Fire bunker standards will be fast-tracked!

Finally there is talk about introducing standards for Fire Bunkers and Fire Shelters.

All of us at Fire Proof Shelters have seen a number of examples where Sub-Standard and downright dangerous Fire Bunkers are being sold and people need to be aware of the potential hazards these poorly designed Fire Bunkers introduce!

Some of the backyard Fire Bunker problems to look out for are:

Not using a professionally made fully rated Fire Door
No option for Fire proof viewing panel
Small capacity or Air Volume inside i.e. 6 Cubic metres and below!
NO protection of entry and exit against falling objects.
NOT using fully fire rated door hinges and handles.
NOT offering Top or Side entry Fire Bunker models.

These are just a few of the critical Fire Bunker design flaws we have seen in some of the available fire shelters for sale in Australia.

Read the story here……

Greg Roberts
September 21, 2009 – 6:24PM

Standards for backyard bushfire bunkers will be fast-tracked for this year’s Victorian fire season.

The plans were announced on Monday at the Bushfires Royal Commission after the building commissioner warned unsafe bunkers were hitting the market. Commission chair Bernard Teague said on Monday some matters could not wait until its final report next July, with his comments following the first day of bushfire-related death inquiries.

“The commission has heard a substantial amount of evidence on the topic of building in bushfire prone areas,” he told the commission.

“Having considered that it appears to us that there are some matters that cannot wait.

“They should be the subject of interim recommendations.”

Those matters include the regulation of bushfire bunkers and other aspects of building in bushfire prone areas.

Written and oral submissions on the bunkers will take place within weeks with the recommendations coming after that, although no set date has been fixed.

Victoria’s building commissioner Tony Arnel told the royal commission recently that minimum standards were urgently needed because there were some potentially “risky” bunkers for sale.

He said there had been large community demand for the private refuges after Black Saturday.

The building commission released an information paper regarding personal bunkers at the time, warning people they were not fail-safe and urging them to seek professional advice from a qualified builder before investing in a shelter.

Mr Arnel and Standards Australia chief executive John Tucker want the standards finalised within six months.

It has also been suggested the bunkers be made mandatory in some areas along with standards for all buildings in bushfire areas.

A Standards Australia spokeswoman told AAP the organisation was still waiting for a project proposal to develop standards for bunkers to be submitted and would welcome one from relevant stakeholders.

This story was found at: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/fire-bunker-standards-to-be-fasttracked-20090921-fyex.html

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!