NCC 2022 Volume One - Building Code of Australia Class 2 to 9 buildings

E1

Part E1 Fire fighting equipment

Part E1 Fire fighting equipment

Introduction to this Part

This Part focuses on provision of fire-fighting equipment which can enable occupants to fight the fire in its early stages and/or evacuate the building safely, facilitate fire brigade intervention and minimise the risk of fire spread between buildings.

Objectives

The Objective of this Part is to—

  1. safeguard occupants from illness or injury while evacuating during a fire; and
  2. provide facilities for occupants and the fire brigade to undertake fire-fighting operations; and
  3. prevent the spread of fire between buildings.

Functional Statements

A building is to be provided with fire-fighting equipment to safeguard against fire spread—

  1. to allow occupants time to evacuate safely without being overcome by the effects of fire; and
  2. so that occupants may undertake initial attack on a fire; and
  3. so that the fire brigade have the necessary equipment to undertake search, rescue and fire-fighting operations; and
  4. to other parts of the building; and
  5. between buildings.

Performance Requirements

A fire hose reel system must be installed to the degree necessary to allow occupants to safely undertake initial attack on a fire appropriate to—

  1. the size of the fire compartment; and
  2. the function or use of the building; and
  3. any other fire safety systems installed in the building; and
  4. the fire hazard.

Fire extinguishers must be installed to the degree necessary to allow occupants to undertake initial attack on a fire appropriate to—

  1. the function or use of the building; and
  2. any other fire safety systems installed in the building; and
  3. the fire hazard.

A fire hydrant system must be provided to the degree necessary to facilitate the needs of the fire brigade appropriate to—

  1. fire-fighting operations; and
  2. the floor area of the building; and
  3. the fire hazard.

Applications

E1P3 only applies to a building where a fire brigade is available to attend.

An automatic fire suppression system must be installed to the degree necessary to control the development and spread of fire appropriate to—

  1. the size of the fire compartment; and
  2. the function or use of the building; and
  3. the fire hazard; and
  4. the height of the building.

Suitable means of fire-fighting must be installed to the degree necessary in a building under construction to allow initial fire attack by construction workers and for the fire brigade to undertake attack on the fire appropriate to—

  1. the fire hazard; and
  2. the height the building has reached during its construction.

Suitable facilities must be provided to the degree necessary in a building to co-ordinate fire brigade intervention during an emergency appropriate to—

  1. the function or use of the building; and
  2. the floor area of the building; and
  3. the height of the building.
NCC Blurbs

An automatic fire detection system must be installed to the degree necessary to alert the fire brigade of fire so that fire fighting operations may be undertaken at the earliest possible time to limit property and environmental damage appropriate to—

  1. the building functions and use; and
  2. the fire hazard; and
  3. the height of the building; and
  4. the building floor area.

Applications

Tas E1P7 only applies to—

  1. a Class 5 building or Class 6 building having an aggregate floor area of more than 1000 m2; and
  2. a Class 7 building having a floor area of more than 1000 m2 in which furniture is stored; and
  3. a Class 8 building which is a special fire hazard building and in which more than 25 persons are employed; and
  4. a Class 9b building which is a school or early childhood centre or a creche which—
    1. is of more than 1 storey; or
    2. has a storey with a floor area more than 500 m2; and
  5. a Class 9b building which is a theatre.
NCC Title

Automatic fire detection system

NCC State
TAS
NCC Variation Type
Insertion
NCC SPTC Current
Automatic fire detection system

Verification Methods

Compliance with E1P1, E1P2, E1P3, E1P4 and E1P6 is verified when a building is designed in accordance with C1V4.

Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions

NCC Blurbs

Performance RequirementsE1P1 to E1P6 and TAS E1P7 are satisfied by complying with E1D2 to E1D16, TAS E1D17, and for farm buildings and farm sheds, Part I3.

NCC Title

Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions

NCC State
TAS
NCC Variation Type
Replacement
NCC SPTC Current
Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions

(1) Where a Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution is proposed, Performance Requirements E1P1 to E1P6 are satisfied by complying with—

  1. E1D2 to E1D17; and
  2. in a building containing an atrium, Part G3; and
  3. in a building in an alpine area, Part G4; and
  4. for a building containing an occupiable outdoor area, Part G6; and
  5. for additional requirements for Class 9b buildings, Part I1; and
  6. for farm buildings and farm sheds, Part I3.

