Project Overview

The new BAIADA Oakburn Poultry Processing Facility at Oakburn, represents one of Australia's most advanced food manufacturing developments. Comprising a 40,650m² poultry processing building and a 3,600m² administration and amenities building, the facility incorporates sophisticated automated processing lines, conveyor systems, carton handling equipment, cold storage areas and high-volume production spaces. The complexity of the building required a comprehensive performance-based fire engineering strategy to satisfy the National Construction Code (NCC) while maintaining uninterrupted production workflows. Working alongside the project team, Greene Fire was engaged to design, supply and install six specialised fire and smoke curtain systems, comprising two FireMaster® Plus Fire Curtains protecting the interface between the processing facility and administration building, together with four conveyor smoke curtains integrated throughout the automated processing lines. These curtain systems formed an integral part of the Fire Engineering Report (FER), allowing large permanent openings to remain unobstructed during normal operations while automatically restoring fire and smoke compartmentation in the event of a fire.

The Challenge

Modern food processing facilities present unique fire engineering challenges. Unlike traditional industrial buildings, they rely on continuous production lines, automated conveyor systems and unrestricted movement of both products and personnel. Introducing conventional fire-rated walls, fire doors or fixed barriers would significantly disrupt production efficiency and limit operational flexibility. At Oakburn, the Fire Engineering Report identified several permanent openings between fire compartments that were essential for the movement of products throughout the facility. These included the main access corridors linking the processing building with the administration building, together with multiple conveyor openings between the automated case packing area and the carton forming mezzanine. Without appropriately engineered fire and smoke protection, these openings would compromise the building's compartmentation strategy, allowing fire and smoke to spread between critical operational areas. The challenge was therefore to maintain completely open pathways during normal operation while ensuring these openings could automatically reinstate their fire and smoke separation when required. As part of the overall performance-based fire strategy, these systems also needed to integrate with the building's fire detection and alarm systems, complement the automatic sprinkler protection and work alongside the building's smoke management strategy to satisfy the Performance Requirements of the National Construction Code.

Greene Fire's Solution

Greene Fire delivered a comprehensive fire and smoke curtain solution incorporating six independently controlled curtain systems strategically located throughout the facility. The primary life safety protection was provided by two FireMaster® Plus Fire Curtains installed within the connecting corridors between the main processing building and the administration building. These locations represented a critical interface between separate fire compartments and formed the basis of Performance Solution 11 contained within the Fire Engineering Report. The FireMaster® Plus system was selected due to its proven fire resistance performance, achieving a tested Fire Resistance Level (FRL) of -/120/- in accordance with AS1530.4. Unlike conventional fire doors or fixed barriers, the curtains remain fully concealed during everyday building operation, allowing unrestricted movement between buildings before automatically deploying upon activation of the building's fire alarm system. Complementing the fire curtains, Greene Fire also supplied and installed four automatic conveyor smoke curtains protecting permanent openings within the automated conveyor and carton handling systems. These smoke curtains replaced conventional smoke baffles that were unsuitable for the operational requirements of the processing facility, allowing continuous movement of products while automatically deploying during a fire event to restrict smoke movement between adjoining compartments. Together, these six curtain systems allowed the architectural and operational objectives of the facility to be achieved without compromising the overall fire engineering strategy.

Engineering and Compliance

The Oakburn Poultry Processing Facility adopted a comprehensive performance-based fire engineering approach developed by J2 Consulting Engineers. Rather than relying solely on Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions, the project utilised twelve individual Performance Solutions to demonstrate compliance with the National Construction Code. Greene Fire's curtain systems formed a critical component of this strategy. The two FireMaster® Plus Fire Curtains were specifically nominated within Performance Solution 11, where the Fire Engineering Report recognised their tested fire resistance and radiant heat performance as fundamental to maintaining compartmentation between the processing building and administration corridors. The report requires automatic deployment upon operation of the fire alarm system together with secondary deployment via fusible links, ensuring multiple levels of system reliability. Similarly, the conveyor smoke curtains formed an important component of the building's smoke management strategy by controlling smoke spread through permanent conveyor openings where fixed smoke barriers would have interfered with production operations. Rather than functioning as standalone products, each curtain system was designed to integrate with the building's automatic sprinkler system, smoke detection, fire alarm system and evacuation strategy, demonstrating how specialist passive fire protection products contribute to a coordinated, building-wide life safety solution.

Installation and Project Delivery

Installing fire and smoke curtain systems within a live industrial construction environment required extensive coordination between multiple disciplines. Structural steel, conveyor systems, mechanical services, electrical installations, sprinkler pipework and architectural finishes all needed to accommodate the concealed curtain systems without impacting production layouts or future maintenance access. Greene Fire worked closely with the builder, fire engineers and other specialist contractors throughout the installation process to ensure every curtain system integrated seamlessly with the building's operational requirements while maintaining the performance criteria established within the Fire Engineering Report. Particular attention was given to coordinating the conveyor smoke curtains with the automated material handling systems, ensuring uninterrupted product flow during normal operation while allowing immediate deployment upon activation of the fire detection system. The completed installation delivers a highly engineered solution that remains virtually invisible during day-to-day production yet immediately restores fire and smoke compartmentation whenever required.

Project Outcomes

The BAIADA Oakburn Poultry Processing Facility demonstrates how modern passive fire protection systems can support highly automated industrial environments without compromising operational efficiency. By delivering two FireMaster® Plus Fire Curtains together with four integrated conveyor smoke curtains, Greene Fire provided a complete fire and smoke compartmentation solution that enabled the facility's performance-based fire engineering strategy while preserving the open layouts essential to modern food manufacturing. Rather than restricting movement with conventional fire-rated construction, the curtain systems provide intelligent, automatic compartmentation only when required, allowing the building to operate efficiently under normal conditions while delivering the life safety performance demanded by one of Australia's most advanced poultry processing facilities. The project further reinforces Greene Fire's capability to deliver complex, performance-based passive fire protection solutions across large-scale industrial developments. Through close collaboration with fire engineers, builders and project stakeholders, Greene Fire continues to provide innovative fire curtain technologies that balance architectural freedom, operational efficiency and rigorous compliance with Australian fire safety standards.