FireNZ Magazine - September 2023

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Fire Protection Association

New Zealand

Private Box 302372, North Harbour

Auckland 0751

Phone: + 64 9 414 4450

Email: info@fpanz.org

Web: www.fpanz.org

Institution of Fire Engineers New Zealand Branch PO Box 3961

Wellington 6140

Email: secretary@ife.org.nz

Web: www.ife.org.nz

Society of Fire Protection Engineers New Zealand Chapter

PO Box 91511, Victoria Street West Auckland 1142

FireNZ welcomes articles and letters from our readership. These can cover any aspect of fire protection, fire engineering (performance and design), legislation, fire safety practice, fire industry product development, fire fighting operations, techniques, equipment and case studies and technical news. All articles will be assessed by an editorial panel prior to publication who, at their discretion, reserve the right to either decline use of the article or seek amendments. Articles should inform, debate, educate and help our readership through sharing of both knowledge and expertise.

Themes for the upcoming magazine production will be promoted in advance of editorial committee deadlines to ensure all contributors are able to meet the final magazine delivery timelines.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Fire Protection Association New Zealand, Institution of Fire Engineers (NZ Branch) or the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (NZ Chapter).

Articles are published in good faith but FireNZ Magazine and its agents do not warrant the accuracy or currency of any information or data contained herein. FireNZ magazine and its agents do not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the material in this publication.

Material in FireNZ magazine is subject to Copyright. This publication may not be reproduced in printed or electronic form without the permission of the publisher.

Phone: + 64 9 308 7030

Email: secretary@sfpe.org.nz

Web: www.sfpe.org.nz

FireNZ Magazine is published by DEFSEC Media Limited on behalf of: Fire Protection Association New Zealand, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (NZ Chapter), Institution of Fire Engineers (NZ Branch). For more information please contact:

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President’s Message

In this, his last message as Fire Protection Association of New Zealand (FPANZ) president, Chris Mak looks back at the Association’s recent successes and looks forward to its plans for a new training facility and CPD services.

This will be my last message as the FPANZ President. As required by our constitution and rules, I will be stepping down as President at this year’s AGM. It’s been a pleasure to lead the Association, including during the two and a half trying years of the Covid pandemic, which now appears to be a faint image in the rear-view mirror.

While this was a very challenging time for the association and its members we did fair very well, the most significant thing was of course not being able to run FireNZ for two years. However, it was very positive that the first year back in Christchurch in 2022 was a great success and one of, if not the largest event ever.

I first became actively engaged with FPANZ when I returned to New Zealand in 1992. Over the past 31 years, the Association has evolved with the various Presidents and CEOs, constantly growing and becoming more professionally run.

To that effect, I would like to thank Scott and Elaine in particular for their efforts in recent years. We have

built solid financial reserves, including during the Covid impact years, by being prudent with our expenses without sacrificing daily member services, noting that our subscriptions have modestly increased every year even during the pandemic.

This is material as the Association is about to embark on its most significant project, where we will start to reinvest these reserves to help meet our stated goals of being the unified voice of industry.

This will involve setting up an industry training facility, which will allow subject matter experts to deliver consistent hands-on training for the alarm, passive and sprinkler industries, to complement the NZQA regime. There is also a push to provide more continued professional development for members.

No longer is it acceptable best practice to obtain a qualification and then consider that staff are fully trained for life. With this in mind, the association and other organisations will expect to see staff doing a minimum number of hours of CPD training as is the norm in other industries. FPANZ will be pushing for this requirement and supporting members by providing these CPD services.

Reflecting over the years I have been involved in the industry and with the association, I recall an AGM that was held at the Commerce Club in Remuera, with a technical presentation following. This presentation has morphed into the Fire New Zealand Conference (FIRENZ), with both the Institution of Fire Engineers and Society of Fire Protection Engineers (NZ Chapter) joining us as our partners.

While my opinion may be somewhat biased, and with apologies to our friends at the Fire Protection Association of Australia, I believe that our conference has grown significantly in the past few years to be the best conference in the South Pacific. Hopefully, they see this as a challenge.

This year we once again have a wealth of interesting speakers, including a great line up of international keynotes that we bring in for the benefit of their global experience, noting that Prof Hugh Dillion was invited as the FPANZ keynote speaker.

Hugh was formally a DeputyCoroner in New South Wales, and will be speaking about several harrowing fires where, simply put, loss of life was avoidable. I’m sure that as the various reports are released following the Loafers Lodge fire, we will see similar findings.

Overall, the FIRENZ committee work on sourcing high calibre speakers from around the world and locally to have a diverse and informative conference for the industry. I also note the significant contribution of all the sponsors and exhibitors.

Please join me thanking the FireNZ events committee, speakers and exhibitors by taking the time to visits stands, converse and learn with them and your peers. FIRENZ is the best networking event and opportunity for the fire protection industry regardless of what area you specialise in.

On behalf of myself and the FIRENZ partners (FPANZ, IFE, SFPE) welcome to FIRENZ 2023 –feel free to catch up with me over the duration of this year’s event.

Chris Mak, President of the Fire Protection Association of New Zealand

President’s Message

Carol Caldwell, President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) NZ Chapter, provides an update on the local activities of the SFPE, and lists several Fire NZ Conference presentations to keep an eye out for.

Welcome to FIRENZ 2023!!! The year is flying past and there have been a number of notable fire themes over the year to date.

For the conference, thank you to our international and NZ speakers and exhibitors. Take the opportunity to check out the exhibitors during the course of the conference.

There are some interesting post fire presentations and lessons learned... maybe we have not yet learned the lessons…. Also included are topics looking back and looking forward, including Kim Lovegrove presenting about regulatory best practice looking at the last 30 years of law reform and Atif Ali Khan presenting on using AI moving into the future of fire safety design.

During 2023, guidance on fire design for mass timber buildings is still at the forefront with progress on specific information for implementation in New Zealand to carry on from the publication in 2022 of the Fire Safe Use of Wood in Buildings Global Design Guide. This is a timely topic to continue on from the

2022 Fire NZ conference, and Andy Buchanan will be presenting on this at the conference.

In development and hopefully for publication soon, from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand is the Fire Engineering Design Guide for Hospitals, which establishes a set of minimum requirements for fire safe design of hospital premises to meet hospital needs and Building Code requirements. This should streamline design and consenting for hospitals from a fire design perspective – watch this space and attend the presentation by Mike Stannard.

Still topical worldwide and an active concern in New Zealand are lithium ion battery fires – luckily a recent incident in NZ was in a sprinklered building. Charley Fleischmann has an interesting presentation on this continuing area of interest.

The last 12 months in review would not be complete without a mention of the Loafers Lodge fire. Certainly not an outcome anyone wants to have happen and a shocking outcome for fire engineering in NZ. Hopefully the presentation from Pete Gallagher at the conference will provide information on areas to improve in building design for fire safety.

SFPE has participated in responses to the guidance documents noted above and will continue to work with MBIE, Councils and FENZ to develop coordinated and consistent approaches for fire designs. We also work closely with FPANZ to produce improved outcomes for fire safety. An ongoing project with Engineering New Zealand is an update to Practice Note 22 Guidelines for Documenting Fire Safety Designs.

SFPE has also provided a prize for the University of Canterbury case study course to increase the student enthusiasm. Hopefully the incentive will drive extra investigation and research. To be appreciated by the future company hiring the new graduates!

The Code of Practice for the Integration of Building Fire Safety Systems with other Services has been published and provides guidance to ensure that interfaces between building systems are correctly designed, installed, proven to work, and remain working correctly throughout the building’s lifetime. There was consultation with a number of with associated professional organisations to ensure a broad spectrum of participation. Hopefully you are using it and noting items for the next revision!

Another area that SFPE is working on is to develop better relationships with affiliated organisations so that we have regular contact and the opportunity to discuss technical issues and trends that are appearing.

As always, a very big thank you to the many volunteers that support SFPE and encouragement to others to join in. Volunteering can be anything from doing the background work for one local meeting to preparing comments for an MBIE submittal to leading a working group to write a Guide! It is rewarding to participate and make a difference in Engineering a Fire Safe World.

New Zealand

Carol Caldwell, President of the NZ Chapter - Society of Fire Protection Engineers

President’s Message

Jason Hill, President of the Institution of Fire Engineers, NZ Branch, provides an update on the local activities of IFE, including the popular live fire programme held at the FENZ national training centre in Rotorua.

Formed in 1918, the IFE is a global professional membership body for those in the fire sector that seek to increase their knowledge, professional recognition and understanding of fire through a global discourse.