(2) Where a Performance Solution is proposed, the relevant Performance Requirements must be determined in accordance with A2G2(3) and A2G4(3) as applicable.

(1) A fire hydrant system must be provided to serve a building—

  1. having a total floor area greater than 500 m2; and
  2. where a fire brigade station is—
    1. no more than 50 km from the building as measured along roads; and
    2. equipped with equipment capable of utilising a fire hydrant.

(2) The fire hydrant system must be installed in accordance with AS 2419.1.

(3) Notwithstanding (2), a Class 8 electricity network substation need not comply with clause 4.2 of AS 2419.1 if—

  1. it cannot be connected to a town main supply; and
  2. one hour water storage is provided for fire-fighting.

(4) Where internal fire hydrants are provided, they must serve only the storey on which they are located except that a sole-occupancy unit—

  1. in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building may be served by a single fire hydrant located at the level of egress from that sole-occupancy unit; or
  2. of not more than 2 storeys in a Class 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 building may be served by a single fire hydrant located at the level of egress from that sole-occupancy unit provided the fire hydrant can provide coverage to the whole of the sole-occupancy unit.

SA E1D2 Fire hydrants2019: E1.3

Insert SA subclause E1D2(5) in clause E1D2 as follows:

(5) In a farm building, in lieu of providing a fire hydrant system in accordance with (2), the building may be provided with—

  1. a fire hydrant system installed in accordance with AS 2419.1 with the following variations—
    1. in lieu of 4 hour water supply the minimum on-site water supply quantity must be as set out in Table SA E1D2 for the particular building group; and
    2. for Group A and B buildings over 1000 m2 in floor area each tank used must have a capacity of not less than 72,000 litres; and
    3. for single tank systems compliance with clause 4.3.3 is not required; and
    4. compliance with clause 4.3.1 of AS 2419.1 is not required; and
    5. for buildings incorporating non-fire-resistant polystyrene sandwich panel construction, the minimum water supply quantities in Table SA E1D2 must be increased by 50%; and
    6. an on-site pumpset is not required if the design performance of section 2.3 of AS 2419.1 is achieved based on use of a fire truck pump with a capacity of 1,900 litres per minute at 1,000 kPa; and
    7. in lieu of the coverage specified in AS 2419.1, external fire hydrants are located so that every part of the perimeter of a building is within 100 m from a hydrant outlet measured along the shortest distance of travel between or around buildings; or
  2. a water supply system comprising single or multiple on-site water storage tanks with connections for use by the fire brigade and complying with the requirements of AS 2419.1 for water supplies and water storage, except that—
    1. in lieu of 4 hour water supply the minimum on-site water supply quantity must be as set out in Table SA E1D2 for the particular building group;
    2. for Group A and B buildings over 1000 m2 in floor area each tank used must have a capacity of not less than 72,000 litres;
    3. for single tank systems compliance with clause 4.3.3 of AS 2419.1 is not required;
    4. for buildings incorporating non-fire-resistant polystyrene sandwich panel construction, the minimum water supply quantities in Table SA E1D2 must be increased by 50%;
    5. an on-site pumpset need not be provided;
    6. for Group A or B buildings water storage tanks must be distributed so every part of the perimeter of a building is not more than 100 m from a tank suction point, measured along the shortest distance of travel between or around buildings;
    7. for Group C buildings water storage tanks must be distributed so that every part of the perimeter of a building is within a 200 m radius of a tank suction point;
    8. all pipes, valves and fittings for water storage tanks and connections must comply with section 5 and sections 8.2, 8.3, 8.6 and 8.7 of AS 2419.1 as relevant;
    9. a hardstand area and vehicular approach from the site entrance, suitable for use by the fire brigade must be provided adjacent to each water storage tank.

SA E1D2 Fire hydrants2019: E1.3

Insert SA subclause E1D2(6) in clause E1D2 as follows:

(6) A dam may be regarded as a water storage tank if it complies with the requirements of section 5 of AS 2419.1 and the water level is maintained above the top of the highest fire brigade suction point at all times.

