Fire Safety Compliance in Bondi Beach: What Happens When Council Issues a Fire Safety Order

A Fire Safety Order from council isn't a suggestion. The Owners Corporation at this Bondi Beach residential building received one, and the clock started ticking. The building needed to meet current NCC requirements across passive fire protection, active systems, egress, access and it needed to be done with residents still living there.

Fire Safety Compliance Works

We were appointed to deliver the full fire safety compliance scope. Six months on site, 15 specialists across the trades. Passive fire protection came first, fire collars and wraps, fire dampers, fire-rated plasterboard systems, vermiculite boards, and intumescent sealants throughout. Every penetration through fire-resisting walls and floors got treated with specialist fire-stopping products. Then the active systems: sprinkler and hydrant upgrades, fire booster assemblies, full replacement and certification of the existing fire alarm system, and a new building occupant warning system installed across the building.

Egress, Signage and What Most Buildings Are Missing

The egress audit on this building found what it finds on most older residential strata, fire-rated doors that weren't compliant, emergency lighting that didn't meet current standards, exit signage that had never been updated. Smoke control needed sealing and containment work. Electrical systems needed certification as part of the fire safety strategy. Balustrades and handrails were upgraded, and non-slip stair treads were installed throughout the stairwells. None of it is glamorous work, but all of it is what stands between residents and a serious outcome.

Running Fire Works in an Occupied Residential Building

Residents couldn't leave for six months. That means every trade had to be coordinated around people's daily lives, booking access through the building manager, communicating what was happening and when, and making sure fire systems stayed functional during the upgrade wherever possible. A building with no working fire alarm while works are underway is a liability. The sequencing here kept systems active while sections were upgraded.

Got a Fire Safety Order or an Upcoming Annual Fire Safety Statement?

If your building has received a Fire Safety Order or you're failing your Annual Fire Safety Statement, the scope is usually bigger than the notice suggests. Get a proper fire safety audit done before you go to tender, know what's actually required before you price it.

Contact Quin Projects to talk through your building.