Performance Standards for Private Bushfire Shelters
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) was tasked by the Victorian Royal Commission to develop a Standard for Private Bushfire Shelters (PBS).
In early 2010 AFAC was asked to participate in a forum where comments would be considered following the circulation of the public comment draft for PBS. The draft was released on January 25, 2010, and comments provided to ABCB within two weeks.
To ensure that AFAC was able to put forward a collective view, engagement with representatives from interested agencies occurred and they provided input to assist with the revision of the draft Standard. The Manager Standards, as the AFAC nominee, co-ordinated responses from the NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire Brigades, Tasmanian Fire Service, Metropolitan Fire Brigade, South Australian Country Fire Service and the Victorian Country Fire Authority and submitted 74 recommendations on behalf of AFAC.
At the forum two key outcomes were agreed:
• General agreement that the release of the document should incorporate a proposal for its further development, including prospective research to address perceived knowledge gaps.
• The ABCB Reference Group will prepare a strategy for further development of the published Standard that includes appropriate test procedures.
A special meeting was then held between the ABCB and AFAC, with negotiations taking place on the 74 recommendations submitted by AFAC. It was also agreed that due to the success of the forum held the week before, a number of these issues had already been resolved.
AFAC raised a significant point that needed to be addressed first and was fundamental to its position regarding the document. The issue was in relation to Table 4.1 Acceptable Metrics. It was a strong view of all the AFAC representatives that for those shelters in a BAL 40 or greater, it should be a mandatory requirement for a sealed shelter. It was also AFAC’s view that this Standard should not allow for shelters that are attached or under a home, such as a wine cellar, to be classified as a shelter. Following significant discussion the key issues have been resolved in support of the AFAC position.
The Performance Standard for PBS has now been published by the ABCB and is available here.
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