SA E1D2 Fire hydrants2019: E1.3

Insert SA subclause E1D2(7) in clause E1D2 as follows:

(7) The requirements of (1), (2), (3), (4) and SA E1D2(5) and (6) do not apply to a farm shed.

SA E1D2 Fire hydrants2019: E1.3

Insert SA subclause E1D2(8) in clause E1D2 as follows:

(8) In a bulk grain storage facility, on-site hydrants are not required where—

  1. street hydrants are available adjacent to the site which can supply water at not less than 5 litres per second; or
  2. a water supply system comprising single or multiple on-site water storage tanks with connections for use by the fire brigade and complying with the requirements of AS 2419.1 for water supplies and water storage, except that—
    1. in lieu of a 4 hour water supply, an on-site water storage tank containing not less than 25,000 litres is provided within 90 m of a dry booster connection Figure SA E1D2; and
    2. one dry riser is provided for each cell type silo in a bulk grain storage facility, located in the middle of the longest side of the facility and within 4 m of a required exit; and
    3. all areas to be protected are within 60 m of a riser outlet, measured around obstacles; and
    4. metal or high pressure plastic pipe can used for the dry riser; and
    5. all pipes, valves and fittings for water storage tanks and connections must comply with section 5 and sections 8.2, 8.3, 8.6 and 8.7 of AS 2419.1 as relevant; and
    6. a hardstand area and vehicular approach from the site entrance, suitable for use by the fire brigade must be provided adjacent each water storage tank.
Insert SA table (E1D2) E1D2 as follows:
SA Table E1D2: Minimum quantities for on-site water supplies for farm buildings
Building Group Floor area (m2) Minimum water supply quantity (L)
Group A 500 to 1,000 36,000
1,001 to 2,000 72,000
2,001 to 5,000 144,000
Group B 500 to 1,000 72,000
1,001 to 2,000 144,000
Group C 5 L/m2 or 36,000 L at each location, whichever is greater
Table Notes

A single water supply with the minimum water quantity outlined in Table SA E1D2 can serve more than one building.

Insert SA figure (E1D2) as follows:
SA Figure E1D2: Location of hydrants, tanks, booster connections and dry risers
image-E1D2-location-of-hydrants-tanks-booster-connections-and-dry-risers-SA.svg

(1) E1D3 does not apply to—

  1. a Class 2, 3 or 5 building or Class 4 part of a building; or
  2. a Class 8 electricity network substation; or
  3. a Class 9c building; or
  4. classrooms and associated corridors in a primary or secondary school.

SA E1D3 Fire hose reels2019: E1.4

Delete subclause E1D3(1) and insert E1D3(1) as follows:

(1) E1D3 does not apply to—

  1. a Class 2, 3 or 5 building or Class 4 part of a building; or
  2. a Class 8 electricity network substation; or
  3. a Class 9c building; or
  4. classrooms and associated corridors in a primary or secondary school; or
  5. a farm building not used for hay storage exceeding 500 m2 or 1,000 m3; or
  6. a bulk grain storage facility.

(2) A fire hose reel system must be provided—

  1. to serve the whole building where one or more internal fire hydrants are installed; or
  2. where internal fire hydrants are not installed, to serve any fire compartment with a floor area greater than 500 m2.

(3) The fire hose reel system must—

  1. have fire hose reels installed in accordance with AS 2441; and
  2. provide fire hose reels to serve only the storey at which they are located, except a sole-occupancy unit of not more than 2 storeys in a Class 6, 7, 8 or 9 building may be served by a single fire hose reel located at the level of egress from that sole-occupancy unit provided the fire hose reel can provide coverage to the whole of the sole-occupancy unit.

(4) Fire hose reels must be located internally, externally or in combination, to achieve the system coverage specified in AS 2441.

(5) In achieving system coverage, one or a combination of the following criteria for individual internally located fire hose reels must be met in determining the layout of any fire hose reel system:

  1. Fire hose reels must be located adjacent to an internal fire hydrant (other than one within a fire-isolated exit), except that a fire hose reel need not be located adjacent to every fire hydrant, provided system coverage can be achieved.
  2. Fire hose reels must be located within 4 m of an exit, except that a fire hose reel need not be located adjacent to every exit, provided system coverage can be achieved.
  3. Where system coverage is not achieved by compliance with (a) and (b), additional fire hose reels may be located in paths of travel to an exit to achieve the required coverage.

