Building Emergencies
Common Property Emergencies
VBCS takes care of maintenance emergencies affecting the common property.
Emergency repairs are needed when a maintenance issue poses a risk to a person’s health, safety or security – like a damaged roof, broken glass, or flooding.
Contacts:
Business hours: Contact Jake (VBCS) for urgent repairs to damaged common property.
Weekends/After Hours: Ring the VBCS emergency service on 1300 799 271.
Owners are responsible for attending to maintenance emergencies at their properties. If you’re a tenant, contact your property manager or owner for help to address these problems.
Only call Triple Zero (000) if the situation is serious and urgent.
Someone is seriously injured or in need of urgent medical help.
Your life or property is being threatened.
You have just witnessed a serious accident or crime.
Property Theft
Regrettably, residents have had property stolen from their storage cages and cars. Please ensure you don't keep items of personal significance or value in your storage cage or car - including your car park remote.
In the event of a burglary
Notify Victoria Police of a break-in or attempted break-in by calling:
Police Assistance Line 131 444 to make a report.
Triple Zero (000) if offenders are still on the property, in your home likely to be in the area.
Contact Jake (Victorian Body Corporate Services) to:
Arrange retrieval of CCTV footage.*
Alert residents to suspicious activity.
Inform the Committee who may need to address vulnerabilities in building security or risks to residents' safety.
Check your contents insurance policy to see if it covers items stored in your storage cage. Strata insurance does not cover your contents.
More information about preventing and reporting crime is available from Victoria Police.
*NB: Surveillance footage is stored for a maximum of six weeks.
Fire Safety
Fire services and exits
The Owners Corporation maintains, repairs and conducts routine testing on fire services at our property, such as emergency lighting, signage and the audible warning system.
Make sure you know the fire exit nearest to your apartment. There are two in each of the apartment corridors:
Near the lift (Burwood Road) and
Towards the back of the block (Lynch Street)
Evacuation Point
In an emergency all residents should assemble opposite the building in Burwood Road, at a safe distance from the building.
Your Apartment
The Owners Corporation Manager may arrange access to each apartment for an annual inspection of fire services.
Your apartment has a mains powered smoke detector with 9V battery backup. If it ‘beeps’ or ‘chirps’ you need to change its battery. Occupants are responsible for replacing backup batteries.
Your apartment door is also a fire door. Before adding or changing locks, email Jake (VBCS) to check your locksmith is qualified and new hardware is fire rated. Evidence of both needs to be kept on file for the Owners Corporation.
Outside each apartment is a smoke detector linked to the building’s fire indicator panel and connected to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB). If this alarm is activated, the MFB will attend. False alarms can be charged to the responsible party.
Switch on your exhaust fans, range hood and open your balcony door to get rid of excessive cooking smoke.
Only smoke outdoors on private lot property. Please bin your butts and take care of our environment.
Note: Activities that produce dust, heat or smoke are at risk of causing a false alarm. If renovating, make sure you protect all smoke detectors from building dust.
Power Outage
In the event of a power outage, emergency lighting will switch on in all common areas.
The lift will stop. If you’re in the lift, the emergency break will stop the lift car during a power outage.
Do not try to escape. If the power goes back on you could be seriously injured.
Use the lift phone to notify our lift service provider Thyssenkrupp. They will send out a rapid response team to free you from the lift.