Vegetation Management – Hydrants
Ensure fire safety in your strata building by maintaining vegetation clearances & visibility around hydrant boosters and valves. Learn about essential standards, real-life examples, and tips for keeping hydrants accessible and vegetation managed. Prioritize safety with expert advice from Civil Fire.
5-Yearly Servicing of Hydrant & Sprinkler Systems
With the legislation of AS1851 in NSW coming into force in 2025, the 5-yearly service of the fire hydrant system and sprinkler system
AS1851 in NSW
The Australian Standard for the Routine service of fire protection equipment, AS1851-2012, is being legislated in NSW as of 13th February 2025. What does this mean for building owners? Find out more.
Ionisation Vs Photoelectric Smoke Alarms
There are two main types of smoke alarms available on the market: ionisation smoke alarms and photoelectric smoke alarms. While both types of smoke alarms can detect smoke and save lives, they operate differently, and there are advantages to using one type over the other in specific settings.
Hydrostatic Testing of Fire Hydrants
Hydrostatic testing is a process of testing the integrity and strength of a pressurized system, such as a fire hydrant system, to ensure that it can withstand the required pressure and flow.
10yo smoke alarms in NSW
Civil Fire have recently updated our policy to defect smoke alarms when they are over 10 years old. Previously, this was a recommendation item only.
The reason for this change is the legislation of the Australian Standard for the Maintenance of Fire Protection – AS1851. This standard was legislated in NSW on 16/12/22, and all buildings must be maintained in accordance with this standard by 13th February 2025.
What is a Fire Damper?
Fire dampers are an essential safety measure that helps to prevent the spread of fire and smoke in buildings. Dampers belong to the ‘passive fire protection’ family.
They are often installed in mechanical air ductwork, but they can also be found in other areas, such as walls and floors.
Fire dampers are usually close automatically when exposed to heat or smoke. This prevents the flow of air through the ductwork, which can help to contain a fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas of the building thereby buying valuable time for evacuation and enabling the safe evacuation of occupants..
Types of dampers
- Fusible link dampers use a bimetallic strip that melts at a predetermined temperature. When the strip melts, it opens the damper, which closes off the flow of air through the ductwork.
- Intumescent dampers use a material that expands when exposed to heat. This expansion closes off the flow of air through the ductwork.
- Motorised smoke dampers are controlled by a motor that opens or closes the damper. The motor can be activated by a variety of sensors, such as heat detectors, smoke detectors, or manual controls.
Inspection & testing of fire dampers
Dampers is a specialist area of fire protection
Passive Fire is a specialist area of fire protection. It is technical & complex! You need to have a deep understanding of not only the BCA, but of all the technical specifications & treatment methods available to protect openings.
Just like your GP referring you to a cardiologist for an irregular heart rhythm, your fire protection contractor may refer you to – or engage directly – a passive fire specialist to properly diagnose & rectify passive fire issues that are present in a building.
They are installed in complex areas. Fire dampers are typically installed in HVAC ductwork, which is a complex system of pipes and ducts. This means that the dampers must be installed and maintained by someone who understands the HVAC system and how it works.
They may be designed to work in conjunction with other fire protection systems. Fire dampers are designed to work in conjunction with other fire protection systems, such as fire walls and fire doors. This means that the dampers must be installed and maintained in a way that ensures that they will work properly with the other systems.
Their manufacturer & test specifications are technical. Fire dampers must be installed exactly in accordance with the manufacturer & test specifications.. These documents are complex.Â
Examples of Passive Fire Protection Specialists in Sydney include:
- Passive First
- Bowsers
- Ash Passive
- Greytons
I don’t think we’ve had contractors come through before who were so clean and tidy, helpful and responsive with ideas about how to better maintain the heritage and be compliant and generally respectful of the property.
He was so thoughtful, he stopped the really noisy part of the repair so I could answer calls. I went out at lunch, and he was on his hands and knees washing the floor in the entry because he’d brought in some debris from the street.