(6) Fire hose reels must be located so that the fire hose will not need to pass through doorways fitted with fire or smoke doors, except—

  1. doorways in walls referred to in C3D6(1)(e) in a Class 9a building and C3D6(3)(d) in a Class 9c building, separating ancillary use areas of high potential fire hazard; and
  2. doorways in walls referred to in C3D13 or C3D14 separating equipment or electrical supply systems; and
  3. doorway openings to shafts referred to in C4D14.

(7) Where the normal water supply cannot achieve the flow and pressures required by AS 2441, or is unreliable—

  1. a pump; or
  2. water storage facility; or
  3. both a pump and water storage facility,

must be installed to provide the minimum flow and pressures required by clause 6.1 of AS 2441.

A sprinkler system must—

  1. be installed in a building or part of a building when required by E1D5 to E1D13 as applicable; and
  2. comply with Specification 17 and Specification 18 as applicable.

Notes

  1. See Specification 5 for use of sprinklers in Class 2 buildings and carparks generally.
  2. See Part E2 for use of sprinklers to satisfy smoke hazard management provisions.
  3. See C2D13 and Specification 5 for use of sprinklers in buildings where C2D13 is applied.

Sprinklers are required throughout the whole building if any part of the building has an effective height of more than 25 m—

  1. including an open-deck carpark within a multi-classified building; but
  2. excluding—
    1. an open-deck carpark being a separate building; and
    2. a Class 8 electricity network substation, with a floor area not more than 200 m2, located within a multi-classified building.

(1) In a Class 2 or 3 building, or any multi-classified building containing a Class 2 or 3 part, sprinklers are required throughout the whole building if any part of the building has—

  1. a rise in storeys of 4 or more; and
  2. an effective height of not more than 25 m.

(2) The requirements of (1) do not apply to a residential care building.

NCC Blurbs

Sprinklers are required throughout—

  1. a Class 3 building used as a residential care building; and
  2. any fire compartment containing a Class 3 part used for residential care; and
  3. any shared accommodation building.
NCC Title

Where sprinklers are required: Class 3 building

NCC State
VIC
NCC Variation Type
Replacement
NCC SPTC Current
Where sprinklers are required: Class 3 building

Sprinklers are required throughout a building containing—

  1. a Class 3 building used as a residential care building; and
  2. any fire compartment containing a Class 3 part used for residential care.

In a Class 6 building, sprinklers are required in fire compartments where either of the following apply:

  1. A floor area of more than 3 500 m2.
  2. A volume of more than 21 000 m3.

In a Class 7a building, other than an open-deck carpark, sprinklers are required in fire compartments where more than 40 vehicles are accommodated.

NCC Blurbs

(1) In a Class 9a health-care building used as a residential care building, sprinklers are required throughout the building and in any fire compartment containing a Class 9a part used for residential care.

(2) In a Class 9a building, other than as described in (1), sprinklers are required if the building has more than one storey.

(3)  In a Class 9c building, sprinklers are required throughout the building and in any fire compartment containing a Class 9c part.

NCC Title

Where sprinklers are required: Class 9a and 9c buildings

NCC State
NT
NCC Variation Type
Replacement
NCC SPTC Current
Where sprinklers are required: Class 9a and 9c buildings

(1) In a Class 9a health-care building used as a residential care building, sprinklers are required throughout the building and in any fire compartment containing a Class 9a part used for residential care.

(2) In a Class 9c building, sprinklers are required throughout the building and in any fire compartment containing a Class 9c part.

(1) In a Class 9b building, other than an early childhood centre, see Part I1.

(2) In a Class 9b early childhood centre and in a building containing a Class 9b early childhood centre, sprinklers are required throughout the whole building, including any part of another class.

Exemptions

E1D11(2) does not apply to a Class 9b early childhood centre—

  1. wholly within a storey that provides direct egress to a road or open space; or
  2. with a rise in storeys of not more than 2, where the Class 9b early childhood centre is the only use in the building.

(1) For sprinkler requirements for atriums, see Part G3.

(2) For sprinkler requirements for large isolated buildings, see C3D4.

