The long list of fire failures at Sydney shopping centre revealed

4 days ago 19

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A litany of fire safety issues at a major inner Sydney shopping centre has been revealed after shoppers took their concerns to Fire and Rescue NSW.

The private owner of Ashfield Mall is in discussion with contractors to overhaul its fire safety standards in response to multiple inspections by Fire and Rescue NSW and Inner West Council.

Inspections of Ashfield Mall shopping centre were carried out in April and May.

The inspections in April and May identified substandard fire safety measures, including that an emergency warning system designed to alert shoppers to dangers was not operational.

Fire and Rescue NSW raised further concerns over the operational capability of sprinkler pumps, faults in a fire indicator panel and an absence of fire exit signage in other parts of the centre.

The centre, which has more than 70 shops and eating venues, is owned by property group Mintus, which has been issued a notice by Inner West Council to rectify issues identified during inspections.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said the centre’s fire safety standards were “not good enough”, and warned the issues had the potential to “endanger the community” if not addressed.

A Mintus spokesman said the company “takes all fire safety matters extremely seriously” and is “fully committed to addressing all issues raised” by the council.

Fire and Rescue NSW senior building surveyor Ryan Maestri said other concerns identified at the site included a lack of routine maintenance of fire safety systems including diesel pumps.

The inspections raised further concerns relating to the storage and functionality of fire hose reels and cabinets, noncompliant emergency and exit signage within the building’s fire stairs, and a fire exit door that had a broken self-closing mechanism and did not return to the fully closed position after opening.

Inner West councillor Jo Carlise said issues identified in the inspections were concerning, noting the site was just metres away from the council’s main headquarters building.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said the centre’s fire safety standards were “not good enough”.

“I think this is hugely problematic, (and) we can’t have these issues right next to us in the biggest centre in Ashfield,” she said.

In response to the inspections, the council has issued Mintus with a notice of intention to serve a development control order to carry out fire safety measures to ensure compliance.

The Mintus spokesman said some of the matters raised by the council “may have been legacy issues or recently escalated due to updated standards or inspections.”

“We must stress that the shopping centre as it stands now is compliant but the council is seeking to impose later standards which we are open to considering following advice from our fire engineers,” the spokeswoman said.

“The safety of our tenants, customers and visitors is our highest priority. There is no risk to the public.

“Mintus will fully co-operate with the council (and) we are currently co-ordinating with qualified consultants and contractors and will ensure all compliance obligations are met.”

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