Comprising a diverse and professional membership base from fire services and the private sector, the IFE is focussed on improving fire safety through the gaining and sharing of knowledge, promoting the understanding of fire science and engineering, and promoting collaboration between government, industry and academia in advocating for best practice.

The Fire NZ Conference is a key platform for our organisation as we aim to serve fire industry professionals by focusing on current and relevant issues, promoting best practice, sharing of knowledge and providing networking opportunities.

IFE New Zealand continues to be actively involved in the fire industry including supporting a number of webinars, working with Engineering New Zealand and MBIE on various consultations impacting the industry as well as continued involvement with Standards and industry guidance documents.

Recognising some knowledge gaps within parts of the industry, IFE New Zealand offered free “teams events” on key and current topics of interest such as Lithium-Ion battery fires, Hydrogen safety’, compartment fires and big battery storage. These ran from November last year until July this year. These were hugely popular, and we will look to run the same format again from November this year. For those that missed the presentations, they can be viewed on our website www.ife.org.nz.

Following the tragic fire at Loafers lodge in Wellington, IFE joined with the Fire Protection Association (FPA) and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) to form a media response team. This team is now available and mandated to comment on behalf of our respective organisations, ensuring we can provide consistent messaging for events such as this, where we have common views.

Our popular one-day live fire programme event for fire engineers and people who work in fire related industries or who have an interest in

the fire safety design of buildings was again held at the Fire and Emergency national training centre in Rotorua. We also welcomed students studying the NZDE (Fire) qualification at this event.

This programme was developed to give participants the opportunity to gain a better understanding of fire and smoke behaviour and firefighting techniques by involving them in a series of real fire simulations.

All participants can gain first-hand experience of real fires in building enclosures, including fire initiation and development, fire and smoke spread, flashover, the use of firefighting equipment, firefighting and search and rescue techniques and more. Our north island event was a great success, and we have a South Island event scheduled for early December.

We certainly look forward to connecting with you at FireNZ 2023 and sharing the latest updates from the fire industry both in New Zealand and worldwide.

Jason Hill, President of the Institution of Fire Engineers New Zealand Branch

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The use of lithium batteries has proliferated in recent years, and thermal runaway has become a growing fire risk. Leading distributor Safeworld offers a range of products designed specifically to address this.

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Since 2016, Safeworld New Zealand has been supplying quality extinguisher portable fire protection products and outstanding service,” said Fireworld Australia’s Robert Hall.

“Safeworld is the New Zealand distributor for Ruihua, a European Swedish joint venture that blends over 50 years of Swedish fire extinguisher technology with Chinese ingenuity, and which has developed a new fire extinguisher that has passed European NTA 8133:2021 fire testing.”

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Bridgehill Fire Blankets

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More and more often we hear that electric bikes and scooters cause fires because of their lithium batteries. The danger of e-bike or e-scooter fire lies in the fact that most people store

their bikes and scooters in the house. For this reason, Bridgehill also offers several smaller Fire Blankets to isolate lithium fires in e-bikes and e-scooters. They are ideal for battery fires, e-scooters and bikes, workshops and storage facilities of small or large quantities of lithium batteries, restaurant kitchens, industrial tools, the recycling industry, marine, aviation and military.

Please visit us on sponsor stand 4 at FireNZ. We will have sample products and subject matter experts to discuss your concerns.

Meet the Speaker: Christina Knorr

Christina Knorr talks about compliance versus safety within the Australian context, and the need to keep fire engineers involved in building projects from design, to construction, and beyond.

Christina Knorr is a Special Expert in Fire Safety Engineering and a practicing fire safety engineer with accreditations and presence Australiawide. She is the managing director and founder of CJK Fire & Safety Pty Ltd, a fire engineering consultancy based in Far North Queensland, Australia.

At the Fire NZ Conference, Christina will be speaking on the topic of “Does Compliance Always Mean Safety?”.

Having commenced her career a decade ago, Christina provides consulting engineering and Expert Witness services, assisting Courts across Australia and internationally. Passionate about passing on knowledge, Christina established, CJK Fire & Safety Education, an education platform offering online courses, blogs and podcasts for the wider construction industry, property, and legal professionals.

Christina holds a First-Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Victoria University, Melbourne (2012) and a Masters of Fire Safety Engineering from The University of Western Sydney (2017). Last year, Christina won the prestigious HIA Building Women Awards 2022 ‘Professional Services Excellence’ award. She sits on various committees, contributes as a guest lecturer at the Central Queensland University and is seen as someone who “always can find a solution”.

FNZM: Can you briefly describe your journey into fire safety engineering?

CK: I came with my partner as a backpacker to Melbourne and eventually we fell in love with the country and decided to stay. I enrolled in Victoria University to do my Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, and on graduation I found a position in Sydney at a small consultancy doing mechanical engineering, fire safety protection and project management.

By the time I was interviewed and started the position, the mechanical engineer had left the company. But instead of letting me go, the manager assigned me to assist the company’s fire safety engineer. This is when I first learned about fire safety and then about 18 months into my job, I decided to pursue it further and I found a job in a fire safety engineering consultancy in Sydney.

Interestingly, the Victoria University offered a Masters in Fire Safety, but at that time nobody was talking about it and hence I did not know about this unique profession until I fell into it. So, when I started the new role, I commenced the Masters course at Western Sydney University –working full time and studying on the side.

FNZM: Does compliance always mean safety? What’s your presentation topic about?

CK: Coming from Australia I will talk about the Australian system and what compliance with the building code means and draw comparisons to New Zealand. I will outline where just

Christina Knorr is Managing Director of CJK Fire & Safety Pty Ltd.

following the compliance path can lead to safety issues or issues that remain undetected for long periods of time.

It’s about ensuring that we design safe buildings and not just compliant ones. Although compliance is the minimum acceptable level, in most cases, we can do more to deliver a safer building rather than just ticking boxes.

FNZM: Is there a compliance mentality that pervades the design and construction of new buildings?

CK: Yes, because people are money conscious, and the idea is to get all the ticks you need to have while not spending more money than necessary. When we become registered engineers, we sign a code of conduct stating that we will act in the best interests of the general public and, in my view, safety is exactly that – you act in the interest of the building user and potentially the designer and builder

and developer so that they don’t end up in trouble and fighting their case in court, which can cost them more money than they had originally saved. There is also the principle of functional safety in design which we have to comply with, as well as health and safety regulations, so if something is compliant but not considered to be functionally safe for a person to use, then we are not technically complying.

FNZM: In your experience, are there any particular areas in particular that tend to be underdone or overlooked?

CK: In Australia, a fire engineer writes a report, submits it, and it’s done. We don’t go on site and check, and we are not involved in the construction process. Any poor workmanship is hidden behind the lining. If the building certifier asks us to do final sign off at the end of the project, there’s only so much we can see.

Engineers are not involved throughout the project, therefore they don’t get a chance to pick up on potential issues, and are not kept on long enough throughout the project – the engagement of the fire engineer is often an after-thought. In Australia, the fire engineer only gets a list of issues where a potential non-compliance with the prescriptive provision has been identified by the building consultant/certifier. The fire engineer is engaged to look only at those potential non-compliances, thus missing out on a broader understanding of the building.

Whatever the building size, it is the case in Australia that it’s the architect who puts measures in place to tick compliance, and if everything complies with the provisions there’s no requirement for a qualified fire engineer to oversee the process.

FNZM: Where would be the ideal time for you to come into a project?

CK: The ideal time is at the very beginning, when the architect sits down and discusses what the broader idea is at concept design stage because we can tell them very early on that certain design choices are hard or impossible or won’t be supported. This will allow them to make those design changes very early in the project and not have to redraw and redraft everything once the concept is ready.

The fire engineer ordinarily prepares a couple of reports. One is a fire safety strategy where we provide a high-level outline of the strategy, and the other is a performance-based design brief which is sent out to the stakeholders. In that brief we outline non-compliances, acceptance criteria, and how we intend to demonstrate that performance requirements are met.

This report is sent to the stakeholders, including the fire brigade, architect and developer for comment, and once it’s all done, we do the actual fire engineering assessment report where we expand on the second report. Often it stops there, and it’s all done before the building obtains a construction certificate (permit for construction).

The problem within this is that any design changes that happen afterwards may not be picked up, and ten years down the track the building owners may get a notice from the council or fire brigade to identify structures that have been built but are not compliant and don’t align with the fire engineering report.

As I understand it, in New Zealand the fire engineer is kept throughout the process, and they are also attending site during construction and signing off on certain aspects of the build, and they carry liability when it comes to building construction. I think we can learn lots of lessons from New Zealand because once there is liability placed on an individual, they tend to place more attention to detail and are motivated to raise issues even if outside their area of expertise.

