ROSEBERY
,
New South Wales
Message
While I understand this is a modification proposal and I did not respond to the original scheme I submit this comment nonetheless as there are opportunities for this comment to be addressed reasonably, without redesign of the building. The plans clearly indicate the building is designed to accommodate mobility impaired residents, such as Unit 5.02 which is marked by a wheelchair symbol to indicate accessibility. I wholly support the inclusion of accessible buildings and residential units.
However, as part of the approvals process, and particularly since these units are included, the proponent should be required to ensure that the building fire safety strategy has a clear and equitable plan for the safety of evacuation impaired occupants in the event of fire.
As a note to the approver, simply requiring compliance with the Building Code of Australia do NOT achieve this, as the Deemed-to-Satisfy (DtS) provisions do not require any consideration for how mobility/evacuation impaired occupants evacuate a building in the event of fire or other emergency. The DtS provisions only address access into the building, not safe emergency egress.
If the designer's plan for evacuation impaired evacuation includes refuge spaces, these should be designed in accordance with best practice, which includes two way communication points such that an evacuation impaired occupant in the space is not simply abandoned or forgotten in the refuge space for hours. However there are many other options for designing safe evacuation for mobility/evacuation impaired occupants.