Fire Safety Building Audits of existing Fire Safety Measures
You may be a building Owner or Manager that has identified a need to confirm the current level of compliance for each facility by establishing a baseline of current fire safety measures, and what corrective action, if any, is required to achieve minimum compliance with the existing Performance Measures with a view to possibly upgrade the services in the future.
Do you require a review of the Annual Fire Safety Statements (AFSS) requested by your Local Council or State Authority to establish a baseline of current fire safety measures? Have anomalies been identified by your Fire Service Provider or Council has requested a Building Audit for corrective action to determine minimum compliance with the existing Performance Measures.
What to do and who to contact when there are anomalies between what is listed on a Fire Safety Schedule and what is installed in a building, or the Fire Safety Schedule appears to be incorrect, or your building has not ever been assessed?
Contact Des Lynch of CodeWise Certifiers as soon as possible for the submission of an AFSS request for a 'Stay of Infringement' Application form to Council, or letter of understanding to request suitable time frame that a Building Audit is to be carried out by an A1 Accredited Certifier. This action can firstly avoid an expensive fine from Council and the authority then knows that you are in the process of ensuring the fire safety of the building and its occupants.
Your Local Council may have contacted you with a Notice to Issue an Order for a Fire Safety Upgrade of your building under the provisions section 121H of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Des Lynch of CodeWise Certifiers as the competent A1 Accredited Certifier is able to make representations as your agent on your behalf under section 121H(3) to give Council reasons to why the order should not be issued or negotiate terms and time lines to correct the fire safety measures within your buildings.
Council’s as part of their regulatory services for Fire Safety and keeper of the AFSS may require an assessment by an A1 Accredited Certifier to audit a building to determine the standards of installation of the fire safety measures for recommendation for the Council to alter the Fire Safety Schedule where anomalies occur, to correct the list of measures on the Fire Safety Schedule will allow for the ease and effective future use for the Annual Fire Safety Statement.
Why is an A1 Accredited Certifier (unrestricted) requested by the Council to be a suitable competent professional for Fire Safety Audits of buildings to determine the required Fire Safety Measures to be installed within a building?
An A1 Accredited Certifier is a practicing professional accredited by the State Government’s Building Professional Board to carry out certification for building work to comply with the Building Code of Australia, the certifiers accredited level of A1 (unrestricted) deems the competency of the individual to assess Fire Engineered Alternative Solutions under the performance provisions for building certification. An Accredited Certifier is an experienced public authority who performs the duty of a fire safety audits and does so as a general practice under the provision 130(2E) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulations each time they enter a building in the capacity of Certifying Authority to identify significant fire safety issues. The experience, qualification and accreditation of the individual Certifier gives the building Owners and Managers the quality assurance that the consulting professional is impartial to fire safety installation industry, and the Accredited Certifier providing the consultancy role is for the safety of the occupants of buildings to the required Federal, State and Local Government Act and Regulations, National Construction Code and Building Code of Australia.