FNZM: What are your thoughts on the ongoing involvement of the fire engineer post assessment?

CK: Too often we find buildings that are subject to a fire engineering assessment, but nobody can find where the fire engineering report is, and some contractor ticks it off every year despite not having a copy of the report.

New South Wales, for example, has become better in this regard. The State now requires a competent practitioner to check certain measures in a building – and a fire safety engineer is deemed to be a competent practitioner. Ideally, you’d have a fire engineer on site every year to confirm that the design as documented in the fire engineering report is still the same and that no changes have occurred.

In Queensland, such measures don’t exist. There’s no requirement for the fire engineering report to be in a particular format or to be kept in a particular location on site. In most cases they’re lost – and the fire engineer isn’t going back to check. So, as a fire engineer, I recommend to the client that document boxes be installed and locked so that the chances of the report being lost are minimised.

As an example, one project we’re trying to rectify is a commercial building which was subject to a fire

engineering report that was from back in the days when the report was only issued as a draft and never finalised or officially approved. It is listed on the schedule in terms of fire safety measures, and every year, it gets ticked off as part of annual certification despite having never being sighted.

Once we sourced a copy of the report, we were able to identify that the building isn’t built as documented in the report – there’s a staircase missing, some doors missing – whatever the fire engineer designed has not been implemented and the fire engineer had not been brought back to raise it. And now it’s really hard to retrofit those measures, they’re expensive, and sometimes we’re really stuck in terms of what to do.

FNZM: Is there any way of resolving this or is it an issue that will continue to be faced?

CK: I think the motivator is money and education. All around the world there is a huge lack of education. People buy houses and apartments and there’s no set of instructions on what to do in a fire

event; what fire safety provisions they’ve got, where the fire stairs are, whether you’re supposed to open or close the apartment doors, and things like that. Unless we manage to raise awareness, it will be really difficult to change.

In Australia, we get a lot of legislative changes, sticks flying around, finger pointing, more fines, and more restrictions on the builders, consultants, and developers. The result of this is that we have less and less professionals who want to stay in that industry and continue building. The housing crisis is not going to be resolved by punishing the builders but rather by educating them.

I speak at seminars and sometimes I’m really surprised by just how little people know – people such as architects and builders – I explain to them what compliance means, what different Building Code Clauses mean and about research they should conduct when reviewing product documentation. We need to get better with providing quality education and quality assurance.

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BRANZ Enhances Structural Testing Capabilities with New Lab

BRANZ, the Building Research Association of New Zealand, has unveiled its latest addition to its Judgeford campus—a state-of-the-art structural engineering laboratory. This new facility enables more efficient and detailed testing of building systems and products, allowing for a better understanding of their performance under extreme stress, impact, and vibration.

The structural tests conducted at BRANZ play a crucial role in determining whether building components comply with the Building Code and are fit for purpose. With the introduction of the new lab, BRANZ can now conduct concurrent testing and assess larger and more complex structures.

A standout feature of the lab is the reinforced concrete strong wall, which measures 8 meters in height and is an impressive 700 mm thick. This robust structure allows BRANZ to simulate forces from multiple

directions simultaneously, emulating earthquake conditions. The added capacity enables the testing of complex structures as large as threestory buildings.

The expanded space also facilitates increased testing capacity. Mark Elliott, BRANZ Structural Testing Team Leader, says: “With innovation constantly evolving across the building sector the new structures laboratory gives us the flexibility to assess a wide variety of new building materials, systems, and products as they are developed.”

Moreover, the new lab enhances BRANZ testing capabilities to evaluate the performance of non-structural building components, including suspended ceilings, mechanical equipment, partitions, and claddings during earthquakes. Additionally, a pressure chamber is available for assessing roof and cladding systems’ response to differential air pressure of up to 7 kPa.

To ensure comprehensive testing, BRANZ subjects’ buildings to various impact scenarios. The structures laboratory allows researchers to study how different materials withstand impacts from soft and hard objects, helping to determine their resilience at scale, and with double the load and stroke-bearing capabilities of the previous facility, structures can now be shaken harder and faster than ever before.

The introduction of the structures laboratory marks the initial phase of BRANZ’s significant campus redevelopment, aimed at meeting industry needs for the next 50 years. Currently underway, the next phase involves the construction of a new fire laboratory, further solidifying BRANZ’s commitment to enhancing research and testing capabilities for the building and construction industry as a whole.

www.branz.co.nz/structural-testing

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Meet the Speaker: Rob Holland

Rob Holland discusses ‘safety in design’, the workplace health and safety implications of fire safety, and the idea of ‘acceptable solution’ as a social contract that’s linked to the value of human life.

Rob Holland is a Chartered Professional Fire Engineer and Director of Nelligan Consulting Engineers, a consultancy firm based on Auckland’s North Shore. He has worked in the fire safety industry for the last 16 years across a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial projects.

At the Fire NZ Conference, Rob will be speaking on the topic of “Your compliant design is probably not safe enough: The Safety in Design philosophy, what it is and why you should (and must) include it in your design process.”

Rob is also the co-Chair and Treasurer of the New Zealand Society of Safety Engineering (an Engineering NZ Technical Interest Group) a group dedicated to promoting “safety in design” principles across all engineering disciplines and facilitating the sharing of ideas between these disciplines as well as between engineers and other stakeholders.

FNZM: What was your path to fire engineering?

RH: After gaining a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Auckland in the 1990s, I started off in hydraulic fluid power. A few years later I joined my current employer, we heavily specialise in the insurance field – mechanical failures, floods, fires.

It was through the 2000s that my senior partner was doing a lot of work in fire, and he completed his masters.

I was helping him with his fire reports and fire investigations reports, and that’s when my interest was piqued. In 2012, I launched myself into the masters course. It was a tough four years, and I’m lucky I did it just before having kids!

FNZM: What is your understanding of ‘safety in design’ and what’s that philosophy is all about?

RH: “Modify pixels, don’t modify the building” – I like how this sums up why safety in design is so important because it makes safety so much cheaper and simpler and more effective in the long term. If you think about safety only after you’ve finished the building the solution you come up with is not going to be as effective or robust.

An example of this is when air conditioning units are placed on the roof because the design didn’t leave space for them on the ground. It’s then after the fact that you realise that you have to get up on the roof to service them and so rope access methods or walkways with hand rails are needed, whereas if a space had been designed for the units on the ground from Day One that risk would have been eliminated.

I think all designers in the fire industry – fire protection as well as fire engineering – have become a bit complacent, by only designing to the bare minimum standard, but that’s mainly cost and client driven. We design to the bare minimum for the cheapest cost to the client for our

Rob Holland is Director of Nelligan Consulting Engineers.

own commercial interest – if we start demanding too much and charge too much for our fire reports, we lose jobs.

I’ve joked that I want to start a revolution, because that’s what I’m really aiming for, a philosophy shift, a culture shift around the idea that we shouldn’t be designing to that minimum anymore. A fire engineer should be doing more than what the minimum requirements are in the Code; we should be reminding ourselves what it means to be a good engineer.

FNZM: How do you reconcile being a good engineer with delivering a solution that ticks the compliance and client boxes but doesn’t achieve everything that a safety in design approach might achieve?

RH: I think it comes down to collaboration and communication, which is one of the key messages of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Think about a typical building design, it’s very compartmentalised; you’ve got fire engineers, architects, and structural engineers not talking to each other that much, and then there are the people who are actually going to occupy and

use the buildings – and you’re not even talking to them at all.

It’s about leading with the moral argument, sitting down with the client and saying, for example, “you can achieve the minimum but for not much more money we could change the type of GIB so that instead of it being a non-fire rated wall it’s now a fire rated wall.”

That’s our job. We’re the one person in the project that has the thorough understanding of fire risks, what it means if we don’t put a fire wall here, what it means if there isn’t smoke detection there, whereas Joe Public just tends to see extra dollar signs. It’s about being a good engineer in the full sense of the term.

The second part of it is the legal argument, because the Health and Safety at Work Act clearly says that there is a duty to remove all risks so far as reasonably practicable, and I think there’s a good proportion of fire engineers who either don’t know about their obligations under the Act or choose to ignore them.

FNZM: You’ve mentioned a moral obligation and a legal one. Is there a financial element as well?

RH: There’s a potential long term financial gain to safety in design by fewer accidents and incidents and the prevention of reputational fallout, but people tend not to think into the long term. It is part of our jobs as the experts to make sure that clients are aware of this.

I’m the optimist, I guess. I believe that the vast majority of reasonable clients – once they’re given all the information on a safety in design approach – would agree with it, but it requires the answering of some confronting questions: It’s going to cost so much more financially now, but what’s a human life worth? What is the saving represented by preventing one person dying, and does that represent additional money well spent?

