents the current status of your company’s fire safety methods and protection. The levels of safety protection from fire that are now in good use at your business premises to protect both your staff and all areas of your company and its products will be detailed in this document. Any recommended upgrades, repairs and new installations of fire safety equipment and methods will be included in this audit report, which will be sent to Fire Safety Compliance officials for NSW.
• Assist with Contracting Safety Upgrades. – Your fire safety consultant will assist you in contracting any necessary upgrades or repairs for your company’s current fire safety protection measures and equipment and help you purchase the most effective new safety equipment for installation, if needed. You’re highly responsible, efficient and friendly fire safety practitioner and crew will also help you schedule ongoing services with your fire safety maintenance contractor to keep all aspects of your company’s fire safety compliance in NSW completely valid and updated.
When you contact the experts at Key Compliance, serving many areas of NSW including Newcastle, Sydney Metropolitan Areas, the Central Coast and Wollongong, you will receive top-tier information and full consultation services relative to professional fire safety protection for your company. Our experienced fire safety practitioners will ensure that all areas and aspects of your company premises, operations and production areas are fully compliant with current NSW fire safety protection regulations for the ultimate safety of your employees, company facilities and ongoing business success.
All business owners in NSW must comply with government fire safety services regulations. This involves regular servicing, maintenance and certification of the essential services and safety measures of your company premises to ensure that your offices, showrooms or production areas are adequately protected. You must also have the required fire protective equipment properly installed and in good order for safe and effective operation. The major purpose of requiring adherence to these fire safety regulations by companies is to provide your business facilities and staff members with the best possible protection in case of a fire emergency.
Essential Fire Prevention Services and Safety Measure Inspections to Protect Your Business Premises
Necessary fire prevention services and safety measure inspections performed by a professional fire safety consultant/practitioner are essential to ensure adequate protection of your business establishment. These services and inspections must be performed regularly and are required to include the following procedures:
• Audit. – An audit of all fire regulation requirements and essential services, or fire safety measures, must be made of your company building or premises by a qualified fire safety practitioner. Results of this audit must then be reviewed and evaluated according to a specified performance standard for safety. Any nonconforming aspects or deficient maintenance findings must be noted and addressed. There are a total of 29 different fire safety measures to be satisfied, including fully operating fire detectors and alarm systems, emergency lighting and exit signs, fire sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers and fire doors.
• Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS). – After completion of the audit, any deficiencies in fire safety compliance must be corrected. The Annual Fire Safety Statement is then generated, and the owner of the building in which your company is located, or a designated representative of the owner, must sign the AFSS within a period of three months following the audit assessment. A copy of the AFSS must then be sent to the appropriate Council (NSW Fire Brigades), and another copy is to be displayed in a prominent place within the building where your company is located.
• Maintenance. – All essential services and fire/life safety networks and systems within the building where your company is located are to be inspected, assessed for needed improvements and maintained on a regular schedule to comply with your local building code authority and to meet required Australian Standards for quality essential services and fire safety measures. All reports relative to essential services inspections, records of maintenance assessments and repairs reports generated should be kept within the building and available for future inspections and audits.
The expert fire safety consultants and practitioners at Key Compliance serve the entire Sydney metropolitan area, Newcastle, the Central Coast, Wollongong and other regions of NSW. These highly experienced professionals will help you ensure that your business establishment meets all requirements in NSW for optimal quality essential services and fire safety measures. Our experts will perform a comprehensive audit, compile an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) and note any necessary additions to your regular, ongoing maintenance of essential services and fire safety protection measures for the building in which your business establishment is located.
In 2017, the government of New South Wales and other areas of Australia approved the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Fire Safety and Building Certification) Regulation 2017, which introduced reforms to previous fire safety rules. The amended regulations became effective on October 1, 2017, and implemented specific legal requirements that building owners and managers must comply with in order to ensure the safety of tenants and workers who inhabited their buildings.
The Amended Regulation’s ‘Relevant Fire Safety System’
The 2017 Amended Regulation calls for new building plans and construction to include a ‘Relevant Fire Safety System’ to include such features as the following components of a hydraulic fire safety system:
• A Fire Hydrant System
• A Fire Hose Reel System
• A Sprinkler System (to include a wall-wetting sprinkler or drenching setup)
• An Additional Automatic Fire Suppression Backup System
In addition, new building designs are required to include a fire detection and alarm system plus a mechanical smoke control system with duct installation. In larger multi-unit residential, commercial and industrial buildings or educational institutions, fire doors may be required. Building owners must display Fire Safety Certificates (FSC), and in some instances, interim and final Annual Fire Safety Statements (AFSS).
Fire Safety Regulations for Owners and Operators of Budget Accommodation Buildings
Budget accommodation buildings are buildings that have shared bathroom and sanitary facilities (other than laundries) and that have accommodations for six or more people and are classified as hotels, boarding houses, hostels and some types of medical facilities. Owners and operators of these buildings are required to implement and maintain a basic Fire Safety Master Plan that includes the presence of working early warning systems, such as hard-wired smoke alarms and emergency lighting systems. Penalty fines for non-compliance with these regulations are equal to amounts of $12,000 and above.
As a building owner or property manager in Australia today, contact the experienced consultants at Key Compliance located in Kogarah, NSW to obtain expert advice and information concerning building fire safety regulations. These excellent independent fire safety and compliance consultants will address all your questions and concerns about your property’s current fire safety protective measures and advise you of all new and existing laws and regulations that require your attention and compliance.
They can give you expert advice relative to updating your current fire safety equipment and methods to ensure that your building complies with today’s legal requirements. These experts will also inform you of any new regulations that you may not be aware of concerning providing adequate fire safety for your property.
Ensure that all electrical equipment is checked regularly and certified as checked by safety consultants Sydney area. Faulty electrical equipment can easily ignite a spark that can quickly turn into a fire and destroy your building and endanger staff and customers.
Cigarettes that have not been distinguished correctly can quickly start a fire. This is a very common cause of fire in both businesses and homes. Provide adequate ashtrays for smokers ideally with a cover, or filled with sand or water.
Electrical sockets should not be overloaded with too many double adapters and extension cords. Overloaded power outlets are a common cause of fire. Ensure that you have adequate electrical sockets installed in your premises by a certified electrician.
Always make sure that cords are not placed close to heating appliances or jammed in between furniture or walls so that they are pinched. If the insulated wires on electrical cords, including extension cords, become damaged, this will generate heat and create a fire hazard.
Lack of care is a common cause of fire. Ovens and cooking equipment left on, spilled drinks on electrical equipment, and improper use of equipment are common cases where fire has started and burned down a business. Have fire safety equipment such as alarms and fire extinguishers installed and checked regularly, and ensure that staff are trained in fire safety procedures.
Flammable materials such as petrol, gasoline, and factory chemicals can easily start a fire if spilled or heated, or if they come into contact with a flame. Keep these properly stored and sealed. A build-up of combustibles such as paper and cardboard are another common cause of workplace fires. Ensure that excess combustibles are not kept on the premises unnecessarily.
Fires can start very easily and spread quickly. Some basic fire and safety prevention measures and training can be implemented to minimise the chance of fire in your business. For fire risk assessment NSW areas contact us.
