I write with regard to the latest development application for 9 Manoah Drv, Upper Sturt.
I'm the Captain of Upper Sturt CFS and have several concerns about this property.
My first concern is for the welfare of my Firefighters. Many of whom are directly affected by excessive noise coming from 9 Manoah Drv.
This, in turn affects their mental wellbeing, which then affects their ability to respond to emergencies.
Ultimately this affects our community and their safety.
I also have several fire safety concerns about this property.
Most notably, the poor access.
Manoah Drv is a very narrow road linking Sturt Valley Rd & Upper Sturt Rd.
Vehicles cannot pass in either direction from 9 Manoah Drv, making evacuation of the property and access for emergency vehicles almost impossible.
There is no other clear escape route from 9 Manoah Drv.
I also have grave concerns about the fire safety of this property.
My leadership team and I have, over the past 2 years, inspected the main building and the grounds several times.
These visits were at the owner's invitation and not done as an official CFS inspection.
What we found was disturbing.
The property has mains water directly via a main on Upper Sturt Rd and several rainwater tanks at the side of the house. These tanks can also be feed from an aging pump on the Dam in the valley.
Neither of these water sources have Fire Service access and there is no mains access point on Manoah Drv.
Whilst there are sprinklers to water the gardens. There is no internal or external sprinklers on the house.
In the main building there are several very old smoke detectors scattered about. I suspect they're not active and there is no central control panel to monitor them.
There is no internal fire suppression system. Just several out of date fire extinguishers at random locations.
There were no clear exits marked and no escape plan was evident.
There are 5-6 self-contained flats upstairs, serviced by 3 stairways opening onto 2 courtyards.
There are many large bedrooms downstairs, which don't appear to be used and two renovated outbuildings being used as Air BNB.
An unknown number of people inhabit the property, most who do, living in the upstairs Flats.
There is a large "gas bullet" located close to one of the Air BNB's.
Access for Fire Appliances either side of the Main Building is very tight, meaning we'd struggle to get to the seat of any fire in the structure.
Any bushfire risk to the main building would be mitigated slightly by the many surrounding evergreen and European trees.
However, a good percentage of the property is not maintained and would pose a significant bush fire threat to the many properties that surround 9 Manoah Drv.
Excessive vegetation also impacts the length of Manoah Drv, again affecting access.
I'd suggest that before any development is even considered, a comprehensive fire safety audit should be undertaken.
9 Manoah Dr Upper Sturt SA 5156
- Description
- Partial change of use of land for the hosting of functions
- Planning Authority
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South Australia Planning Portal
View source
- Reference number
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25030840This was created by South Australia Planning Portal to identify this application. You will need this if you talk directly with them or use their website.
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Date sourced
- We found this application on the planning authority's website on , 22 days ago. The date it was received by them was not recorded.
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Notified
- 7 people were notified of this application via Planning Alerts email alerts
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Comments
- 1 comment made here on Planning Alerts
Public comments on this application
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Geoff Ellis
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