There was a huge amount of coverage in the media around why Loafers Lodge wasn’t sprinklered, and the reality is that according to the ‘Acceptable Solution’ (and therefore the Building Code) that building would need to be at least eight stories high to require sprinklers. It was only four stories high, yet there was huge uproar in the media to the effect that it should have been sprinklered.

I suggest that the Acceptable Solution represents a type of social contract or agreement in relation to how much money should be spent on a building’s safety systems to achieve a certain level of safety.

Hypothetically, as a society we might agree that sprinklers are not required in any building and we could build that into the Building Code, and as a result we might get 30 additional deaths a year from apartment building fires. As a society, we might agree that that’s okay. It’s a social contract about what’s acceptable.

In the case of Loafers Lodge, someone was quoted in the media as saying, “I just can’t believe it was acceptable that this building wasn’t sprinklered”, or words to that effect. This suggests that the Acceptable Solution may have failed because it has failed to meet the expectations of it as a social contract. These are uncomfortable yet important conversations.

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Meet the Speaker: Dr Aatif Ali Khan

Dr Aatif Ali Khan discusses his research into ‘smart firefighting’ and the development of an AI-assisted tool to enable firefighters to conduct real-time risk analysis based on information gathered at a fire scene.

Dr Aatif Ali Khan is a lecturer at The University of Canterbury. At the Fire NZ Conference, he will be speaking on the topic of “Smart firefighting: A framework for decision making using AI-assisted tool in a building fire.”

Dr Khan earned his PhD from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in structural fire engineering. He has provided consulting services for a number of industrial projects globally. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) from the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) and International Professional Engineer [IntPE(NZ)] from Engineering New Zealand. His research interests include fire modelling, structural fire safety, fire investigation of structural fire accidents and the application of artificial intelligence in fire engineering problems and smart firefighting. Currently, he is focusing on developing the fire safety design for firefighters during emergency response.

FNZM: How did you find your way into fire engineering?

AK: I completed my undergraduate degree in India in 2008 in Mechanical Engineering and joined an automobile firm. I didn’t enjoy that, and I found a job in the fire sector in Saudi Arabia. After working there for a few years, I went to South Korea to study a master’s degree in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

After finishing that, I got the chance to do a PhD in Structural Fire Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and as I was finishing the PhD my supervisor was working on a project on smart

firefighting, so I started focusing on that – and that’s now part of my research.

When a lecturer job came up at the University of Canterbury I applied. Coming to New Zealand was a no brainer because of Canterbury’s reputation as one of the leading universities in fire engineering. I arrived here just last November.

FNZM: What is ‘Smart firefighting’?

AK: The ‘smart’ word is just used because of the harnessing of new technologies to assist firefighters. It’s not because firefighters aren’t smart; they’re very smart; it’s just that it’s using technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, and using sensors and real time data from inside buildings to assist firefighters in doing their job.

FNZM: What aspect of smart firefighting does your research focus on?

AK: It’s about utilising a library of critical events, implementing building IoT (Internet of Things) sensor networks, and training artificial intelligence (AI) models to forecast dynamic critical events in real-time. What we want to be able to forecast in the case of a fire, for example, is what might happen after a certain number of minutes, because in the case of fire one or two minutes can make a big difference. If we can tell a firefighter that in five minutes a window will break or that after 10 minutes a structure may destabilise before these events occur, it would be helpful to them.

Dr Aatif Ali Khan is a lecturer at The University of Canterbury.

We’re developing scenarios through computer simulation to create a large database so that the model is able to make predictions. Most of the time we are taking data from CFD simulations but also from experiments, knowledgebased data from historical events, and sometimes we create models from physics-based empirical correlations. Each has their limitations.

FNZM: What is the output of the research, and the audience?

AK: The first thing we did was to collect data on 50-60 years of accidents, and to do this we looked at firefighter fatalities predominantly from the US because most of the US data is open to the public. From this data, I created a library of critical and precursor events detailing what happened in each case, including such factors as whether a door was open, whether there was a fire in the corridor, whether fire reached the false ceiling, etc.

I created around 200 events from the data, and then discussed these with experienced firefighters in Hong Kong to verify whether these types of events had occurred in Hong Kong too. They checked their data and added to it from their experience.

Most of the time, we can see that there are a reasonable number of scenarios that are common across different countries, so we then looked to survey their frequency and

consequences. I am still in the process of documenting this.

The idea is to provide firefighters with timely information in a language they can understand, and data outputs, such as temperatures, tend to be numeric, which may not mean much to a firefighter. Our software, therefore, will convert the number into what it actually means, so if a 500-kilowatt fire will likely cause a window to break after five minutes, the software will talk about the window breaking rather than simply stating the temperature.

One more thing, I’d like to highlight is that this project is highly interdisciplinary, calling for collaboration from a diverse range of experts, including those in fire engineering, computer science, structural engineering, and beyond.

FNZM: How will firefighters consume the outcomes of the research?

AK: We are developing software that will connect with the BIM model and looking to provide a device that provides a user interface. This user interface will provide the firefighter with the probability of critical events that are in the database library. The incident command officer can use this to conduct real-time risk analysis based on information gathered at the fire scene.

This ultimately gives the firefighter more time for their dynamic risk assessment so that they can make more

informed decisions based on real-time information.

FNZM: How far are we from that today in NZ?

AK: I’m looking to conduct a similar survey study in New Zealand as well and am in the data collection phase at the moment.

I’m also working on the use of virtual reality in firefighting. Essentially, we can use the critical event data we’ve collected for our AI assisted tool to train firefighters, and we can make training scenarios based on what actually happened.

Accidents are sad things, but they are more tragic when we don’t learn from them. There is a gap between research and what firefighters are actually doing, and we want to bridge it. Fortunately, New Zealand is an amazing place for this because our firefighters and academics are so connected. The rest of the world should look to us and do the same.

Enhancing Fire Safety with Nationwide Fire Alarm Monitoring and FENZ Direct Connections. We’ve been busy, come see what we’ve been up to! Join us at Fire NZ 2023, stand #52, or explore further details on our website.

Electrical items pose increasing fire risk

As Lithium-ion batteries are in most electrical products used in our daily lives, the risk of lithium battery fires in the home and at work is becoming a growing problem. The research carried out by Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) as early as 2020, identified the risk associated by Lithium Batteries and showed that reported incidents in New Zealand and globally are growing significantly and advised potential actions that could be taken to mitigate the fire threat posed by these batteries.

With Lithium-ion batteries being a key component for products such as power tools, computers, personal devices, scooters and bikes, cars and with a push for thinner, lighter lithium batteries with higher storage capacities. The fire hazard they pose is increasing due to fires caused by overcharging, physical impact, overheating, internal cell failure, short circuits, or manufacturing defects.

To help mitigate this risk, Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion (AVD) is a revolutionary fire extinguishing agent that has been developed specifically to combat lithium battery fires. The water content of the agent cools and suppresses the fire, while the Vermiculite encapsulates the fuel source creating a thermal barrier to prevent the propagation and reignition of the fire. AVD is also twice as effective as water on Class A fires and is environmentally friendly. For more information visit – www.fire-protection.com.au

The following safety guidelines to mitigate the fire risk were recommended by London Fire Brigade:

• Always use the charger that came with your device

• If you need to buy a replacement, always choose a branded, genuine product from a supplier you can trust. There are a lot of fakes on the market, and it can be difficult to spot the difference

• Avoid storing, using, or charging batteries at very high or low temperatures

• Protect batteries against being damaged through crushing, puncturing or immersion in water

• Don’t leave items continuously on charge after the charge cycle is complete, e.g., don’t leave your phone plugged in overnight

• Never cover chargers or charging devices, this includes using your laptop power lead in bed

• When you travel, avoid keeping all your items containing lithium-ion batteries together, especially on a plane

The information contained within this article is provided solely for general informational and educational purposes and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Before taking any actions based upon this information, we advise the reader to consult any and all relevant statutory or regulatory guidance and where felt necessary to consult a qualified fire or industry regulation professional. The use or reliance on any information contained herein is solely at the reader’s risk.

Meet the Speaker: Charles Fleischmann

Professor Charles Fleischmann talks about the recently identified fire hazards associated with e-micromobility devices, and particularly the scooters and ebikes that tend to be charged in bedrooms across our cities.

Professor Fleischmann is principal Research Engineer at UL - Fire Safety Research Institute, and until recently had been part of the University of Canterbury Fire Engineering program since its beginnings in 1994. His research interests include fire dynamics, compartment fire modelling, performance-based codes, backdrafts, and smoke explosions.

