Make Safe Service Sydney Storm Fire Impact And What Owners Must Do First

A structural make-safe is not a planned project. It is a response. The building became unsafe in the last hour, and the decisions made in the next hour determine whether the damage is contained or escalates.

Make-safe means one thing: stabilise and secure. Not repair. Not demolition. Not cleaning up. The sole objective in the immediate aftermath of structural damage is to stop the situation from getting worse, protect anyone nearby, and preserve the site for the decisions that come next.

If your building has just been damaged, this covers what needs to happen right now, what a make-safe crew actually does on arrival, how temporary propping works, and what you need to do and not do in the first hours after an incident.

What Make-Safe Actually Involves

Make-safe work has a defined and limited scope. It covers the installation of temporary propping and structural support, securing unstable or partially detached elements, weatherproofing any part of the structure that has been exposed to the elements, and establishing safe exclusion zones to protect people from further risk.

What it does not include: permanent structural repair, cosmetic reinstatement, cleaning, removal of debris beyond what is required for safety, or any assistance with insurance claim disputes. Those things come after the immediate risk is contained.

Make-safe is temporary by definition. Temporary propping typically remains in place for 4 to 12 weeks, depending on the structural situation and how quickly a repair or demolition decision is made. A structural engineer will specify the maximum duration for any propping arrangement.

Who can order make-safe work? The property owner directly, the insurer in some circumstances, or the council. When a damaged structure poses a risk to a public footpath or road, councils in NSW can issue emergency orders requiring immediate make-safe action. These orders carry compliance deadlines. Failure to act promptly can result in the council arranging the work at the owner’s expense.

Four Common Emergency Scenarios: First Actions for Each

The first 30 minutes after structural damage are the highest-risk period. What you do, and what you avoid doing, in that window shapes everything that follows.

Storm Damage: Roof Failure or Falling Trees

First priority is to establish whether the structure is stable enough to approach. Do not enter. Call a contractor and stand well clear while assessing from the outside.

Water and electricity in the same space is the immediate life safety hazard. If there is any roof breach allowing water in, assume the electrical system is compromised until it has been isolated at the switchboard by a licensed electrician. Do not switch anything on or off inside the building.

Cover the roof breach as quickly as possible to prevent water penetration worsening the structural situation. A tarpaulin secured at the ridge is the standard first step. A make-safe crew will do this as the first physical action on site. Every additional hour of water ingress increases the scope of what needs to be done next.

Fire Damage

Wait for the fire brigade to declare the site safe before approaching. They need to confirm the fire is fully extinguished and there is no risk of re-ignition. Do not enter until that clearance is given.

After fire damage, assume the structure is compromised until a qualified person assesses it. Fire destroys the integrity of structural members in ways that are not always visible from outside. A wall that looks intact may have lost most of its load-bearing capacity.

Gas is a specific risk after fire. Even if the fire was not gas-related, heat can damage gas fittings and connections throughout the building. Isolate gas at the meter before anything else happens inside.

Photograph everything before it is touched. The fire scene as you found it is your baseline for the insurance assessment. Movement of materials, even for access, should be documented with photos first.

Vehicle Impact: Wall Breach

A vehicle impact that breaches an external wall creates two immediate concerns: utility services on that side of the building and structural stability of the remaining wall.

Isolate electrical, gas, and water services on the affected side before anyone approaches the breach. A wall breach can expose live wiring, fractured gas lines, or pressurised water pipes. None of these are visible until someone is already at risk.

Then assess whether the remaining structure around the breach is in tension or compression failure. This matters because the two failure modes require different propping approaches. A wall section that is pulling away from the adjacent structure behaves differently under load than one that is collapsing inward. A make-safe contractor will assess this on arrival and prop accordingly.

Flooding: Subfloor Undermining

Do not enter a building where flooding has occurred beneath the floor until flotation and subfloor stability have been assessed. Floodwater under a suspended floor can undermine the bearing capacity of footings and piers without any visible surface indication. A floor that looks intact may have nothing supporting it.

