Frequently Asked Questions

A certificate of occupancy is a document issued by a local government agency or building department certifying a building’s compliance with applicable building codes and other laws, and indicating it to be in a condition suitable for occupancy. A building’s Certificate of Occupancy will detail the Essential Services of the building that require regular maintenance the frequency of that maintenance and the service required.If you’re unsure of what Essential Safety Measures are required to be maintained in your building, contact us on 1300295337. Fire and Wire can arrange a site inspection to identify what is required to be maintained, and provide a detailed quotation for ongoing maintenance of your Essential Safety Measures.

Australian Standards require all fire equipment gets serviced at regular intervals set by the Australian Standards. Fire equipment needs to be maintained by accredited service providers to ensure if the need arises, the equipment will be ready for use. Having these services completed at the correct intervals and repairing any defects confirms you are meeting your requirements. Fire & Wire undertake fire extinguisher training and fire equipment maintenance.

The Exit and Emergency Lights must be tested every 6 months. All Exit and Emergency light fittings are equiped with a battery backup to provide light to assist with a safe evacuation should the power be interrupted. Testing the Exit and Emergency lighting or systems involves switching off the mains power to the Emergency lights and relying on the internal power source (Back up battery). The test lasts 90 minutes. If any of the light fittings fail the 90 minute test, we will provide a quotation to repair or replace the light fittings.

Yes, a requirement of AS 1851-2012 is to provide a service report for all servicing or testing for your property. We provide all our clients with a clear, informative service report including site photo’s, the asset location and whether it passes or fails and any comments or required repairs.Inspection logbooks on site keeps a history of every attendance by our service technicians. You can get an annual fire safety report from Fire & Wire.

It is a recommendation of the Australian Standards, and the MFB that only trained personnel such as Fire Panel technicians carry out isolations of the Fire Indicator Panel. Isolations can be tricky, only qualified fire service technicians can identify and safely isolate a zone, detector or other part of the fire monitoring system. Having parts of a building isolated or unprotected is a huge responsibility and shouldn’t be taken lightly as Isolating the wrong part of the system may render the fire system useless in an emergency situation. This may also compromise the insurance you have in place.Fire and Wire can handle any isolation should you require an isolation to be done.

The building’s occupancy certificate determines how often fire equipment is required to be tested. Wherever possible, the most recent version of the Australian Standard (AS) 1851 is used for determining the frequency of service intervals.

Smoke Alarms save lives and it is important it is tested and kept compliant. Some apartment devices may be connected to the buildings fire system whilst others may be the residential type and be stand alone inside your apartment. It is important you know the difference as setting them off will affect the building in different ways. Check with your building manager or Fire and Wire to see whether we can assist in identifying and servicing.

Fire Hydrants are required to be tested every 6 months. The hydrant is water flow tested annually to ensure it meets the required standards. The Hydrant system is pressure tested every 5 years to ensure there are no leaks within the system.

Hose Reels are installed to be available in a fire situation and they are not to be used for any other purpose. If a hose reel appears damaged, unwound or leaking, contact our service department on 1300295337. We will send a technician to investigate the issue. If we can not fix the Hose Reel while on site, we can provide a quotation to repair or replace it.

At the top of the fire extinguisher there is a gauge that shows if the fire extinguisher is charged (in the green). If the needle points in the red, the Fire Extinguisher is in need of recharging. This is one of the checks our technicians carry out but this alone does not confirm it will work and that is why you have experts carry out the service. Sometimes extinguishers can have faulty gauges that give you false readings so it is important you have a company that you can rely on maintain your buildings Essential services.If you’re not sure, please contact our service department on 1300295337. We can send a Technician out to your premises to inspect and service your fire extinguishers and other equipment.

If you work in a commercial kitchen they are generally required to have both. We recommend that any kitchens in tenancies or business kitchenette’s have a fire blanket and extinguishers ready when doing any cooking. Although not compulsory for your home kitchen we like the idea of every home being equiped with them as stove fires are the most common cause of fires in our homes. A fire blanket placed over a burning stove will smother the fire, preventing the fire from spreading. For a larger fire an Extinguisher may be required. Along with fire safety services, Fire and Wire sell Fire blankets and Extinguishers suitable for residential and commercial kitchens.

To provide a safe evacuation, Evacuation plans are installed throughout buildings and are generally installed at or near an emergency exit door. In an office or commercial building it is the responsibility of the Employer to ensure that employees are safe in their workplace. If you work in the building you may be familiar with the layout but an Evacuation plan is still required for you and also benefits others who visit your workplace like contractors, visitors and customers who you are required to keep safe when attending your place of business. In an emergency situation, the need to safely evacuate people relies solely on the Employer to provide a safe evacuation from the building to a designated area.In Residential buildings these plans should be displayed and understood by all residents but also be easy to understand for all visitors and contractors who may be unfamiliar with your building.

Block plans display the locations of the fixed fire equipment and make it easy in an emergency installation to identify and understand the systems on site. Bock plans are generally either a Sprinkler Block Plan or a Hydrant System Block Plan.

It is a requirement of Australian Standards (AS) 2118 that a block plan be installed at the sprinkler control and test valve assembly. The Sprinkler Block Plan displays the location of the sprinkler isolation and test valves, and any other information required in an emergency situation.

The Hydrant block plan

It is the requirement of Australian Standards 2419 that a block plan be installed at the main booster connection at the front of the building. The block plan identifies all hydrants, including the booster system, on site and any isolation valves installed.

If you require a block plan, contact our Service Department on 1300295337 for further information.

If you’re unsure if all the Essential Safety Measures are correct for your building or you aren’t sure whether they are being being maintained or maintained correctly, contact our Service Department on 1300295337 for an inspection. We can tailor a service to meet your needs.

Mechanical Services are a specialist area sometimes independent but generally working in with your buildings Fire systems. Mechanical services can shutdown air-conditioning, open or close doors, close shutters or dampers or start extraction fans. Mechanical services are serviced by specialist technicians who inspect and maintain these systems to Australian Standards. Fire Services Contractors typically work together with Mechanical Ventilation service providers to ensure all the safety aspects of the Ventilation and Mechanical Services work in the correct manner where these systems communicate with the Fire Alarm System. Fire and Wire can assist with your mechanical company or can make it part of our service agreement with one of our specialist sub contractors, contact our Service Department on 1300295337 for an inspection. We can tailor a service to meet your needs.

Never touch the Fire Indicator Panel unless instructed to do so by a qualified Fire Service Technician or the Fire Brigade. Once the Fire brigade have attended contact our Service Department on 1300295337 and we can attend and get the system back to normal . We are a 24/7 business available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

All service logbooks should be kept in a designated area. Fire and Wire can supply you with an Essential Services Logbook Cabinet. We recommend that an Essential Services Logbook Cabinet be installed at the main entry of the building and all your service records can be kept together.

If you have Fire and Wire engaged on your site they are easily identifiable by a uniform as well as displayed identification. Please feel free to ask to see their identification should it not be displayed.

If there is a fire or emergency situation that requires the attendance of the Fire Brigade, Ambulance or Police, please ensure you phone 000. Fire and Wire has qualified staff on call so if there is an after hours emergency that requires the services of a Fire Services Technician, we can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1300295337.

If you require any further assistance please call Fire and Wire on 1300295337.