At this year’s Fire NZ Conference, Charley will be speaking on the topic of ‘Quantifying the Fire Hazard of E-micromobility devices’.

Professor Fleischmann has given expert witness testimony in civil, criminal, and family court. In 200407, he has served on the Fire Advisory Panel for the New Zealand Department of Building and Housing and MBIE. He is a Fellow of SFPE, IFE, and in 2011 he received the Arthur B Guise medal for eminent achievement in the advancement of the science and technology of fire protection engineering.

Charley is currently the chair of the SFPE standards committee on Design Fire Scenarios and is the section editor of the fundamentals section of the 6th edition of the SPFE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. He has over 100 academic and professional publications and has presented many invited and keynote presentations around the world.

FNZM: What are the hazards presented by eScooters and micromobility devices?

CF: In New York City there’s something like 60,000 people, for example, who are employed on electric

scooters to deliver food across the city. People who work in these types of jobs are less likely to have a large home to live in and are more likely to live in an apartment building. These tend to be high buildings.

These folk can’t leave their scooters on the street because they won’t be there in the morning, so they bring them up into their apartments, and it’s when they charge them that they can potentially have problems. If an incident occurs, it really can be quite catastrophic.

In the incident in Wellington a couple of months ago, a man was in his apartment with his mobility device and it started to smell a little odd; he went over to it and the scooter basically blew up in his face and he was left badly burned. Sprinklers activated and controlled the fire.

As the Fire Safety Research Institute (a UL organisation) looks into these events, the first part of it is about assessing how big of a hazard e-micromobility devices actually are, how fast these events can occur, and about the extent to which our conventional sprinklers are able to control these fires.

Sprinklers are not really going to put them out; when they get to this point they’re going to run through their reactions, they’re going to spit out hot or molten bits of metal, and they’re likely to be pretty catastrophic.

FNZM: What, exactly, is ‘thermal runaway’?

CF: It’s not specific to Lithium-ion batteries. Spontaneous combustion, for example, is effectively a thermal

Professor Charles Fleischmann is Principal Research Engineer at UL.

runaway, it’s a chemical reaction. There’s other chemistry going on between the two but basically this thermal runaway you see in these batteries is just much, much faster because there is more stored energy in them – incredibly high energy densities.

The term ‘thermal runaway’ is not necessarily new but the mechanism here is very different. These batteries can generate heat much faster than they can give it up, and when that happens, they break down and they go through this runaway chemical reaction where you cannot really do anything to stop it.

Fire Services all over the world are starting to ask the question ‘how do we deal with these?’ – especially when you consider something on the scale of an electric car or a bus.

Some junk yards are refusing to take electrical vehicles of any kind because they just don’t know what to do with them. Even if an EV is involved in just a minor accident, some insurance companies are taking the position that the car’s a write off and are not willing to accept that there may have been mechanical damage to the battery. Mechanical damage to the battery is one of the more common causes of problems.

Causes of incidents can relate to damaged batteries, the poor quality of the original battery, or a third-party replacement battery that may have a different battery management system, making it unsafe to recharge. Other problems are aftermarket chargers that don’t talk very well to the battery management system.

Exacerbating the issue is the fact that if you try to take your motorcycle up in the lift in a 20-storey building, people are likely to look at you sideways and probably complain about you bringing your motorcycle in because of the obvious hazard. But if you come in with a small eScooter or eBike, nobody is likely look at you sideways.

Nobody wants to park their eScooter outside: they can’t charge it outside, and if they leave it outside it’s not going to be there in the morning. So, do we provide storage for these, and if we do that then they need to be sprinklered, and they need to be fire separated, so we need to design for that?

Similar questions are being asked about carparks for EV. The problem is, if a fire event were to occur in a carpark it’s a problem, but no one is expected to be asleep in a carpark and the occupants can easily evacuate. So, it is a problem for the fire service more so than the occupants. If my micromobility device is charging in my flat then it’s likely to be charging in a bedroom or lounge, and the occupant may be sleeping in there.

The smoke alarm will go off once the event starts, and five to ten seconds later the device may explode. We don’t consider these to be really survivable events if they happen in your room under the wrong conditions.

These events are not that common, but risk is the product of consequence and likelihood. The likelihood is low, but the consequence is incredible, so that’s what makes this a high-risk situation. When these things start to get into thermal runaway you’ve got a real problem.

FNZM: What are some of the potential ways of managing that risk?

CF: What we do know is that it appears that sprinklers can deal with the fires, but I don’t think that these devices should generally be in a normally occupied space, especially where people are not awake. What we need to do is to start looking at what we do with our buildings where there are people who have these devices. They should be in a fire separated spaces and if we expect to be charging multiple devices there should be sprinklers. If we don’t do this then we can expect some severe fires.

Where these events have occurred in bike shops, they’ve burned out the entire shop due to one device combusting and then causing the others to ignite and burn. Thus, it’s probably not a good idea to have a building with 50 eScooters in them, especially if they’re being charged when we have not designed for it. This is a new hazard, and we have to design to deal with it.

This is only about a three or fouryear-old problem, and New York is just now bringing in local ordinances to regulate what batteries can be brought into buildings. Batteries will have to go

through testing and achieve an approval rating. I suspect that regulations may be adopted to prohibit e-micromobility devices from multi-family buildings, but it’s one thing to put such rules in place and another thing to enforce them.

This is very much an emerging fire problem. It’s not easy to find space within cities to store and recharge the devices– and less easy inside existing buildings –so it’s a matter of how we manage this going forward because we’re going to need parking places and charging stations. We’ve jumped headlong into this, and we don’t really have the infrastructure for it.

At this point, there’s a few UL standards out there with performance criteria relating to the testing of batteries, but it’s very much an area where we’re still learning.

It’s great to see that sprinklers work. They don’t necessarily put out the battery fire but what they do is that they keep the fire contained to the mobility device. They’ll wet the sofa around it, they’ll wet the carpet and everything else in the vicinity such that we didn’t observe any fire spread beyond the device itself in the tests we’ve done.

These tried-and-true methodologies work very well, but unfortunately it all happens so fast that smoke detectors aren’t very helpful. They’ll help people outside of the room where the device is but when these devices go up in flames, they have the potential for blowing out windows, and there can be a large fireball that accompanies some of these failures and toxic products that are being released.

How immediately fatal these might be is a question that’s being studied right now. It’s not an easy question to answer in such a short-lived event. It’s very hard to analyse the environment, especially in sprinklered environments. It also depends on how close the person is sleeping next to the device in their bedroom.

People who are likely bringing these devices into their bedroom to charge them are not likely to have large bedrooms with ensuites; they’re going to be small rooms, and that does not bode well for the person in the room.

Changes to retention money requirements

Changes were made last April to legislation to give subcontractors the confidence they will be paid the retention money they are owed should the head contractor’s business fail.

In April this year, the Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Act 2023 was passed. The Amendment Act aims to strengthen and provide protection by making it easier for subcontractors to access retention money without a court order, in the event of a head contractor’s insolvency.

The changes in the Amendment Act build on retention money provisions already in the Construction Contracts Act 2002. This was put in place to protect retention money owed to subcontractors in the event of a business failure, and to ensure retention money withheld under construction contracts is responsibly managed.

“These changes passed in the Construction Contracts (Retention Money) Amendment Act safeguard subcontractors who are often the first to miss out in the event a construction company becomes insolvent,” Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods said.

“While it is not a requirement to hold retention money, many head contractors choose to withhold part of their payment to specialist tradespeople for up to 12 months. This is one way to help ensure building work is done right first time, and acts as an insurance that the subcontractor will return if there are any defects.

The changes made today provide important protections for subcontractors so they can be certain their payment is kept safe, can’t be used for any other purpose, and will be paid out should the head contractor’s business fail.

Companies and directors who choose to hold retention money

Where retention money is kept, there will be a strict liability offence for failing to hold retention money properly: for every breach of the retentions regime, directors will face fines of up to $50,000 and companies will face fines of up to $200,000. It will also be an offence to intentionally provide false information

Ministry with information necessary to support investigations.

Contractors looking to hold retention money have six months from the enactment of the new legislation to ensure processes are established and standard contracts are amended before the new offences and penalties apply.

Retention Money Guidance for the Construction Contracts Act 2002

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DEFINING INNOVATION

COMMITTED TO CHANGING THE GAME SINCE 1919

HOW NEXANS FIRE SAFETY CABLES AND MODULAR WIRING SOLUTION REDUCES RISKS FOR YOU

The smoke and toxic gases generated in a building fire are the major cause of all casualties, therefore it is vital to reduce the exposure time to these hazards by facilitating a safe and rapid evacuation.

