Who Undertakes Fire Safety Inspections?

Officers from a local fire station generally carry out a Level 1 fire safety inspection of a building using a standard fire safety inspection checklist of legislative requirements. Should this inspection reveal that fire safety systems are not being properly maintained or that the building does not meet legislative requirements, and the owner/occupier fails to act to rectify the problem in the time provided, a report will be provided to a senior fire safety officer to carry out a more thorough Level 2 building fire safety survey of the property. The QFRS conducts an ongoing inspection program of all types of buildings other than domestic residences. Prior to a fire safety inspection being conducted, a QFRS officer would normally make contact with the owner/occupier of the building to arrange a suitable time for the inspection. It should be noted that the QFRS is not required to give prior notice of a fire safety inspection, however as a matter of practice, inspections without notice are generally only carried out when there is cause to believe a serious fire danger exists in a building. On the agreed day of the inspection, the QFRS officer(s) will meet the owner/occupier on site and discuss the inspection with the owner/occupier who may accompany the officers during the inspection, if desired. All QFRS officers will be able to provide appropriate identification to verify themselves as a representative of the QFRS. The fire safety inspection will include an inspection of the building's FSMP. All existing budget accommodation buildings must have a FSMP prepared by 1st July 2003, which must include information about how the building meets the requirements Fire Safety Standard. All information about fire safety for the building should be kept with the FSMP. For further information about FSMPs, refer to the guideline on "Fire Safety Management Plans". The fire safety inspection will involve an inspection of the building's fire safety installations and an inspection of the maintenance records for each of the fire safety installations in the building. The inspection checklist will be completed during the inspection of the property and the owner/occupier will receive a copy of the completed checklist signed by the inspecting officer. If no problems are found to exist, the inspection is complete.