Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - Waratah Strata Management ignored concerns about fire safety inspections on 29 April 2020

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Re: 52948 - Unit 158 - Smoke detector advice - 8Mar2020
Date:	Sun, 8 Mar 2020 10:07:18 +1100
From:	SP52948 owner
To:	Frank Tallaridi Waratah Strata Management

Good morning,

Please do not waste our time.

It is duty of Waratah Strata Management and maintenance staff to organize replacement of all smoke alarms in units. Lot 158 does not need to take any action and will provide access to the property when provided with the details of the visit. The cost of the replacement belongs to common funds, not Lot 158.

• For 20 years (including 2018), all smoke alarms were replaced from common funds. That includes actions by Waratah Strata Management, which were deliberately not disclosed to owners at EC meeting in March 2019 or ever since. Repeated requests to correct such statements in the subsequent meetings were ignored by Waratah Strata Management.

• Waratah Strata Management prevented Motion to ratify events related to smoke alarms for Lot 158 and others at AGM 2019. Very serious matter affecting personal safety and well-being of not only Lot 158 tenants but others as well.
  

• Ryde Council gave owners corporation till January 2020 to deal with number of fire safety issues, including smoke alarms and this is almost mid-March.

• The only reason why suddenly smoke alarms are allegedly not common property is due to fact that lot of money will need to be spent on it from common funds. But that is reality and we need to plan for it.

• One of the smoke alarms in Lot 158 was replaced by owners corporation in 2009 so it does not belong to Lot 158 anyway. It is already confirmed as common property.

a) We repeat for the third time in one week: please provide the full fire safety report for 2020 to Lot 158 immediately and details of the regulations.

We note that such report for 2018 and 2019 was not found in document searches on:

31 May 2019 and

20 September 2019

and not available on Waratah website for SP52948 owners (verified again today).

By the same token, the alleged letter for all owners about smoke detectors is not available at Waratah website or on notice boards too.

b) Waratah Strata Management provided details of the smoke alarms in Lot 158 only in the third email. The two emails dated 5 March 2020 contained no such information and under pressure from Lot 158, Waratah Strata Management added it belatedly.

In addition, full fire safety report for other owners is NOT DISCLOSED.

History of fire safety abuses in SP52948 are well known. Some of the examples are enclosed.

Some examples of warnings by Ryde Council are provided too.

c) We contacted Fire NSW and got the information first hand.

The floor snake can be put on the inside of the property but must not be on the external side of the door (on common property). Lot 158 is already compliant in that regard.

What is the direct relevance of door snake (primarily designed for smell, smoke, and draft prevention) in regards to BCA Spec C3.4 & AS 1905.1:

4. Fire Shutters
A required fire shutter must—
(a) be a shutter that -
(i) is identical with a tested prototype that has achieved the required FRL; and
(ii) is installed in the same manner and in an opening that is not larger than the tested prototype; and
(ii) did not have a rise in average temperature on the side remote from the furnace of more than 140 K during the first 30 minutes of the test; or
(b) be a steel shutter complying with AS 1905.2 if metallic fire shutter is not prohibited by C3.5.

In any case, Lot 158 is compliant with Fire NSW recommendations, apart from smoke alarms, which are common property.

Thank you.

Please find attached a letter in relation to the need to replace your smoke alarm following a recent inspection by Eagle Fire.

The letter provided 2 options as follows;

1. You may engage your own contractor to replace the detector and provide me, or the building manager a copy of the compliance certificate, or
2. The Owners Corporation may engage Eagle Fire to replace your smoke detector for a fee as stated on the attached letter and that fee will be added to your strata account. Should you select this option you will need to provide access to your unit on a future installation date to be advised. Failure to do so will attract a further site attendance fee which will be additionally charged to your account.

Please advise by no later than Friday 13 March 2020 which of the above 2 options you select in order for an installation date to be arranged and finalised in preparation for the Annual Fire Safety Statement to be lodged with City of Ryde Council.

Eagle Fire report states the following for Unit 158 Level 2 Building A

Item # 121	Smoke Alarm	10 Year Replacement	Replace old/expired smoke alarm with new. The quoted amount is for a straight swap only and does not include any unforeseen circumstances.
Item # 122	Unit Smoke Alarm	10 Year Replacement	Replace old/expired smoke alarm with new. The quoted amount is for a straight swap only and does not include any unforeseen circumstances.

Regards,

Frank Tallaridi

Waratah Strata Management