Cables lie at the heart of a building safety system, playing a crucial role in reducing the amount of toxins generated during the fire, whilst also powering critical equipment that will allow successful evacuations. It is important to understand how Nexans Low Fire Hazard and Nexans Fire-Rated cables help to support a safe evacuation.

Nexans low fire hazard cables are made using special zero halogen and flame retardant materials that generate substantially less smoke and toxic gases during a fire than traditional cables. The flame retardance of these cables is also generally higher than that of traditional cables, significantly reducing the likelihood that the cable will contribute to the spread of fire.

Nexans fire-resistant cables are designed with the same low smoke and reduced propagation properties as low fire hazard cables, but additionally are designed to continue operation during the fire to maintain essential services (emergency lighting, ventilation etc.) until the evacuation process is completed safely.

• Cable specification – cables with the correct fire safety properties (low fire hazard) are specified in advance, prepared in the factory, tested and then delivered to the site. The process is transparent and eliminates the risk of noncompliant cable being installed in the building.

• Cable routing – with modular wiring this is pre-designed and the wiring system sizing and lengths are determined in advance. All the modular wiring elements are clearly labelled and identified in accordance with the design.

The Nexans Modular Wiring System integrates Nexans low fire hazard cables in a designed and manufactured system. Below are examples of how the modular wiring system works to amplify fire safety:

• Service penetrations – breaches in building fabric are a major contributor to the spread of fire. In a modular wiring system, service penetrations can be appropriately designed and specified in advance – including the allowance of fire stopping and intumescent protection.

• Safe terminations – all junctions, connections and terminations in modular systems are made and tested in the factory, reducing the scope for installation errors being made on site.

NEXANS

BY NEXANS

Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc. introduces Flat Plate Window Protection Sprinklers.

Reliable® offers an aesthetic, cost-effective alternative to fire-rated glass.

Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc. announced the introduction of the Model WP56C Flat Plate Concealed Window Protection Sprinkler.

WP Series Sprinklers are used with fixed glazed assemblies to create a cULus Listed alternative to a 2-hour fire-rated wall. The Model WP56C has also been Evaluated by ICC-ES for consistency with the International Building Code® and select local building codes in ESR-4700.

“This is a game-changing product for design professionals in need of an attractive and cost-effective alternative to firerated glass,” commented FJ Fee IV, Reliable’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “Unlike traditional window sprinklers, which protrude from the ceiling adjacent to the protected glazing, the Model WP56C sprinkler is entirely concealed by an unobtrusive 3 5/16” (84 mm) diameter cover plate.”

In a fire condition, the cover plate falls away, allowing the sprinkler’s deflector to drop into position. When the sprinkler’s rated operating temperature is reached, the sprinkler activates and discharges water onto the surface of the glazing. Only the sprinkler or sprinklers nearest the heat source activate.

Cover plates for the Model WP56C Sprinklers are available in standard finishes of white and chrome, as well as 8 specialty finishes. Plates may also be custom paint matched by Reliable for the most architecturally sensitive locations.

Cover plates are also available with a printed surface. 12 standard woodgrain finishes are available as well as custom printed options.

Reliable’s WP Series of Window Protection Sprinklers have the industry’s largest UL Listed spacing between sprinklers. Larger spacing allows fewer sprinklers to be used to protect the same length of glass.

For more information on the full family of Reliable WP Specific Application Window Sprinklers, visit www. reliablesprinkler.com/wp or contact Reliable Technical Services at techserv@reliablesprinkler.com.

Reliable offers standard woodgrain and custom printed cover plates

Sprinkler Protected Glazing

An aesthetic alternative to a fire-rated wall

Sprinkler, SIN R504

• 74° C (165° F)

• 100° C (212° F)

Sprinkler, SIN R502

• 74° C (165° F)

• 100° C (212° F)

Sprinkler, SIN R501

• 68° C (155° F)

• 93° C (200° F)

Model WP Series Sprinklers used with fixed glazed assemblies create a cost-effective alternative to fire-rated walls.

• Industry’s best spacings mean fewer sprinklers required

• Sleek, aesthetically pleasing profile available in bronze, chrome, white polyester, and special finishes to complement architectural glazing

• Flat plate concealed cover plates available in white, chrome, woodgrain, and custom painted or printed finishes to match any décor

• cULus Listed

WP56 Glass Bulb

WP56C Fusible link

WP56L Fusible link

A NEW APPROACH TO ACTIVE FIRE PROTECTION.

When it comes to fire safety, there’s no room for complacency.

At Orbital Fire we aim to simplify the complexities of sprinkler systems in a way that is convenient, reliable, trustworthy and most importantlycompliant with New Zealand building standards.

We provide a one-stop-shop by seamlessly integrating design and compliance with supply and industry knowledge.

At Orbital Fire, we stand as Partners in Fire Protection, leading the way in safeguarding lives and property against fire damage.

www.orbitalfire.co.nz

09 255 5575

sales@orbitalfire.co.nz

The Partner You Need In Fire Protection.

Introducing a New Partner that Safeguards what Matters Most.

Whilst the name might be new, the people and the values behind Orbital Fire are not. Developed by the team at FDG, Orbital Fire brings to the market a new approach to Active Fire Protection.

As a 3-generation family business, we draw upon our long experience in the building services and seismic industries to provide a complete solution for sprinkler systems, from design to supply. Orbital Fire navigates the intricacies of fire protection, offering guidance to ensure that our customers’ meet and exceed our industries ever evolving requirements.

The Orbital Fire WHY?

With a knowledge of structural supports and seismic bracing, the Team at FDG were guest speakers at the FPA 2022 “Get it Right Seminars” on Technical Note – TN 20-45 and the changes to the NZS4541:2020 Standard. This is where we launched our ModFrame Pump Room Calculator, giving designers and contractors the ability to create their own compliant designs for bracketing and bracing, saving time and money.

With positive feedback and input from thought leaders in the industry, FDG then made the decision to launch a full package of Active Fire products and from there Orbital Fire was born. Orbital Fire is growing from strength to strength and has now partnered with TYCO Fire Protection (JCI), to bring their full range of products to the New Zealand market.

Our Range of Products and Services includes:

• Sprinklers

• Grinnell Couplings

• Sprinkler Pipe

• X & Y Type Valve Sets

• Seismic Supports & Bracketing

• Strut & Modframe

• Galv Malleable Fittings

• Design Services

• Fabrication

To accompany the large product range, Orbital Fire is taking a new and innovative approach to fabrication that will bring significant time and cost savings to contractors by utilising the best available 21st century technology. Talk to our team to find out more details on this new and exciting approach.

Along with fabrication Orbital Fire has partnered with Chartered Professional Engineers to offer seismic design services, giving you a true one-stop-shop from design to product supply.

Our Industry knowledge confirms that customers, from Design Engineers to Contractors on-site, are looking for relevant, compliant, and helpful information that allows them to efficiently do their job. This is why at Orbital Fire our goal is to empower them with the correct data, paperwork, and product, to deliver exceptional fire protection results.

Our vision extends beyond mere fire protection; we strive to simplify the process, eliminating the complexities of dealing with multiple providers and delivering product when and where it’s needed. With our full-service approach, we bring convenience, efficiency, and peace of mind to those entrusted with keeping us all safe within the structures we live, work and play.

Orbital Fire is challenging the status quo in the fire protection industry, by being more than just a supplier. We are bringing fresh perspectives, innovative solutions, our strong values, and a willingness to go beyond the norm. It doesn’t get any easier than partnering with Orbital Fire - it’s the smarter choice.

Compliant Pump Room Framing using Modframe

The FireNZ conference committee reserve the right to update and change the programme if required, it is accurate at the date of printing, but check the website for the latest version

PROGRAMME: DAY ONE

Tuesday 3 October

What an international best practice building act looks like – key learnings from 30 years-experience law reform

it be AS/NZ1851? Pros, cons and future development.

aged care facility that claimed eleven lives.

Smart firefighting: A framework for decision making using AI-assisted tool in a building fire

The new regulatory regime in England - a fire safety engineer’s perspective

Competence, collaboration and co-operation, with a subtitle Laws, Principles and Charters.

fired up protection

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STI-1130 Ref. 720-102 Surface mount with horn and spacer

STI-13000-NC Ref. 720-090

Flush mount, no horn 206mm H x 137mm W x 69mm D

STI-13B10-NW Ref. 720-092

Surface mount, horn and label optional 206mm H x 137mm W x 103mm D

STI-1100 Ref. 720-054

Flush mount with horn 255mm H x 179mm W x 86mm D

STI-6518 Ref. 720-060

Flush mount, no horn 165mm H x 105mm W x 49mm D

STI-13210-NG Ref. 720-093

Surface mount, horn and label optional 206mm H x 137mm W x 103mm D

All STI ‘Stoppers’ are made of tough, UV stabilised polycarbonate. Many can be supplied with or without a 105 dB horn. Other models and sizes available including weather resistant options.

