DMA Engineers were engaged to undertake the review, design and implementation of a compliant fire safety system at Casuarina Lodge. The project was completed as part of the Round 5 funding allocation of Queensland Health’s Priority Capital Program, on behalf of MSHHS.

The primary objective of the project was to achieve fire safety system compliance for Casuarina Lodge in accordance with all relevant fire safety requirements of:

• The Building Act 1975
• The National Construction Code (NCC)
• Queensland Development Code (QDC)
• Australasian Health Facility Requirements (AHFG)
• The Queensland Health Capital Infrastructure Requirements (CIR)

The secondary objectives of the project were to improve:

• the quality of patient care.
• the operational environment for facility staff.
• facility management information, systems and processes.

Showcasing our fire engineering team’s full-project-lifecycle approach, our scope included an initial thorough pre-design investigation to confirm the existing conditions at the site, undertaking of a considered design and documentation phase, successful delivery of a high-quality tender package including cost estimations, assistance with submission review and tenderer selection, and subsequent construction administration services to ensure a high quality outcome at site.

The identification of all Fire Safety compliance requirements at site included:

• evaluation of the existing and proposed fire hydrant system.
• fire brigade booster assembly.
• building compartmentation and separation.
• provision for escape, automatic smoke detection, and fire sprinkler systems.

The works also included the provision of a Fire Engineering Report prepared by DMA Engineers, which allowed for ideal operational outcomes at site whilst ensuring compliance with the performance requirements of the BCA.

The delivery of full fire engineering across the project ensured that the needs of the client were met in a holistic and consistent fashion; reducing time and costs associated with assumptions or overwrought solutions. We addressed the client’s fire services requirements in-house, as a single point of contact service.