Well known Adelaide City restaurant, Fugazzi Bar and Dining Room has suffered around $200,000 worth of damages from a fire that started in the kitchen at around 4:30pm on Saturday 13 April 2025.

The fire protection system installed in the building was triggered and saved the building and the occupants from potentially catastrophic consequences.

The Advertiser reported the blaze citing, “the damage is estimated at $200,000 with significant water damage caused by the building’s sprinkler system.”

The article goes on to state that “despite the fire and sprinkler damage, the furniture at the restaurant remained unharmed” and that the restaurant expected to re-open within 24 hours on the Gather Round weekend, one of their busiest weekends of the year.

Whilst it is accurate that there was water damage to the restaurant, the National Fire Industry Association is wary of the way this article has been written and its influence of the public’s perception of the importance of fire protection systems in buildings.

It is vital to acknowledge the building’s sprinkler system did exactly what the system is designed to do and operated efficiently in reducing the spread of the fire in the building.

This is evident by the fire being contained to the building where it started and that the damage was minimised, evident by the restaurant reopening the next day. Even more importantly, the fire did not result in any deaths or injuries.

The NFIA acknowledges that it is unlikely the choice of the Advertiser’s wording in this article was intentional. However, this incident highlights how critical fire protection systems are to the safety of the built environment and to the community.

This event serves as a reminder of the call to action for Australian Governments to honour their commitment made at the Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) in 2019 of a national approach to the implementation of the Building Confidence Report (BCR).

Recommendation 19 of the BCR states that “each jurisdiction requires registered fire safety practitioners to design, install and certify the fire safety systems necessary in commercial buildings” and it is imperative that Governments ensure this actions to ensure that fire systems are operating effectively.

It is always pleasing to hear of situations where fire systems installed in buildings are operating effectively and serve their purpose – protecting the community and minimising the damages from fire.

Whilst it is unfortunate for this iconic business to face any damage at all, this situation could have been so much worse. There were no injuries, and they were able to reopen the next day.

That was thanks to the life critical fire protection system doing its job.

By Joe Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the National Fire Industry Association, Australia (NFIA)

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