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Recently a notice has been put up, by OC Management forbidding all occupants from using a Fire Exit door to exit the building. This door is down a corridor, past storage units and has one-way exit capabilities only and is located at the opposite end of the building, well away from the formal entrance. It is not alarmed. The original notice says that it is a Fire door to Keep Clear and No Obstruction. Garbage bins are regularly placed outside of the door, blocking and obstructing egress, by OC Management. Is this law or are residents allowed to use this to exit a building? The next step will no doubt be threats of fines… Does anyone have knowledge about this?
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Perhaps there is something odd about fire regulations that say the door can only be used in an emergency, but I can’t think why that would be. Assuming the door can be used:
I would argue that allowing the use of the door for egress would be a good policy to ensure it stays unobstructed. The OC’s risk of being found liable would be reduced as it is less likely to become obstructed with nobody noticing till too late. Argue that it would be a good safety measure to reverse to edict to not use the door. Talk to your neighbours who use the door and convince them of the good sense of this proposal. If you get nowhere with the managing agent, put the safety argument to the EC, who can direct the managing agent. If you get nowhere with them, just keep going out the door and moving obstructions out of the way. Photograph the obstructions you moved out of the way in order to ensure the OC remained compliant with fire regulations. IE have the proof that you occupy the high moral ground!
I presume you use that exit because it is more convenient. All residents have a right to reasonable use and enjoyment of the common property.
A lot of buildings have “emergency use only” restrictions on fire exits, mainly for internal or external security reasons. AFIK, it is not a legal requirement, nor is it illegal as long as the door can be freely opened when required.
In our building we find that people often use these exits, but don’t allow them to close properly, presumably to get later re-entry without a key. We have tried to deter this, but we can’t legally prevent it. We are considering putting alarms on the doors.
In our experience, alarms only work to alert someone that the door is open after the culprit has gone – which helps security but isn’t a deterrent (and can be really annoying).
Movement activated lights and Wi-fi cameras are relatively cheap and act both as a deterrent and for evidence gathering for serial offenders.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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