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Topic
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The building I live in in a suburb of Sydney , NSW , has several balconies that face West.
In Summer it becomes very hot on those balconies in the afternoons.
On two of those balconies there has been left permanently a cylinder of Gas connected to a small portable BBQ.
Last Summer there was a large fire started on the roof of a building in our street as result of a Gas BBQ being lit on a very hot Summer day.
The concern of some of us in the building I live in is that if there was even a small gas leak from one of the on-balcony cylinders whilst a person was attempting to light their BBQ , or even if only smoking a cigarette near it , then there could be an explosion large enough to cause physical damage to the nearest neighbour on their balcony from flying objects , or sufficient heat from the explosion and subsequent on-balcony fire to ignite things on the beside neighbour’s balcony also or on the balcony above.
The Fire Safety Inspector for our building said there are no Fire Safety Regulations by our local Council about storage of a Resident’s BBQ Gas cylinder on the Residents own , or rented , property.
Does anyone here know if there are any Regulations within Strata Law in NSW under which an Owner can be issued an Order to not store a cylinder of flammable gas in a location where it is subject to high environmental heat and where that location is very close to neighbours in the same building ?
The particular gas cylinders are small enough to be carried inside the Units and stored in the bathrooms , where there is unlikely to be a fire , and if there was it would not spread inside a tiled bathroom , however we may have to obtain an enforceable Order to have the owners of the gas cylinders do that.
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@MyAimIsTrue said:
The particular gas cylinders are small enough to be carried inside the Units and stored in the bathrooms , where there is unlikely to be a fire , and if there was it would not spread inside a tiled bathroom , however we may have to obtain an enforceable Order to have the owners of the gas cylinders do that.
Must admit I would have thought it safer to leave gas cylinders outside a building rather than inside due to the risk of gas leaks. If the cylinder leaks inside the apartment the gas buildup could cause an explosion whereas if outside the gas would escape into the atmosphere and their would be less chance of an explosion.
A properly maintained cylinder should have no problem coping with normal ambient temperatures if kept in a ventilated area, lots of cylinders can be found stored outside buildings. They should be fitted with a safety valve that will vent off surplus gas if the pressure does get too high, but again provided there is ventilation the gas will dissipate without causing a danger. If the venting gas did catch fire, it would not pose a risk to the tank itself.
The only real risk of a tank exploding is if it gets caught in an external fire, and the heat is sufficient to weaken the structure of the tank.
Gas cylinders are usually very safe in most environments. I have heard of gas cylinders surviving bush fires without exploding etc. There is nothing in the Strata Act about storage of gas cylinders or gas at all, but you may want to contact NSW Fire and Rescue and get some advice on any fire regulations that may apply, however I am pretty sure that there are no laws to state that gas cannot be kept on a balcony of a strata building.
There is already a requirement (in NSW) for all refillable LPG cylinders to be tested before sale, at 10 year intervals thereafter, and for the date when the most recent test was undertaken to be engraved on the cylinder.
If the date shown on any cylinder is older than 10 years, then it cannot be refilled; only exchanged or replaced with/by a newer one.
I’m inclined to the view that 10 years between testing operations is a little long, but then minds greater than mine have decreed that interval as adequate.
As all of the above is legislated via the NSW Gas Supply (Consumer Safety) Regulation (2012) there’s nothing to be gained by an Owners Corporation (O/C) attempting to impose further or different requirements upon its Residents by way of the suggested Special By-Law, because as a “superior law” all provisions of the legislation (above) would take precedence and thereby nullify any initiatives by an O/C.
MAIT – some regulars here mightn’t agree that I have a sense of humour, or any other kind of sense for that matter, but perhaps THIS link to the website of the NSW Department of Fair Trading will clarify the issues and put your mind at ease.
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