(1) In occupancies of excessive hazard, sprinklers are required in fire compartments where either of the following apply:

  1. A floor area of more than 2 000 m2.
  2. A volume of more than 12 000 m3.

(2) For the purposes of (1), occupancies of excessive fire hazard comprise buildings which contain—

  1. hazardous processes or storage including the following:
    1. Aircraft hangars.
    2. Cane furnishing manufacture, processing and storage.
    3. Fire-lighter and fireworks manufacture and warehousing.
    4. Foam plastic and foam plastic goods manufacture, processing and warehousing e.g. furniture factory.
    5. Hydrocarbon based sheet product, manufacture, processing and warehousing e.g. vinyl floor coverings.
    6. Woodwool and other flammable loose fibrous material manufacture.
  2. combustible goods with an aggregate volume exceeding 1000 m3 and stored to a height greater than 4 m including the following:
    1. Aerosol packs with flammable contents.
    2. Carpets and clothing.
    3. Electrical appliances.
    4. Combustible compressed fibreboards (low and high density) and plywoods.
    5. Combustible cartons, irrespective of content.
    6. Esparto and other fibrous combustible material.
    7. Furniture including timber, cane and composite, where foamed rubber or plastics are incorporated.
    8. Paper storage (all forms of new or waste) e.g. bales, sheet, horizontal or vertical rolls, waxed coated or processed.
    9. Textiles raw and finished, e.g. rolled cloth, clothing and manchester.
    10. Timber storage including sheets, planks, boards, joists and cut sizes.
    11. Vinyl, plastic, foamed plastic, rubber and other combustible sheets, offcuts and random pieces and rolled material storage, e.g. carpet, tar paper, linoleum, wood veneer and foam mattresses.
    12. All materials having wrappings or preformed containers of foamed plastics.

VIC E1D13 Where sprinklers are required: occupancies of excessive hazard2019: Table E1.5 (Note 4)

Delete subclause E1D13(2) and insert E1D13(2) as follows:

(2) For the purposes of (1), occupancies of excessive fire hazard comprise buildings which contain—

  1. hazardous process risks including the following:
    1. Aircraft hangars.
    2. Electrical/electronic manufacturing and assembly (predominantly plastic components).
    3. Fire-lighter manufacturing.
    4. Fireworks manufacturing.
    5. Flammable liquid spraying.
    6. Foam plastic goods manufacturing and/or processing.
    7. Foam rubber goods manufacturing and/or processing.
    8. Hydrocarbon based sheet product manufacturing and/or processing.
    9. Nitrocellulose and nitrocellulose goods manufacturing.
    10. Paint and varnish works, solvent based.
    11. Plastic goods manufacturing and/or processing works.
    12. Resin and turpentine manufacturing.
    13. Vehicle repair shops.
  2. combustible goods with an aggregate volume exceeding 2000 m3 and stored to a height greater than 4 m such as the following:
    1. Aerosol packs with flammable contents.
    2. Cartons and associated packing material excluding cartons with densely packed non-combustible content.
    3. Electrical appliances where the components are predominantly plastic.
    4. Foamed rubber or plastics including wrappings or preformed containers.
    5. Paper products.
    6. Plastic, rubber, vinyl and other sheets in the form of offcuts, random pieces or rolls.
    7. Textiles raw and finished.
    8. Timber products.

(1) Portable fire extinguishers must be—

  1. provided as listed in (3) and (4); and
  2. for a Class 2, 3 or 5 building or Class 4 part of a building, provided—
    1. to serve the whole Class 2, 3 or 5 building or Class 4 part of a building where one or more internal fire hydrants are installed; or
    2. where internal fire hydrants are not installed, to serve any fire compartment with a floor area greater than 500 m2, and for the purposes of this clause, a sole-occupancy unit in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building is considered to be a fire compartment; and
  3. subject to (2), selected, located and distributed in accordance with Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of AS 2444.

(2) Portable fire extinguishers provided in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building must be—

  1. an ABE type fire extinguisher; and
  2. a minimum size of 2.5 kg; and
  3. distributed outside a sole-occupancy unit—
    1. to serve only the storey at which they are located; and
    2. so that the travel distance from the entrance doorway of any sole-occupancy unit to the nearest fire extinguisher is not more than 10 m.

