E1D5 to E1D13

These provisions specify when sprinklers are required in a building and which parts of the building must be sprinkler protected. Unless a fire wall or other construction with the appropriate FRLs separates parts of a building required to have sprinklers from a part of a building not required to have sprinklers, then the sprinkler requirements must be applied to the whole building.

E1D5 requires all buildings with an effective height of more than 25 metres,except those which only contain an open-deck carpark, to be sprinkler protected. An exemption is also granted to smaller Class 8 electricity network substations within a multi-classified building as they are provided with additional fire protection measures to compensate for the removal of sprinklers. The provision regarding an effective height of 25 metres recognises the effective operating height for fire brigade ladders and other firefighting and rescue equipment.

E1D6 requires sprinkler protection to Class 2 or 3 buildings (excluding a residential care building — see other table items for residential care buildings) where the rise in storeys is 4 or more and the effective height is not more than 25 m. The requirements for these sprinkler systems are contained within Specification 17 and Specification 18.

The reference in E1D10 to a Class 9a health care building used as a residential care building makes it clear that where a Class 9a building is used as a residential care building as defined in Schedule 3, it must be fitted with a sprinkler system installed in accordance with AS 2118.1 or AS 2118.4.

To provide further clarification, a Class 9a health care building used as a residential care building must meet the BCA provisions that apply for a Class 9a health care building.

The definition of a health care building means a building whose occupants or patients undergoing medical treatment need physical assistance to evacuate the building during an emergency and includes a nursing home or similar facility for sick ordisabled persons needing full-time care. Therefore, a health care building could include a residential aged care building in which occupants are provided with some level of medication, and need assistance to evacuate.