This article contains Q&As about who pays for the Fire and Rescue NSW call out fee.
Table of Contents:
- VIDEO: What happens in an apartment fire? First hand account of a strata emergency
- QUESTION: Should residents be told when alarm testing is occurring?
- QUESTION: Our tenant set off the common property fire alarm. The fire services attended and charged a $1,760 call out fee. Are we expected to pay?
VIDEO: What happens in an apartment fire? First hand account of a strata emergency
COO Bob Epps and Account Manager Haydn Smith from 2020 Fire Protection join Nikki Jovicic from LookUpStrata to recount a recent apartment fire in Haydn’s apartment block. Haydn is a trained professional who teaches fire evacuation training to residents every week, so how did the real life experience compare to the theory and what can Haydn and Bob share with you to help keep you and your loved ones safe in the case of an emergency in your strata building?
This video contains actions for both committee members and lot owners. Plus, there is one request about fire safety testing that committees should stop making right now. You may be surprised by what this is.
Links to resources mentioned during the chat:
- Short Side by Side Sprinkler Demo – 2019
- Home Fire Timeline – Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition of Australia
The information contained in this session, including the discussions that arise from submitted questions, is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. You should seek independent advice before acting on the information contained in this session.
Bob Epps and Haydn Smith 2020 Fire Protection E: rob.broadhead@2020fire.com.au P: 1300 340 210
This post appears in Strata News #608.
Question: Should residents be told when alarm testing is occurring?
Recently the building’s fire alarm siren went off in our apartment building. I was working from home and quickly grabbed my bag and keys and evacuated outside. By the time I got to the bottom of the steps, it stopped so I went back and started working again. This happened AGAIN a few moments later. I assumed after that, the fire alarms were just being tested.
Should residents be told when alarm testing is occurring? I was quite concerned and also annoyed that I evacuated twice and wasn’t advised.
Answer: If it’s a large, modern building, it will likely have a PA and testing would be announced.
There are lots of types of fire alarm systems they could be talking about here. Anything from a smoke alarm through to a cascading evacuation system. Some context as to the building address, size or age would assist greatly in answering accurately.
If it’s a large, modern building, then it will likely have a PA (Public Address) function and any testing would likely be announced.
Many smaller buildings or those exceeding 15 years old probably don’t have a PA function & therefore announcements may be impossible.
If the owner is concerned, they should ask their strata manager to gain clarification on the type of system they have installed. If they are at all concerned when they hear a fire alarm, they should evacuate without delay.
As an FYI – The NSW Government, along with the Fire Protection Association Australia & Strata Community Association (NSW) are working on a building manual concept to address the lack of available information on what systems are installed on site.
Rob Broadhead 2020 Fire Protection E: rob.broadhead@2020fire.com.au P: 1300 340 210
This post appears in the May 2021 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Question: Our tenant set off the common property fire alarm. The fire services attended and charged a $1,760 call out fee. Are we expected to pay?
Our tenant burnt some food and smoke filled the unit. She opened the front door and set off the body corporate/common property fire alarm and the Fire and Rescue NSW attended.
We have now received an invoice for $1,760 from Strata. Due to a bylaw, the tenant doesn’t have to pay. The owner pays the call out fee.
The tenant has refused to pay the fine.
We have applied to NCAT and the first hearing told the tenant that if the property manager keeps asking her to pay it is harassment and she could sue the owners! We were adjourned and told to go back to Fire Services to waive the fee. The Fire Brigade won’t talk to us and keep telling us to talk to the Strata as they own the system.
We are very distressed and lost – what can we do?
Answer: The fee is payable by the person who requested the fire brigade to come out, which is usually the owners corporation because it is the owners corporation’s fire alarm that summons Fire and Rescue NSW.
Under section 42(1)(e) of the Fire and Rescue NSW Act 1989 and clause 47 of the Fire Brigades Regulation 2014, the NSW fire brigade can charge a fee of $1,600 (ex GST) for attending a building in response to a false fire alarm. The fee is payable by the person who requested the fire brigade to come out, which is usually the owners corporation because it is the owners corporation’s fire alarm that summons the fire brigade. So, if you have asked the fire brigade to waive the fee, then they are probably not interested in doing so because you are not the person liable to pay it to them and it should be the owners corporation requesting that the fee be waived.
Many owners corporations have by-laws that allow them to recover false fire alarm fees from residents responsible for setting off false fire alarms. However, where the resident is a tenant who caused the false fire alarm, sometimes the by-law purports to make the landlord responsible to pay the fee even though the landlord had nothing to do with the fire alarm being set off. Whether a by-law can do this is debatable because it purports to make one person liable for the wrongful act of another person where the first person has no knowledge of or control over what the second person is doing. A by-law that does that may infringe the requirement in section 139(1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 that a by-law must not be harsh, unconscionable or oppressive, and if a by-law is harsh, unconscionable or oppressive, then NCAT can declare it invalid under section 150 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
It is not clear why the by-law in your case means your tenant does not have to pay the false fire alarm fee. If that is the case and the by-law makes you as landlord responsible to pay the fee simply because you are the landlord, then that arguably makes the by-law invalid for being harsh, unconscionable or oppressive because it imposes the fee on a person who is innocent whereas it does not impose on it the person who is guilty of setting off the false fire alarm. It may be that it is easier administratively for your owners corporation to pursue you for the fee rather than your tenant but that is not a consideration in determining whether the by-law is valid.
You should tell your strata manager that you are not liable to pay the fee because you are not responsible, the by-law cannot make you responsible for something you did not do and to the extent that the by-law purports to make you responsible, it is invalid. You should also make sure when you pay your strata levies that at the same time you pay you give a direction to your strata manager that your payment is for your strata levies only and not this fee, to ensure you remain a financial owner for voting at general meetings.
If your strata manager and owners corporation continue to pursue you for the fee, then you should apply for mediation at NSW Fair Trading against your owners corporation on the basis that the by-law is invalid and if you cannot get a satisfactory outcome through mediation, you would have to commence a case against your owners corporation in NCAT to get the by-law declared invalid. You may need to get legal advice before bringing that case in NCAT.
You would only be able to recoup the fee from your tenant if you are liable to pay it (which is doubtful for the reasons above) and there is a legal basis for you to recoup it from your tenant such as under a clause in your residential tenancy agreement. It is not clear what the NCAT member meant when they said suing your tenant to recoup the fee may be harassment but that may be a way of the NCAT member telling you that your case against your tenant is not winnable and you should seek legal advice.
Carlo Fini Lawyer (NSW)
Please note: This is not intended to be legal advice. You should seek legal advice specific to your situation.
This post appears in Strata News #454.
Have a question about who pays for fire brigade call out fees or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Embed Read next:Visit Maintenance and Common Property OR NSW Strata Legislation.
Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.
Are you not sure about some of the strata terms used in this article? Take a look at our NSW Strata Glossary to help with your understanding.
After a free PDF of this article? Log into your existing LookUpStrata Account to download the printable file. Not a member? Simple – join for free on our Registration page.