Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Qld body corp fined for fire safety breach
A Brisbane apartment complex body corporate has been slugged with a fine for a blocked fire escape and ‘chimney-like’ garbage chute.
August 29, 2018
A Brisbane apartment complex body corporate has been fined after firefighters found an evacuation route blocked and a chimney-like garbage chute that could have piped fire up 10 floors.
The Kangaroo Point complex was slugged $21,000 plus costs in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Carlisle Community Title Scheme pleaded guilty to 21 breaches of the Fire and Emergency Services Act and Building Fire Safety Regulation.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll says the body corporate failed to fix the problems found by inspectors, despite six months of warnings.
“(These breaches) posed a danger to the safety of those living in the apartments,” Ms Carroll said on Wednesday.
The breaches included a locked door preventing access to a fire stair on level nine of the 35-apartment complex.
QFES compliance and prosecution manager Mark Halverson said this could have been deadly because it potentially blocked the escape of residents.
“Access to those pathways is required … any obstruction is contrary to the approval of the building,” he told AAP.
Additionally, a garbage chute with doors on each floor of the building wasn’t fire isolated.
“The potential is there for smoke and possibly fire to travel up the chute and spread to any of the levels because they weren’t fire isolated by a fire door,” he said.
A Townsville body corporate was fined for similar offences late last year.