You may have probably heard of AFSS (Annual Fire Safety Statement) certification when it comes to the subject of protecting your house from fire outbreaks. This is the bedrock of implementing fire safety in a building.
This explains why to adhere to the Australian Building Code, numerous essential fire safety measures are incorporated during the building process. Extinguishers, fire hose reels, emergency lights, fire detection systems, and fire sprinkler systems are just a few examples of the various things that may be included in these.
In this article, we will discuss AFSS certification in addition to how you can protect your building from fire outbreaks.
AFSS Certification—How it works
AFSS certification must be completed and submitted to the local council by the building owner or their representative just before the construction of the building is over before an occupancy certificate can be granted.
The AFSS certification is to establish that each of the essential fire safety measures mentioned in the Fire Safety Schedule has been implemented and is capable of performing to the appropriate performance standard.
Examples include AS1670 for fire detectors, AS2441 for hose reels, and AS2118 for fire sprinklers are examples of standards that the building owner or owner’s agent obtains verification from the designers and installers of each safety measure that these standards have been satisfied.
AFSS Certification Renewal
To renew the certification, a copy of the Annual Fire Safety Statement must be prepared and forwarded to Council, along with copies going to the fire department and being displayed in the building entry, every year following the completion of the building, following the Environment Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.
The new legislation in place ensures that the Annual Fire Safety Statement must attest that an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) (or multiple practitioners, as necessary) inspected the building, evaluated the fire safety measures, and determined that each of the measures is capable of carrying out to the applicable standard.
Besides the AFSS certification, other means you can employ to protect your building against fire outbreaks include the following
Install fire detectors
The first line of defense against danger for you and your household is a set of smoke detector and fire alarms aside acquiring AFSS certification. When there is smoke in a building, it is picked by the internal sensors of the device and an alarm goes off almost immediately. This alarm helps you rectify the issue before everything deteriorates.
However, you must always maintain the device else it won’t serve its purpose.
Install a carbon monoxide sensor
Thing is, carbon monoxide may not necessarily harm or cause damage to your house the way a fire does, it is nonetheless extremely harmful. Burning carbon-based materials, such as fuel, releases carbon monoxide, an odorless and colorless gas.
CO can also have access to your house or building when burning fuels such as wood, gas, coal, oil, and gasoline. You make matters more if you operate your gas stove or fireplace inappropriately.
Instead of buying a CO sensor and a fire detector separately, you could buy a dual-sensor CO and smoke detector that detects heat, smoke, and CO. This will not only shorten the installation time, but it will also lower costs, and perhaps even save your life.
We believe you have learned about AFSS certification and ways you could safeguard your home against fire outbreaks. Let us know if this article was helpful or not!
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