Welcome to the Passive Fire Protection Alliance Website

This is the website of the Passive Fire Protection Alliance (PFPA). We would welcome your feedback on this website. Please click on the enquiries button at the bottom of the page and email us your comments or any enquiries you may have about passive fire protection or PFPA.

About PFPA

The Passive Fire Protection Alliance (PFPA) was established to promote the installation and maintenance of the systems and components that provide passive fire protection in the built environment. PFPA recognizes that it is vital buildings are constructed with components that will perform effectively to contain & control fire and smoke so as to protect life, reduce the risk of injury and achieve an acceptable level of property protection. A key role of PFPA is to develop and disseminate material that will educate all stakeholders in best practice passive fire protection in the construction and maintenance of buildings in accordance with Australian regulations and standards. PFPA uses this website to make available this information. To find out more about passive fire protection and PFPA click on to more info

Updated Technical Guide

PFPA has updated to Version 2 the Fire Stopping of Penetrations Technical Guide (TG-006).  With the introduction of the new Fire Stopping of Penetrations Workshop that PFPA conducts throught its training initiative Accredifire, an update of TG-006 was required to to provide information some of the new technology used in Fire Stopping Systems.  A copy of Version 2 of TG-006 can obtained by clicking on the Technical Papers button on the top of this page and then following the link for Technical Guides.

Training In Passive Fire Protection

In May and July 2010 PFPA has conducted a number of training courses in Sydney through its training intiative Accredifire. Having provided a very popular Fire Doors Fundamentals Workshop training course for a number of years now which has had many hundreds of fire and building professsionals attend, an additional Fire Stopping Fundamentals Workshop has been introduced in 2010.

Each of the new Fire Stopping Fundamentals Workshops has been strongly supported with a "full house" of participants for each one-day course and a waiting list for the next scheduled day of training. In the coming months PFPA through Accredifire will be scheduling fire stopping training in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.  A Fire Doors workshop will also be held in Perth for the first time as well as another one in Sydney towards the end of the year.

Dates for all theses workshops will be announced by mid August with an information and registration brochure being put up both on this and the Accredifire websites. The brochure will also be circulated to our many contacts.  To ensure notification of Fire Stopping and Fire Doors Workshops is received an expressions of interest (EOI) brochure may be downloaded filled in with relevant details and emailed (or faxed or mailed) back to PFPA.  For a copy of the EOI Brochure click on download document

Since the disastrous Bushfires in Victoria on 7 February last year and the subsequent Royal Commission into that tragic day the matter of Bushfire Shelters (Refuges or Bunkers) has created considerable discussion. While there have been divided views on the merits of Bunkers the sheer interest and intent of residents in bushfire prone areas to have such structures installed has ensured Bushfire Shelters have received considerable attention from Building regulators.

In late September the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) announced a national standard would be developed for the design and construction of bunkers for personal use. It is intended the standard will be completed in six months and published in April next year. On 11 November the Victorian Planning Minister the Hon Justin Madden announced interim regulations and accreditation process for the construction of bunkers that came into effect immediately. The Building Commission are also preparing an information package on the accreditation process to assist those who want to install a bunker on their property and/or those interested in designing and developing such structures.

For a copy of the new Victorian Buildings Regulation for constructing Bushfire Shelters and other matters being addressed by the Building Commission in regards to rebuilding after the bushfires click onto more info

ABCB - Private Bushfire Shelters Draft Technical Standard Released for Public Comment
Late January the Australian Building Codes Board released a Draft of the Technical Standard being developed for Private Bushfire Shelters. A copy of the Draft Technical Standard can be downloaded from the ABCB’s website from http://www.abcb.gov.au/

There has not been given a very large window of time in which to make comment on the draft Technical Standard with comment to be received at the ABCB by COB on Monday 8 February