- This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 1 month ago by .
-
Topic
-
I live in a 3 storey 12 unit walk-up block built c1972. Recently some residents are leaving doors that lead to the garage areas chocked open.
One owner put a door catcher against the wall (no permission) and now some owners use this catch to keep the door open for easier access, or so they don’t have to keep opening the door which has a closer on it.
I presume these doors are ‘fire rated’ and we have an obligation to keep the doors closed to prevent or delay smoke from entering the common stairwell area if there is a fire in the garage area.
Would this ‘chocking’ open be legal and what is the best course of action to deal with this.
-
Replies
-
If your doors are fire-rated (compliance sticker somewhere on the frame), then measures to defeat the self-closing process are illegal, and should cause your building to fail the annual check that leads to filing of a compliance certificate with your local council. Corrective action to make individual apartment doors compliant should be charged to the respective owners, along with the cost of callback for your fire services officers. The Owners Corp may have to wear the cost attributed to the communal doors, but it should be a lesson learned.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.