Fire safety

City Condos is fitted with a fire alarm (EWIS) and sprinkler system throughout the building and the car park. Indoor common areas have smoke detectors connected to the EWIS, while apartments have isolated smoke detectors. It is the responsibility of each lot owner to ensure that the smoke detectors in their apartment are functioning. Fire Rescue Victoria recommends that when it comes to smoke detectors in your home, you test monthly, dust annually, and replace every 10 years. If your smoke detector has a 9V battery, they advise you should replace it annually.

The building’s EWIS is inspected once a month, for manual and automatic modes and any faults, by Australian Emergency Services Maintenance as per the Australian standards. The sprinkler heads and other fire equipment on common property are also checked according to Australian standards.

In the event of a fire requiring evacuation of the building, the alarm will sound on the relevant floors. Our EWIS has two tones, one (beeps) to prepare for immediate evacuation, and one (a whooping, siren like sound) to evacuate immediately. All residents should make themselves familiar with the Evacuation Plan and Procedures displayed near the lifts on each floor of the building. Depending on your floor and the location of smoke, the prepare tone may sound for longer, or not at all. In a fire, you should not use the lifts. City Condos is equipped with a stairwell pressurisation system that activates during an evacuation, so you may find the stairwell door is harder to open than usual.

In a fire emergency, call 000 from a safe place. Fire Rescue Victoria is a free service with only two exceptions: anyone who deliberately makes a false report of fire is liable for the cost of the callout, and when an EWIS automatically calls FRV but it is found to have been a false alarm, the building owner (or Owners Corporation representing the owners in our case) is liable for the cost.

When the Owners Corporation is held liable for a false alarm from our EWIS, we on charge the cost to the lot that caused it (when applicable). Smoke detectors in your apartment are not connected to the EWIS, and will not result in an automatic call to FRV - you will need to call 000 from a safe place.

To avoid paying for a callout, you should never allow smoke or steam from your apartment to escape into lobbies (except to evacuate in an emergency), as this will trigger the EWIS and (if a false alarm) result in a callout cost that will be on charged.

You should also be careful never to strike a sprinkler head on common property or in your apartment, as if the head opens, it will activate the EWIS and cause property damage.

For everyone’s safety, please never wedge open or obstruct any door on common property, as this may compromise the stairwell pressurisation system or make an escape route unsafe to use. Never leave any items in the stairwells or on any other escape route, as these may catch fire or obstruct the escape route. To avoid starting or accelerating a fire, flammable substances (other than normal domestic quantities for domestic purposes, and fuel in your vehicle’s fuel tank) should not be stored at City Condos. Cigarette butts should never be allowed to blow or fall off balconies, and should be extinguished completely before disposal. Used batteries should be taken to a battery disposal scheme (City of Port Phillip Resource Recovery Centre, Aldi), and especially should not be disposed of through the rubbish chute. Please note some electronic devices may contain sealed batteries and should be disposed of as eWaste, not in City Condos bins. Damaged batteries, especially Li-ion batteries, can spontaneously ignite.