The buildings were constructed during 1990 as Class 9a buildings, single storey of Type C construction. The buildings are of timber framed brick veneer and have a timber truss roof with concrete roof tile over. The buildings operate under 2 provider numbers; one for high care and one for low care.
There were several Building Code of Australia (BCA) or aged care compliance issues to address in the existing buildings. In the process of the proposed development works, the following fire and life upgrades have been implemented –
- Upgrade fire hydrants on site to meet current requirements;
- Install fire sprinkler system;
- Check and correct any breaches in smoke and fire walls to ensure that the requirements of the current BCA for smoke and fire have been met;
- Upgrade smoke and thermal detection within the buildings;
- Correct any non compliance’s with exit hardware; and
- Install perimeter concrete paths to assist in the movement around the building.
The issue assessed by Fire Check Consultants was the increased smoke compartment floor area,from the BCA limit. Comparative and quantitative assessments were applied to determine if the existing building provides for a safer smoke environment for the residents than a BCA Deemed-to-Satisfy compliant solution.
The assessments determined that the existing building offers and acceptable level of resident safety from the affects of smoke generated from a design fire because an uncontrolled fire is not expected given the installation of an automatic residential fire sprinkler system that has an excellent record of fire control.
