Liz Albanis’ home was one of three properties destroyed in a house fire in January 2024. Photo: Supplied.
Liz Albanis still remembers when her former home in Melbourne was destroyed after a massage chair in her neighbour’s home caught fire.
“I couldn’t even smell the smoke, even though there was a huge fire next to me.”
The fire had started downstairs but her neighbours couldn’t hear the fire alarm. One was asleep and the other was taking a shower.
They almost didn’t survive.
“What struck me was when a CFA [Country Fire Authority] officer said the people from the main house were lucky to get out alive,” Ms Albanis said.
“They didn’t know about the fire until the smoke alarms upstairs went off.”
Ms Albanis was alerted when the smoke triggered her security camera. She and her husband were able to call emergency services and collect their four-year-old daughter from the back bedroom before her neighbours even knew what was happening.
She’s now made it her mission to get state and territory governments to urgently update their existing fire safety laws.
There’s precedent for this to occur.
A Federal Senate Committee examined the use of smoke alarms to prevent smoke and fire-related deaths in 2016.
Recommendations included that the National Construction Code (NCC) be amended to require the installation of interconnected (and preferably mains powered) photoelectric smoke alarms in homes and that all state and territory governments adopt the amendment and agree to apply it to all residential properties (irrespective of the age of the property).
In part due to two house fires that killed 15 people in 2011, the Queensland Government did change its laws. But it’s taken the state 10 years to fully implement them.
Now Ms Albanis is urging the ACT Government to follow suit.
“The ACT does not legally require smoke alarms in bedrooms or mandate full interconnection for existing homes,” she said.
“The current smoke alarm legislation is out-of-date, it’s not aligned with current science.”
Along with mandating photoelectric smoke alarms in all bedrooms, Ms Albanis has urged the ACT Government to remove exemptions for older properties and mandate that landlords must install tamper-proof, interconnected networks powered by mains power or 10-year sealed lithium batteries, rather than people relying on battery-powered, standalone units.
Ms Albanis has a particular focus on interconnected smoke alarm systems as it means all units will sound when one alarm detects smoke or fire.
Liz Albanis wants the ACT Government to update its existing smoke alarm laws. Photo: Supplied.
She’s made several attempts to spur officials into action, but everyone she’s spoken with told her fire safety laws already existed in Canberra.
“It’s not good enough,” Ms Albanis said.
“I don’t want to see any more lives lost that could have been saved because the government couldn’t get off their backs.”
An ACT Government spokesperson said the Territory’s fire safety laws weren’t lagging behind other jurisdictions.
“The ACT adopts the National Construction Code (NCC) which provides the national minimum standards for fire safety in new buildings,” they said.
“The NCC also provides guidance on the location of smoke alarms: ‘When deciding on the position of smoke alarms it is important to remember that they are intended to detect smoke before it reaches the sleeping occupants of a building. The ensuing alarm is designed to wake the occupants and give them time to evacuate the building’.”
Under the NCC, Class 1 buildings (standalone single dwellings) must have safeguards so that people are warned of a fire so they can evacuate safely.
Class 1b buildings (boarding houses, guest houses, hostels) are required to have smoke alarms in every bedroom, plus lighting to help with evacuation.
The ABCB Housing Provisions set out the deemed-to-satisfy provisions that meet the requirements for complying with the NCC.
“Alarms of a Class 1 building do not need to be interconnected with alarms in another Class 1 building or a private garage which does not belong to the Class 1 building,” the spokesperson said.
“Buildings must be built to the standards set out in the NCC at the time the building is constructed.”
As for rentals, all such properties must be fitted with approved smoke alarms. They can be battery-operated or hard-wired and must be installed on each storey of a premises and in every corridor/hallway where there’s a bedroom.
The most recent changes to the NCC started from 1 May and included changes to fire safety provisions for car parks, fire separation of external walls and broader compliance changes.
“The ACT Government works closely with the Australian Building Codes Board on considering changes to the NCC,” the spokesperson said.
“The ACT Government is committed to continuing to explore potential reforms to enhance the safety of our community.”
An ACT Fire and Rescue spokesperson added that only working smoke alarms save lives.
“All ACT residents should make sure they have a working smoke alarm in their homes. ACTF&R recommend that smoke alarms are installed in bedrooms, bedroom corridors and on each level of all homes,” the spokesperson said.
“It is important that all residents regularly clean and test their smoke alarms to ensure they are working correctly.”