(3) In Class 2 to 9 buildings (except within sole-occupancy units of a Class 9c building), portable fire extinguishers must be provided as follows:

  1. To cover Class AE or E fire risks associated with emergency services switchboards.
  2. To cover Class F fire risks involving cooking oils and fats in kitchens.
  3. To cover Class B fire risks in locations where flammable liquids in excess of 50 litres are stored or used (not including that held in fuel tanks of vehicles).
  4. To cover Class A fire risks in normally occupied fire compartments less than 500 m2 not provided with fire hose reels (excluding open-deck carparks).
  5. To cover Class A fire risks in classrooms and associated corridors in primary and secondary schools not provided with fire hose reels.
  6. To cover Class A fire risks associated with a Class 2, 3 or 5 building or Class 4 part of a building.

(4) In addition to the requirements of (3), portable fire extinguishers must be provided to cover Class A and E fire risks in the following occupancies in buildings, or parts of a building:

  1. A Class 9a health-care building, including a Class 9a building used as a residential care building.
  2. Class 3 parts of detention and correctional occupancies.
  3. Class 3 accommodation for children, aged persons and people with disabilities, including a Class 3 building used as a residential care building.
  4. A Class 9c building.

(5) For the purposes of (3) and (4):

  1. Fire risks are defined in accordance with AS 2444.
  2. An emergency services switchboard is one which sustains emergency equipment operating in the emergency mode.
  3. Additional extinguishers may be required to cover fire risks in relation to special hazards provided for in E1D17.
  4. The fire risks in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building must include risks within any sole-occupancy units, however portable fire extinguishers are not required to be located within a sole-occupancy unit unless the sole-occupancy unit has a floor area greater than 500 m2.

(6) For the purposes of (4), where applicable, a Class E fire extinguisher need only be located at each nurses’ station, supervisors’ station or the like.

SA E1D14 Portable fire extinguishers2019: E1.6 and Table E1.6

Insert SA subclause E1D14(7) in clause E1D14 as follows:

(7) For Class A fire risks in a farm building the requirements of (1) need not be provided if—

  1. portable fire extinguishers for Class A fire risks are provided in accordance with SA E1D14(8); or
  2. notwithstanding the exemption provided by SA E1D3(1)(e), a fire hose reel system is provided in accordance with E1D3, or wash-down hoses or similar hoses that are—
    1. not more than 36 m long; and
    2. equipped with a spray nozzle suitable for fighting a fire at the incipient stage; and
    3. permanently connected to a water supply which is sufficient to supply two hoses discharging at the rate of 20 litres per minute for 60 minutes; and
    4. arranged to provide coverage to all points on the floor within.

SA E1D14 Portable fire extinguishers2019: E1.6 and Table E1.6

Insert SA subclause E1D14(8) in clause E1D14 as follows:

(8) Portable fire extinguishers provided to comply with SA E1D14(7)(a) must be—

  1. located at or adjacent to every required exit; or
  2. in open walled farm buildings, one extinguisher is provided for every 500 m2 of floor area, or part thereof.

A fire control centre facility in accordance with Specification 19 must be provided for—

  1. a building with an effective height of more than 25 m; and
  2. a Class 6, 7, 8 or 9 building with a total floor area of more than 18 000 m2.

In a building under construction—

  1. not less than one fire extinguisher to suit Class A, B and C fires and electrical fires must be provided at all times on each storey adjacent to each required exit or temporary stairway or exit; and
  2. after the building has reached an effective height of 12 m—
    1. the required fire hydrants and fire hose reels must be operational in at least every storey that is covered by the roof or the floor structure above, except the 2 uppermost storeys; and
    2. any required booster connections must be installed.

Suitable additional provision must be made if special problems of fighting fire could arise because of—

  1. the nature or quantity of materials stored, displayed or used in a building or on the allotment; or
  2. the location of the building in relation to a water supply for fire-fighting purposes.
NCC Blurbs

An automatic fire detection and alarm system must comply with S20C4 and S20C8.

NCC Title

Fire detection and alarm system

NCC State
TAS
NCC Variation Type
Insertion
NCC SPTC Current
Fire detection and alarm system

Explanatory information: Cross-volume considerations

Part B4 of NCC Volume Three sets out the requirements for access for maintenance of fire-fighting water services.