STI-WRP2-RED-11

Ref. 720-062R

Also available in White.

STI-RP-WS-11/CN

Ref. 720-052W Available in White, Green, Blue & Yellow.

STI-RP-GF-11/CN

Ref. 720-051G

Available in White, Green, Blue & Yellow.

STI-RP-RS-02/CI

Ref. 720-058

Cover included. Flush Mount Available.

• Approved to EN54-11

• Current Rating: 3 Amps @ 12-24V DC, 3 Amps @ 125-250V AC

• Material: Polycarbonate

• Comes with Clear Cover

• 2 x SPDT switches

• Positive activation that mimics the feel of breaking glass.

• Visible warning flag confirms activation.

• Simple polycarbonate key to reset operating element - no broken glass.

• Dimensions: 87mm Length x 87mm Width x 23mm Depth (Flush Mount) & 58mm Depth (Surface Mount)

STI-6255 Ref. 720-042

Mini Theft Stopper discourages inappropriate use of equipment. Sounds a powerful 105 dB warning horn when activated. Tough, ABS construction. Reed switch activation for cabinets and display cases or unique clip activation for freestanding equipment. Does not interfere with use of protected fire fighting equipment. Compact design 85mm H x 85mm W x 25mm D.

STI-6720 Ref. 720-047

Break Glass Stopper. Keys under plexiglas. Protects emergency keys from inappropriate use. Keys remain visible. Fast, easy installation. Simple, inexpensive plexiglas. 3 year guarantee against breakage of the ABS housing within normal use.

Battery Load Tester Ref. 730-101

ViTECH, strong, lightweight aluminum case, 5, 15 and 30 amp battery load tester for fire and alarm use.

Weight: 500gms, Size: 165mm x 90 x 70mm.

Fire Brigade Alarm: (Closed/Open) Ref. 730-231

ViTECH branded Type X (730-230) and Type Y (illustrated) models with temperature compensated pressure transducers with digital display showing pressures for defect, fire and pump start.

Anti-Interference Device

Ref. 730-400 series

ViTECH AID for sprinkler valve monitoring; fits all ball valve sizes.

LOKTRONIC’s expansive product range has just become even wider with these first class EGRESS and FIRE PROTECTION DEVICES and PROTECTIVE COVERS

ViTECH products are designed and produced in New Zealand.

IP67

PROGRAMME: DAY TWO

The FireNZ conference committee reserve the right to update and change the programme if required, it is accurate at the date of printing, but check the website for the latest version Wednesday

4 October

COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund delivers 26 upgraded fire stations

Over the past three years, the COVID-19 Response and Recovery fund has provided $51.3 million for the replacement, rebuild or major refurbishment of 26 fire stations across New Zealand.

According to a 29 July announcement by Minister of Internal Affairs Barbara Edmonds, Communities around New Zealand are safer as a result of 26 fire stations having now been successfully upgraded or rebuilt over the past three years.

“Fire and Emergency New Zealand play a critical role in keeping communities safe. In order to do so, fire fighters need a base that is resilient, functional and fit-for-purpose,” Barbara Edmonds said.

Through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, the Government has invested $51.3 million for the replacement, rebuild or major refurbishment of 26 fire stations across the country.

This injection has provided a boost to the capital works programme, ensuring more regional communities have a fit-for-purpose hub for their firefighters to respond from and store equipment.

Over the past three years upgrades have resulted in jobs for Kiwis from as far afield as Greymouth to Featherston and Balclutha to Taihape. Everyone has benefited, from labourers to suppliers and designers to engineers, right across New Zealand.

When the Government called for shovel ready projects in the early days of COVID-19, Fire and Emergency was wellplaced to raise its hand.

Following establishment in 2017 and the amalgamation of over 40 rural and urban firefighting entities, Fire and Emergency had been well aware of the need to invest heavily in its network of over 650 fire stations.

Work in the programme has ranged from complete rebuilds, partial refurbishments, seismic strengthening, and facility upgrades. In the quake affected areas of Canterbury and Kaikōura, new stations have been built to world-class standards ensuring crews have a safe space to come back to.

The programme has been a huge success. Stations have been delivered on time and largely to budget, despite global challenges and supply chain disruptions.

“I want to thank everyone who was involved in these projects from start to finish. This investment will make a real difference in supporting our fire fighters for decades to come,” Barbara Edmonds said.

The FireNZ conference committee reserve the right to update and change the programme if required, it is accurate at the date of printing, but check the website for the latest version

PROGRAMME: DAY THREE

Thursday 5 October

Your compliant design is probably not safe enough: The Safety in Design philosophy, what it is and why you should (and must) include it in your design process.

Dulux Protective Coatings

DuluxGroup is a leading manufacturer and marketer of products that protect, maintain and enhance the spaces and places in which we live and work.

Dulux Protective Coatings’ market leadership through use of world class technologies, local market presence, depth of experience and technical expertise, enables us to work with you to provide long term and sustainable solutions for the protection of new and existing buildings, infrastructure, facilities, plant and equipment.

With our extensive product range and our experienced, customer-focused team, Dulux Protective Coatings provides tailor-made solutions for specifiers, project engineers, architects, facilities managers and applicators. We provide all the information you need, covering everything from substrate preparation to application methods and maintenance scheduling, ensuring your assets are effectively protected, in even the most demanding conditions.

Project – Waikato Theatre (under construction)

Location - Hamilton

Architect - Jasmax Architects

Contractor – Foster Construction

Steel Fabrication – Grayson Engineering

Featured – Intumescent FIRETEX® PLATINUM

Intumescent Range

To protect your assets

The Dulux® FIRETEX® range is comprised of intumescent coatings for the cellulosic fire protection of structural steel. The range offers solutions many different corrosivity environments, for up to 120 minutes of protection, interior and exterior options, site-applied or shop-applied options, solvent-based and chemically-cured options.

Come and have a chat with the Dulux PC team – Stand #10

FX2003

FX6010

FIRETEX PLATINUM

FIRETEX PLATINUM 120

The Exhibition.

FIRENZ 2023 EXHIBITORS

Akzo Nobel Coatings Ltd (Stand 2)

Alan Wilson Insurance Brokers (Sponsor Stand 1)

Alarm NZ (Stand 53)

Allproof (Stand 31)

Altex Coatings (Stand 44)

Ampac (Stand 27)

Automatic Fire Alarm Monitoring (Stand 52)

Beele Australasia Ltd (Stand 47)

Bensan Distribution (Sponsor Stand 4)

Bondor NZ (Stand 11)

BRANZ (Stand 50)

Clarinspect (Stand 12)

Comfortech Building Performance Solutions (Stand 50)

Dulux (Stand 10)

Equinox Automation Ltd (Stand 20)

FDG (Stand 3)

Fire Protection Technologies Ltd (Stand 29/30)

Fireshield (Stand 22)

Hilti (Stand 17)

Johnson Controls (Stand 38)

JSG Industrial Systems (Stand 13)

Kingspan Insulated Panels (Stand 33)

Klip Tank Ltd (Stand 32)

Konnect Fastening Systems (Stand 39)

Masons Plastabrick Ltd (Stand 18)

MBIE Building Performance (Stand 15)

NZ Safety Blackwoods (Stand 45)

Pertronic Industries Ltd (Stand 25)

Plus Technologies (Stand 4)

Potter Interior Systems (Stand 1)

PPG Industries (Stand 40)

PSL Fire and Safety Ltd (Stand 34/35)

Reliable Fire Sprinkler (Australia) (Stand 21)

Ryanfire Products (Stand 41/42)

Safeworld (Sponsor Stand 4)

Sika NZ Ltd (Stand 43)

Smoke Control (Stand 51)

Steel & Tube (Stand 48/49)

Tech Coatings (Sponsor Stand 2)

Tenmat (Stand 19)

Victaulic/Hydroflow (Stand 7/8)

Viking (Stand 5/6)

Winstone Wallboards (Sponsor Stand 3)

Zone Architectural (Stand 28)

Local National Wildfire Readiness and Prevention campaign kicks off

Fire and Emergency

New Zealand (FENZ) launches early National Wildfire Readiness and Prevention campaign as a fifth deployment heads to Canada to assist with ongoing wildfires in Canada.

