Glossary

A pre-approved way of meeting a rule. Follow it and you're compliant — no argument needed.

A solution that satisfies a performance criterion of the Queensland Development Code. In MP 6.1 the acceptable solutions are A1 to A5.

A custom-engineered way of meeting the intent of the rules, instead of following the standard recipe.

A building solution that complies with the performance requirements other than by satisfying the deemed-to-satisfy provisions or acceptable solutions. Under MP 6.1 A1(d), inconsistent maintenance criteria in an alternative solution prevail.

Someone legally licensed for that specific type of fire work. A hydrant licence does not let you touch air handling.

A person who holds the licence or qualification relevant to the fire safety installation being commissioned or maintained. Licences do not transfer across disciplines.

The design and install standard for detection, alarm and warning systems.

AS 1670 series — Fire detection, warning, control and intercom systems: system design, installation and commissioning.

The routine service standard for most fire equipment. It's copyrighted — FVS works from the controlled copy.

AS 1851-2012 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment; adopted by MP 6.1 A1(a) as the acceptable solution for most prescribed installations.

The sprinkler design family — .1 general, .4 residential, .6 combined with hydrants.

AS 2118 series — Automatic fire sprinkler systems: Part 1 general, Part 4 residential, Part 6 combined sprinkler and hydrant systems.

Governs the five-yearly pressure test on extinguisher cylinders.

AS 2337 Gas cylinder test stations — including periodic hydrostatic testing of fire extinguisher cylinders.

The design and install standard for fire hydrant systems.

AS 2419.1 Fire hydrant installations — System design, installation and commissioning.

Tells you which extinguisher goes where and how many you need.

AS 2444 Portable fire extinguishers and fire blankets — Selection and location.

The framework for emergency plans, wardens and drills.

AS 3745 Planning for emergencies in facilities.

The maintenance standard for emergency and exit lighting. Not AS 1851.

AS/NZS 2293.2:1995 Emergency escape lighting and exit signs for buildings — Inspection and maintenance; adopted by MP 6.1 A1(c).

The 'as it should be' benchmark recorded once, so later tests have something to compare against.

Recorded data establishing the reference performance and configuration of an installation, against which routine service results are compared.

The building rulebook — now Volumes One and Two of the NCC.

Building Code of Australia — Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code.

The map at the booster or panel showing where everything is and how the system is zoned.

A diagrammatic plan of the building and its fire system zones, displayed at the booster assembly or fire indicator panel.

The red cabinet at the street where the brigade pumps water into the building's system.

The assembly of inlets, valves and fittings provided for fire brigade augmentation of a hydrant or sprinkler system.

Whatever combination of measures makes a building comply.

A solution that complies with the performance requirements, either as an acceptable/deemed-to-satisfy solution, an alternative solution, or a combination.

The document that says what class the building is and what it was approved for. Ask for it before you quote.

The certificate issued for a building stating its classification and the conditions of its approval for occupation and use.

What the building is used for, in the NCC's language — Class 1a house through to Class 10 shed.

The classification of a building or part of a building under NCC Part A6.

Proving a brand-new system works as designed before it is handed over.

The process of bringing a fire safety installation into operation and verifying it performs as required, with the relevant procedure, standard and form completed.

Commissioning proves a new system works. Baseline data records what 'working' looks like. Routine service checks it still matches, forever.

Commissioning verifies a new or modified installation against its design; baseline data captures the reference values and configuration; routine service is the recurring comparison of performance against that baseline at set frequencies.

A fault that means the asset would not do its job in a fire. Urgent.

A defect that renders a fire safety installation, or a critical component of it, unable to perform its intended function.

The formal written warning issued when a critical defect is found. It has to be attached to the occupier statement.

A written notice issued in respect of a critical defect. Copies, and proof of rectification, must be attached to the occupier statement.

Follow these and you're taken to have met the performance requirements.

Provisions which are deemed to satisfy the performance requirements of the NCC.

Defects are graded by how badly they stop the system working — critical defects are the urgent ones.

The categorisation of identified defects by severity and required response time, including critical and non-critical defects.

The building's emergency PA and warden phone system.

Emergency Warning and Intercommunication System — also described as sound systems and intercommunication systems for emergency purposes (SSISEP).

The fire panel near the front door — the brain of the detection system.

Fire Indicator Panel — the control and indicating equipment for a fire detection and alarm system.

A flap inside ductwork that snaps shut so fire can't travel through the air conditioning.

A device installed in ductwork to maintain the fire resistance level of the element it penetrates, actuated by heat or by a control signal.

A whole fire door assembly — leaf, frame, hardware and seals — tested and tagged as one unit.

A door assembly, including the leaf, frame, hardware and seals, tested and certified to provide a fire resistance level.

The dedicated pipework that carries water to hydrants and sprinklers.

The pipework reticulating water to fire hydrants or sprinkler systems.

Any built-in system or feature that helps detect, contain, fight or escape a fire.

An installation or feature of a building provided for fire safety purposes, including active and passive measures.

A roller shutter that drops to close an opening in a fire wall.

A shutter assembly providing a fire resistance level across an opening, typically released on detection or by fusible link.

The commissioning form for new hydrant and sprinkler systems.

