SA Roofing August 2018 // Issue 103 | Page 27

FEATURES The most common causes of fires include human negligence and poor maintenance. As a result of the disaster, the Australian building regulations were revised to include new guidelines and standards for bushfire planning and building. The new regulations state that all properties will now require a bushfire attack assessment and a Bushfire Attack Level that outlines the type of construction required. “So what lessons do we take from Australia’s biggest natural disaster? Certainly that fire safety policies and management are a key response that should be implemented by government and local authorities. However, government cannot do it alone. The public and private sector and in particular, the research and development sector need to play their part in assisting the country in the development of these environmental protection plans,” says Strydom. Fire policies a hot topic The South African built sector is guided by the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (No. 103 of 1977) and SANS 10400. Therefore regulation regarding fire protection is of high importance. According to the Institute for Timber Construction (ITC-SA), engineers signing off roof structures which do not comply with the Fire Regulations could be put to task with the Engineering Council of South Africa. Professor Walter Burdzik of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria confirms, “Any failure of a truss plant or roof inspector to insist on the separation of roofs as per fire regulations needs to be reported to the ITC-SA. The same principle applies to low-cost housing; just because a roof is over a low-cost house does not justify deviating from National Building Regulations.” Africa’s only dual purpose fire retardant & biological preservative treatment for timber. Buildings using Flambor FR will meet the fire safety requirements as per SANS 10400 - T as wll as preservative requirements as per SANS 10005, 1288 & 457. CLADDING // CONCRETE // INSULATION // STEEL // THATCH // TIMBER // TRANSLUCENT // WATERPROOFING // COMPONENTS AUGUST 2018 25