Shoalhaven City Council is in the midst of upgrading its Nowra administration building for fire protection purposes.
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The building does not have a sprinkler system - a new system has been designed and will be installed in stages.
Upgrades to its fire sprinkler and detection systems are voluntary, and council's building and compliance manager Colin Wood has assured the public the building is safe to occupy.
"This building is really quite safe," Mr Wood said.
"In an ideal world, we would have sprinklers.
"Some organisations will put in a sprinkler system to go over and above [what is required by law] to protect the asset.
"If a smoke alarm is triggered, everyone in the building will be evacuated and the fire brigade is contacted immediately. While we may have damage to the building, we shouldn't lose any lives."
The structure passed its annual fire safety check on Monday, with contractor Wormald confirming the automatic fire detection and alarm systems, and fire doors comply with Australian standards.
The building was opened in 1980, and an extension was added in 1994. In both 1980 and 1994 the building adhered to fire safety standards.
"The Nowra Administration Building has been built in accordance with the legislation that was applicable and enforceable at the time of planning and construction of the building," a council spokesperson said.
"An assessment was undertaken on the administration building in 2017. The results of this assessment included a recommendation that council may undertake a voluntary upgrade to include a fire sprinkler and detection system to the building.
"Voluntary upgrade measures are recommended by our consultant, in consideration of current codes and standards, that are in place for new buildings.
"Provisions have been made in current and future budgets for works to be undertaken on the building.
"Design of the sprinkler and fire detection systems has been completed, with an implementation strategy being formulated. The installation of the system will be progressively undertaken in accordance with this program."
Staff from some departments, who would normally work at the Bridge Street building, will be relocated during the upgrade.
