Is it considered Fire Safe to cover your windows with non-moveable screens on a three-floor unit building? – Stephen, NSW

Q: Is it considered Fire Safe to cover your windows with non-moveable (bolted into the brickwork) screens on a three-floor unit building? My unit is fire door and smoke alarm protected (regularly serviced). How do you leave a burning building if a fire is raging at your main entrance and your windows are blocked in? Any help appreciated.

A: This may be a good agenda item to add to your next AGM or EGM. You may wish to contact your strata committee’s secretary and raise a motion to discuss the safety concerns presented by non-moveable window screens.

It may be added for security measures, but compromises fire safety. There could be possible solutions that give you the best of both worlds.

It may also be worth having a fire safety inspection done for your strata property. This is another motion that you could raise at a meeting. Expert advice from a fire safety inspection officer may be worth considering for this issue.