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.
Fire Dampers
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.
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.
Smoke Alarms for the Deaf & Hearing Impaired
Conventional AS3786 smoke alarms are designed to produce 85dB at a distance of 3 meters when in alarm. Whilst this is adequate to wake most people from sleep, it may not be enough to wake those who have moderate or severe hearing loss.
Smoke alarms save lives, but those who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot depend on the sound of the regular alarm to alert them to a fire.
The solution is to install a specially designed smoke alarm system comprised of:
- A smoke detector – which produces a high frequency alarm sound,
- A strobe – which produces high-intensity light, designed to wake a sleeping person, andÂ
- A vibrating pad – which is placed under the pillow in order to shake the person awake.
In the event of a fire all 3 components will simultaneously activate, which should be sufficient to rouse a hearing impaired person from even a deep sleep.
The strobe plugs into a power point. It can be put on the bedside table, or it can be mounted to the wall near the bed.
This system retails for around $600 + GST.
For more information:
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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.