Fire hydrant and sprinkler system commissioning form; a copy must be given to the building owner within 10 business days.

The maintenance form for hydrant and sprinkler testing. Ask every prospect if they get one.

Fire hydrant and sprinkler system periodic testing and maintenance form; a copy must be given to the building occupier within 10 business days, and retained by the tester for 5 years.

A small metal link that melts in heat and lets a damper or shutter close. Replaced at 20 years.

A thermally actuated release element; replacement activity referenced at Table 13.4.14 of AS 1851-2012.

Filling a cylinder or pipe with water at high pressure to prove it won't burst.

A pressure test of a vessel or pipework using liquid, at a specified test pressure and duration.

When a fire system is deliberately taken offline for works — it needs controls and a record.

A planned or unplanned condition in which a fire safety installation is wholly or partly out of service, requiring interim risk controls and notification.

Look at it properly against a defined check — not a glance.

To examine an item to determine whether it complies with the relevant requirements.

The on-site folder or system where every service, defect and repair is written down.

The record of routine service, defects and rectifications kept on site for a fire safety installation.

Keeping the system working to the level it was originally required to reach — not just fixing breakages.

Work carried out to keep a fire safety installation performing to a standard no less than that originally required.

The national rulebook for building and plumbing, made up of the BCA and PCA.

National Construction Code — comprising the Building Code of Australia and the Plumbing Code of Australia.

The person or entity actually in charge of the building day to day. They carry the legal duty.

The person who occupies or has control of the building, on whom the maintenance and record-keeping obligations fall.

An annual signed declaration listing every fire asset and confirming it has been maintained.

The statement in MP 6.1 Schedule 2, completed within one year of taking up occupation and yearly thereafter, kept with maintenance records for two years and lodged with the QFD.

The built-in fire resistance — doors, walls, shutters and seals — that works without power or water.

A fire safety installation that resists the spread of fire and smoke by construction rather than by active operation; in QLD, those listed in MP 6.1 Schedule 1 follow that schedule's frequencies.

The fire-rated plug around a pipe or cable where it passes through a fire wall.

A system of materials installed to restore the fire resistance level of an element penetrated by a service.

The outcome the rule wants. How you get there is up to you.

The criteria (P1–P5 in MP 6.1) that a building solution must satisfy.

Any fire installation the building was ever required to have and has never been allowed to remove.

A fire safety installation required to be installed in a building, which has not been authorised to be discontinued.

The Queensland regulator that issues the licences fire contractors must hold.

Queensland Building and Construction Commission, established under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991.

The Queensland Development Code — the state's add-ons to the national building rules. MP 6.1 lives here.

Queensland Development Code, called up by the Building Regulation 2006.

Queensland Fire Department — the authority that audits buildings and receives occupier statements.

The Queensland Fire Department, which administers the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and acts as a referral agency for certain alternative solutions.

Written proof that the work was done.

A written or electronic record of maintenance or testing, kept and made available for checking.

Form 71 for commissioning, Form 72 for maintenance — water-based systems only.

Form 71 (fire hydrant and sprinkler system commissioning) or Form 72 (fire hydrant and sprinkler system periodic testing and maintenance).

The department's step-by-step procedure for water-based system testing.

The 'Fire hydrant and sprinkler system commissioning and periodic maintenance procedure' published by the department.

The standard that applied when the building was approved — that's your benchmark.

The standard applicable on the day the building development application was approved, subject to s37 of the Building Act 1975.

Mandatory — it was demanded by the code, an approval or a condition.

Required by the NCC, the Building Act, a development approval or a condition of approval.

The scheduled recurring check — monthly, six-monthly, yearly and so on.

The periodic inspection, testing, preventative maintenance and survey of a fire safety installation at the intervals specified for that asset.

The occupier must keep every fire installation working at all times — not just on test day.

Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 s104D — the occupier of a building must maintain at all times every prescribed fire safety installation to a standard of safety and reliability in the event of fire.

A door built to hold back smoke rather than fire, usually self-closing across a corridor.

A doorset designed and installed to resist the passage of smoke between compartments.

Big fans that suck smoke out of a space to keep escape routes usable.

A mechanical system that extracts smoke from a fire-affected space to maintain tenable conditions.

One self-contained tenancy or home within a bigger building — an apartment, an office suite, a shop.

A room or other part of a building for occupation by one or joint owner, lessee, tenant or other occupier to the exclusion of any other person.

Fans that push clean air into the fire stairs so smoke can't get in while people escape.

A mechanical system maintaining positive pressure in a fire-isolated stairway relative to adjacent spaces during fire mode.

The little metal or plastic label on an asset showing when it was last serviced.

The durable label attached to an item recording service dates and the servicing organisation.

Actually operate it and check the result against a benchmark.

To operate or subject an item to a defined procedure to verify performance against specified criteria.

A sprinkler aimed at a wall or window to keep it cool so fire doesn't spread through it.

A sprinkler designed to discharge water onto a wall or glazed element to maintain its fire performance. Expressly within the MP 6.1 definition of a water-based installation.

Sprinklers and hydrants. These trigger the extra Queensland paperwork.

Sprinklers (including wall-wetting sprinklers) and fire hydrants (including hydrant boosters).