Preliminary Study of Non-compliance of Passive Fire

Protection (PFP) in the New Zealand Building Industry

20th May 2014

By
Anushya Ramasegar

Supervised by
Dr. Dave Moore
INTRODUCTION
 What is Passive Fire Protection?
 Building materials that protect the structure of a building
 Compartmentalise rooms
 What are the functions of Passive Fire Protection?
 Provide safe escape routes for building occupants to exit
the building
 Provide time for building occupants to exit the building
 Why do we need Passive Fire Protection?
 Protect the lives of building occupants (e.g.
Canterbury Earthquake 2010, )

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INTRODUCTION

Common Examples of Passive Fire Protection (Aker, Jenna M, 2008 3

OBJECTIVES
 Raise awareness of the importance of PFP in the
building and construction industry

 Identify where the failures of PFP occur

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LITERATURE REVIEW
 80% of commercial and institutional buildings in New
Zealand are in non-compliance of the PFP standards
(BRANZ, 2008)

 Non-compliance occur due to:

 Inspection/ certification
 Maintenance
 Refitting/repair works

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METHODOLOGY
 Research for this report was done through two
methods:

 Interview with fire department personnel

 Review of existing literature

 Analysis of current building practices

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RESULTS
 Currently there are no standard codes for the design of
Passive Fire Protection

 Failures of PFP occur due to:

 Lack of knowledge and awareness among builders
and building onwers
 Lack of maintenance by building owners
 No proper method to keep track of level of
compliance between local bodies and building
owners
 Building codes have not been reviewed even though
the construction industry has evolved in terms of
design and materials used.
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DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS
 Evaluate the current building codes and make change
according to the current building industry

 More steps should be taken to educate builders (e.g.

electricians and plumbers) on the proper method of
installation of building services

 Compile a proper building code for PFP including a

standard code of installation for builders

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CONCLUSION
 The importance of PFP is undeniable

 Awareness amongst building owners and builders is

essential to ensure the continuous successful
application and maintenance of PFP in the building
industry

 Ongoing effort needs to be intensified in order to see

results in the near future

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FURTHER RESEARCH
 Serious gaps in literature regarding use of PFP,
failures of PFP and other issues regarding PFP in
New Zealand require further studies to be done in
this area

 More building surveys need to be performed in order

to quantify the level of failure of PFP in the building
industry

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Thank You For Your Time
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