The priority is a subfloor inspection by someone qualified to assess structural risk. Check the condition of stumps and piers for undercutting, movement, or softening of the bearing material. In older Sydney homes with timber stumps, flooding is one of the fastest ways to create structural instability that is not obvious from inside.

Temporary Propping and Structural Support: What Gets Used and Why

Temporary propping is the core of most make-safe operations. Three main systems are used in residential and commercial make-safe work in Sydney, each suited to different structural situations.

Acrow Props (Adjustable Steel Props)

Acrow props are the most common temporary support used in make-safe work. They are adjustable steel columns that transfer load from a damaged horizontal element, typically a beam, floor, or ceiling, down to a solid base. The prop sits on a steel plate on the floor to distribute the load, and bears against a spreader plate at the top to avoid point loading into the element being supported. For a standard residential situation where a ceiling or floor joist has been compromised, a line of acrow props installed at the correct centres will carry the load safely until a permanent decision is made. The load path is direct and predictable: damaged element to prop to floor to foundation.

Flying Shores

Flying shores are used when a wall between two structures needs lateral support. This most commonly occurs in terraced housing or semi-detached properties in Sydney, where removing or losing one wall affects the structural stability of the adjacent building. A flying shore spans horizontally between the two structures at the appropriate level, transferring lateral load from the unsupported wall to the stable adjacent structure. Unlike acrow props, flying shores do not transfer load to the floor. They work across the gap, bracing the wall in place until the permanent repair or the demolition of the affected section is carried out.

Needles and Dead Shores

Needles and dead shores are used when a structural element must be accessed, removed, or when the element above it has lost its support. A needle is a horizontal member threaded through or across the wall above the area to be accessed. Dead shores are the vertical props supporting the needle. Together they create a load path that bypasses the affected area, allowing work to continue beneath without the structure above coming down. This system is commonly used in emergency stabilisation where a damaged section of wall or column needs to be either removed or worked around safely.

When Engineer Certification Is Required

Any propping arrangement that supports a floor load requires an engineer’s design. Any propping in a multi-storey structure requires an engineer’s design. The make-safe contractor installs the propping; the structural engineer confirms that the design is appropriate for the load and duration. In straightforward single-storey residential situations, an experienced make-safe contractor can often assess and install immediately. For anything more complex, the engineer should be involved from the start. Typically 4 to 12 weeks is the safe maximum duration for temporary propping before permanent works must commence. For a closer look at how safety controls operate on an active site, the demolition site safety and zero harm guide outlines the systems that keep workers protected when structural risk is highest.

Working with Insurers and Loss Adjusters

Emergency make-safe work can proceed without waiting for insurer approval. This is universally understood within the industry. A building that is actively unsafe cannot wait for a loss adjuster to visit before props are installed. The insurer expects emergency action to be taken and then documented.

The sequence that protects you:

1. Notify your insurer as soon as the incident occurs. A phone call is sufficient to start the record.
2. Commission emergency make-safe work. It does not require insurer approval to proceed.
3. Document everything before and during the work: photographs of the damage, photographs of the propping installed, materials used, and the contractor’s scope of works in writing.
4. For any non-emergency additional work beyond stabilisation, wait for insurer approval before proceeding.

What the Make-Safe Contractor Provides to Your Insurer

• A written scope of works detailing exactly what was done on site
• A materials schedule listing every prop, shore, plate, and weatherproofing material used
• Photographs taken on arrival showing the damage as found, before any work started
• Photographs of the completed propping arrangement
• A structural engineer’s report if one was obtained during the make-safe

Loss adjusters are looking for confirmation that the emergency work was genuinely necessary, proportionate to the risk, and carried out by a qualified contractor. The documentation package above answers all three questions.

Nothing verbal. Every agreement, instruction, or scope change goes in writing. If the loss adjuster says something on site that affects what happens next, follow up with a written summary and ask them to confirm. This protects your claim and avoids disputes later.

What Property Owners Should and Should Not Do

If asbestos is suspected in any damaged area, do not disturb the material and treat access to that area as restricted. Our guide to asbestos in older Sydney homes covers the assessment pathway from that point.