FENZ is urging people to start preparing for the risk of wildfire early as hotter drier weather is forecast this summer.

In a 1st September announcement, Service Delivery Wildfire Manager Tim Mitchell said that the forecast higher temperatures, reduced rainfall and windier El Niño weather pattern predicted for this summer is likely to cause higher levels of fire danger on the east coasts of both islands.

“Given this year’s flood events and wet conditions, people will likely find it difficult to understand the wildfire risk New Zealand could be facing soon,” he says.

But a spell of hot dry windy weather will quickly dry out the grass and vegetation that has grown and will likely grow over the coming months, due to the moist soils and return to warmer weather. This will become a fire risk if not managed.

“Ninety-eight per cent of New Zealand wildfires are caused by people and people can do a great deal to prevent wildfires occurring and to help protect themselves and their property,” Tim Mitchell says.

Starting this month Fire and Emergency will provide locationspecific, live fire danger advertisements if the level is High, Very High or Extreme through social channels, YouTube and Google search.

From late September, social media, online video, digital display, and radio will prompt semi-rural and rural

dwellers to prepare their homes and properties for a wildfire. Real-time and localised fire danger levels and fire season information can be accessed on MetService’s desktop and app platforms. Meanwhile, on 26 August, a fifth deployment of Fire and Emergency and forestry company specialist personnel departed Auckland airport to assist with the ongoing wildfires in Canada. Echo deployment consists of two Divisional Supervisors, two Heavy Equipment Group Supervisors, one Air Operations Branch Director, one Helicopter Coordinator and one Area Representative.

An international effort has been made to assist Canada, with firefighters from Australia, United States, South Africa, France, Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil all pitching in. This New Zealand deployment will provide support and relief to local fire managers who have been fighting the fires since May.

Fire and Emergency has already deployed 92 firefighters across four deployments to the country to help with the firefighting efforts. The majority of those firefighters were on the ground undertaking ‘arduous firefighting’.

2017 Port Hills fires. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Konnect Fastening Systems

Konnect Fastening Systems is the master distributor of Ridgid for New Zealand

Konnect Fastening Systems plays a major role in supplying the Fire Protection Market within the New Zealand across our 16 Branch network. We supply the industry a range of products such as power tools, hand tools, fasteners, site safety equipment, sealants, silicones, and various other items that are essential for the industry.

Konnect Fastening Systems is proud to be the master distributor of Ridgid for New Zealand. Our journey alongside Ridgid spans over numerous years, taking pride in Ridgid’s rich history that began in 1923. This year we celebrate 100 years of Ridgid and embrace a lot of change over the past century. Ridgid is well known for their modern straight pipe wrench released to market in 1923. This wrench today still holds as the best-selling pipe wrench. In fact, this 1923 wrench is still used today.

Konnect has 16 branches across New Zealand where you will find our extensive product range and knowledgeable staff. There are 11 branches in the North Island & 5 in the South Island. This year we have opened two new stores, a bigger superstore in East Tamaki as well as a new store in Palmerston North. We are excited to keep providing value to

the Fire NZ industry offering new solutions to diversifying customer needs.

For more information visit us at stand no 39 at the FireNZ Conference or go to our website www. konnectfasteningsystems.co.nz

Engineers welcome review of fire regulations

Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers NZ welcome Government commitment to looking at building regulations that apply to higher-density housing following the Loafers Lodge fire.

“My heart goes out to people who’ve lost loved ones or have to rebuild their lives after this tragedy,” said Chief Executive Richard Templer.

“What isn’t clear is what went wrong and whether regulations for high-density buildings need to be tightened. As such, we welcome the Government’s commitment yesterday to reviewing these regulations and will contribute our engineering expertise where we can.”

Carol Caldwell, President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers NZ agreed. “From what we know, potential safeguards that may have helped protect the lives of residents weren’t in place, but weren’t necessarily required to be.,” she said.

“It is obvious that the fire design and the associated fire safety management and system maintenance did not work as intended for this building. There needs to be a robust investigation to help identify if any changes are needed to regulations.”

She said that although there have been minor amendments to regulatory documents for fire engineering, the verification methods and acceptable solutions that provide detailed design guidance haven’t been comprehensively reviewed since 2012.

“I think the idea this kind of tragedy can happen in New Zealand doesn’t sit with most people,” said Caldwell. “I think it shows the strong case as to why a review of fire

engineering legislation is urgently needed.”

FENZ and NZPFU discuss risk reduction

According to the Ian Wright of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU), following the Loafers lodge fire, “it has been established that one of the challenges facing our Risk Reduction Teams is the ability to identify high-risk buildings that are providing transient accommodation within our communities.”

“These buildings are becoming more common and often they are noncompliant with the evacuation regulations, and have no approved evacuation scheme in place,” he said. “In a number of cases, these buildings are only being found after front line crews had been responded to incidents within them.

“This has been identified as a risk, not only to the safety of the people living in these buildings, but also to the safety of the firefighters attending incidents in them, and putting themselves in positions of danger whilst attempting to account for all of the occupants.”

According to Wright, discussions have been held between the NZPFU National Committee and FENZ representatives around a plan to get frontline crews to collect and share information with district risk reduction teams, when responding to high risk transient accommodation buildings that either don’t have an approved evacuation scheme, or their evacuation scheme is not performing as it should.

One of the great synergy’s between our companies is that MOBIAK is also a family owned company, though theirs was founded in 1977. Mobiak is one of the fastest growing companies in the Balkans, Europe and the Middle East in the field of Firefighting Equipment industries. It is among the leading companies in Production and Distribution in Firefighting and Fire Safety Equipment.

MOBIAK has accumulated 46 years’ worth of experience in our industry largely through being able to ensure product development, quality & consistency in distribution.

PSL Fire & Safety will represent MOBIAK exclusively offering our clients the following improved & AS/NZS approved product ranges - Fire Extinguishers, Fire Extinguisher Accessories, Fire Extinguishing agents, Fire Suppression Systems, Fire Hose Reels and ancillary equipment.

MOBIAK Stand Alone Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems

These self-contained K-400 kitchen fire suppression systems are housed in an anodized aluminium case that not only houses the fire suppression agent but also an audible alarm, LED light & key switch. All hardware required for most installations is included along with the instructions for installation in your home kitchen, RV or on your vessel.

Fire Extinguisher Range

Not only can we now offer improved ratings on most of our ABE dry powder range but also we can now offer a Fluorine Free Foam extinguisher that’s tested & approved for use on class A, class B & class F fires.

EBULB

NOVEC 1230 filled heat activated automatic bulb UL listed, suitable for smaller risk areas such as smaller switchboards and machinery.

AMFE (Automatic Fire Extinguisher)

NOVEC 1230 filled automatic extinguisher for some larger electrical switchboards, critical plant, smaller enclosed plant areas, mobile plant, areas with potentially volatile substances stored. Activation can be automatic utilizing the sprinkler type glass vile or manual.

FIREBOY

NOVEC 1230 fire suppression systems are the next step up from the AMFE systems once again aimed at primarily the electrical switchboards & installations, critical plant, enclosed plant areas vehicles & vessels. The activation of these fire suppression systems can be automatic, manual or both as required or desired.

Blaze Cut

These automatic fire suppression systems can be quickly & easily installed in various applications including vehicles, vessels, marine applications such as outboard motor cowling, electrical cabinets, storage areas for volatile substances.

Fire Suppression Sachets

These convenient sachets contain a liquid specifically developed for use on cooking oil & fat fires that can threaten the safety of our families & our homes.

We would like to inform all our loyal customers that PSL Fire & Safety has been awarded sole distributorship of all MOBIAK products.

fired up excellence

and innovation by Fire Brigade Alarm (FBA) with Signal Generating Device (SGD)

Type X for mains pressures below 800 Kpa

Superior features include…

• Robust Stainless Steel, powder-coated cabinet

• Digital displays indicating Standing Pressure, Defect, Fire & Pump Start Pressures

• Temperature Compensated Pressure

Transducer ensures; no wandering pressure settings or temperature induced fluctuations

Type Y for mains pressures above 800 Kpa

Indication outputs cover the following…

• external defect

• pump run alarm

• pump start output

• fire defect

• drop in pressure

• rise in pressure

• flow switch

• anti-interference

• auxiliary relay output

• strobe light output

Standalone Signal Generating Device (SGD)

• One model covers the options

• Ideal for service van spares

• Will suit 2 & 4 wire installations

• Test and Isolate switches included

• Field Selectable software options

• Field Selectable Standard & Multidrop modes

Ref. 730-320

• Interfaces with most fire alarm panels including Pertronic, Ampac, Notifier, Brooks, Bensan, Edwards, Siemens.