Fire Protection Compliance

One of the most common and dangerous emergencies in New Zealand, building fires are no joke, and neither is Fire Protection Compliance. Starting quietly, spreading quickly and not being noticed until it’s too late are three main traits that you, as a building owner, should take particular note of.

A force of nature that has no regard for individuals or property, once a fire gets going it is an arduous process to get it to stop - and stopping it before any serious destruction of capital or loss of life occurs is not guaranteed, despite our excellent and dedicated emergency workers. Fires consume all in their path, feeding off oxygen and gaining exponential amounts of power as they increase in size. Collapsing walls, turning stairwells to ash, and catalyzing the explosion of stored flammable goods are just some of a building fire’s disastrous effects.

That is why making sure you are compliant with the latest version of New Zealand’s worksafe regulations and fire safety laws is so important. Keep your investments and employees secure in the knowledge that if the worst does indeed happen, there are procedures in place to ensure everyone’s safety.

Fire Engineering Reports

Fire Protection Compliance

When do I need a fire report?

  • Whenever any alterations are made to a building
  • If a “change of use” occurs (i.e. from workspace to home, from hospital to prison, etc)
  • In the event of a new build (delivered with the building consent to the BCA, or Building Consent Authorities)
  • If land is subdivided in such a way as to affect your building
  • When officially extending a buildings life beyond its originally specified life

Why do you need Fire Protection Compliance Services?

As a business and/or building owner, there are endless reasons why Fire Protection Compliance services are not only recommended but in many cases demanded by New Zealand law, and in most cases by common sense as well. Some of these are:

  • Staying on target with regard to your buildings BWoF (this includes contracting IQPs) to carry out routine inspections and maintenance while making the necessary repairs and filing the appropriate reports)
  • Keeping what fire extinguishers may be found around your building in good working order, and training the occupants of your building in the use of them
  • LPG maintenance: if your building runs on LPG power, continuous maintenance of the canisters to prevent leakage or combustion is imperative - flammable gas is of course a major risk when considering what may cause a fire

A more comprehensive guide to the exact situations within which the law requires a building to be fire compliant can be found within the New Zealand building code. However, it goes without saying that where there is even the slightest chance of a fire (or other serious emergency for that matter), it pays to be compliant, both to the law and to your common sense - I think we all agree that we’d rather not experience any kind of fire-related tragedy, whether at work, home or in public. Practice plays a role in preventing this - check out our page concerned with Trial Evacuation Reports for more info.

Fire Protection Compliance Services offered

Fire Engineering Reports

Here at Compliance Consultants, we offer a variety of services under our “Fire Designs” banner. This wealth of knowledge and experience that translates into services rendered unto you is possible in no small part because of our operations and inspections manager, Richard Choi, and our key account manager Moana Tana. The former coming from an extensive Fire Engineering background and the latter having over 12 years of hands on experience in the fire and compliance industries, their invaluable expertise is responsible for the sheer comprehensiveness of our available services:

  • Acceptable solutions
  • Fire Engineering Reports
  • Technical specific design
  • Construction monitoring
  • Regulatory peer review
  • NZ Building Act GAP analysis
  • Liaison with Territorial Authorities

Fire Emergency New Zealand Evacuation Schemes

What qualifies my building for needing an Evacuation scheme?

There are certain criteria that, if met, require that your building must have in place a Fire Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) evacuation scheme to be considered to meet official guidelines. These criteria are met if your building is used for the purpose of:

  • 100 or more people gathering together for any purpose
  • A place of employment for at least 10 people or more
  • Providing accommodation for 6 or more people (unless the individual accommodation units number 3 or fewer)
  • Storing hazardous chemicals in any amount above the legally prescribed minimum amounts, no matter what overall purpose the building is being used for at the time
  • An early childhood education centre and/or daycare (unless within a single household unit)
  • A disabled or geriatric person nursing or care facility (again, other than if this facility is a single household unit)
  • Housing prisoners (people placed on home detention in a single house unit do not qualify as prisoners under fire protection regulations)

If your building meets any of these criteria, or if you are unsure, check out https://www.safetyfirst.co.nz/news/fire-protection-compliance to be completely sure that you’re compliant. If it so happens that you are not, get in touch with us today! Compliance Consultants can assist with all your Fire Protection Compliance requirements.

Further Services available at Compliance Consultants

In addition to our immense variety of Fire Protection compliance services, we at Compliance Consultants offer a wider range of services, that when applied to your business will create an impenetrable fortress of compliance in every sense of the word, enabling your business be free from the stress of worrying about the safety of your employees, the state of your specified systems and your building’s warrant of fitness. The full list appears below:

Consultancy services

  • Consultancy Services
  • Commercial Building Consents
  • Form 11 Compliance Amendments
  • Building Inspections
  • Specified System Audits
  • Specified Systems Reports

Project Management

  • Subcontractor management
  • Remedial works management
  • Cost benefit analysis
  • Site management
  • Solution reviews and proposing alternative solutions
  • As-built reviews

Building Warrant of Fitness

  • Building Warrant of Fitness issuance
  • Monthly (Owners) Inspections
  • Annual IQP Inspections
  • Systems Testing and Surveys
  • Compliance and 12A administration

Contact us!

To enquire about the aforementioned services, or to have any other relevant questions answered, give us a call at 0800 325 435 or email us at enquiries@compliance.co.nz and sort out all your compliance needs today!