Page 38 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2019

Safety in HVACR
New sprinkler rules for apartments
The rules apply to 700-plus new buildings that are built each year/
“The research results indicate that automatic residential sprinklers significantly improve the safety of occupants in the event of fire,” he said.
“They can prevent a fire from escalating, which may mean the difference between a minor incident and a major tragedy. The presence of au- tomatic sprinklers also serves to reduce risks faced by crews when fighting fires in homes.”
The new requirement follows a proposal sub- mitted to the ABCB by FRNSW, FPA Australia and AFAC. It is one of several headline changes in NCC 2019 confirmed by the ABCB which come into effect on May 1, 2019.
Under NCC 2019, newly-built residential apartment buildings over three storeys and less than 25 metres will require sprinklers under the Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) Provisions, going be- yond the previous requirement for sprinklers only in residential buildings above 25 metres. NCC 2019 also references two innovative new sprinkler systems designed by FPA Australia and project partners.
With funding primarily provided by FRNSW, the collaboration tested the new sprinkler sys- tems at CSIRO’s North Ryde fire research facility inNSW.
These world-leading sprinkler designs, now referenced in NCC 2019 as Technical Specifica-
“SPRINKLERS ARE ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE LIFE PROTECTION MEASURES IN A FIRE.” – FPA CEO, SCOTT WILLIAMS.
tions FPAA101D and FPAA101H, use innovative features to deliver high levels of protection with reduced cost and complexity.
FPA Australia CEO Scott Williams said auto- matic sprinklers are one of the most effective life protection measures in a fire.
“This change to our national building rules will dramatically improve the safety of residents living in the 700-plus new medium-rise build- ings of this type built each year,” he said.
“This is truly a major milestone for all of those involved in this wonderful collaboration, but mostly importantly the community will see the risk of fire in these types of building re- duced significantly.”
FAR LEFT: AFAC President and FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter.
LEFT: FPA Australia CEO Scott Williams
ALL NEW RESIDENTIAL apartment buildings above three storeys built in Australia will now be required to have automatic fire sprinklers in- stalled, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has announced.
The inclusion of sprinklers in medium-rise residential buildings, a new requirement in the upcoming National Construction Code (NCC) 2019, is the most significant shift in fire safety policy since the introduction of mandatory smoke alarms in homes and shared accommo- dation more than 10 years ago.
The change follows a fatal 2012 fire in a Bankstown apartment block that was not re- quired to have sprinklers installed, which re- sulted in the death of one woman and the seri- ous injury of another.
A subsequent coronial inquest found both women would have likely survived the fire without significant injury if the building had sprinklers.
The inquest set in motion a six-year collabora- tive project between the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia) and CSIRO to develop and propose effective, safe, fit for pur- pose sprinkler systems for medium-rise residen- tial buildings.
Changes in the speed of fire spread have driv-
en the new sprinkler requirements. Research carried out internationally and in Australia shows fires in modern apartments furnished with flammable synthetic materials can reach the deadly ‘flashover’ stage in less than three minutes. That’s eight times faster than 50 years ago, and too fast for occupants to evacuate.
Flashover occurs when the contents of a room spontaneously ignite due to radiant heat, and is considered unsurvivable. Fire testing in a near full-scale replica of the Bankstown apartment showed new sprinkler designs de- veloped by the project prevented any room from reaching flashover, while an unsprin- klered burn saw flashover reached in two min- utes and 45 seconds.
AFAC President and FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said he is pleased the ABCB is im- plementing the research findings into the NCC 2019.
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
38