Fire safety orders for tower blocks

A Government department has demanded changes to two proposed central Auckland apartment towers which have only one way for occupants to escape a fire.

Tasman Properties wants to develop the towers off Queen St, but a determination from the Department of Building and Housing has demanded extra fire protection features.

To safeguard residents and control the spread of fire, the developer must install features including a corridor pressurisation system, it says. Rules have been set to ensure stairwell doors are kept unlocked.

Many high-rise apartment towers have two fire escapes, but developers can apply to meet the Building Code by using alternative solutions.

In the past year, the department has also ruled on high-rise apartment blocks which have a single means of fire escape. These include the new 16-level Scene blocks on Auckland's waterfront and the 18-level Waldorf hotel/apartment block on central Bankside St, off Shortland St.

Tasman wants to develop a 13-level block at 18 Turner St and a 14-level block at 17-19 Waverley St, near Karangahape Rd. The towers will be linked on lower carparking levels.

But the towers will have only one means of fire escape, prompting the Auckland City Council to express its reservations about the design and warn the developers that it would not be satisfied that the Building Code would be met.

It was decided that either two means of fire escape should be provided, or a determination be sought from the Department of Building and Housing.

Tasman applied to the department, and determinations manager John Gardiner imposed conditions on the development, including the installation of signs indicating fire escape routes.

The Fire Service was also asked to comment on the buildings, and Gardiner said the possibility of arson had to be taken into account.

Plans for a third apartment tower with a single means of fire escape went to Gardiner.

Kim's Fortune and Future wants to modify an eight-level building in Wakefield St. In 2002, it was converted from offices into apartments. Now, plans are to add a further two levels of apartments to the block.

The Fire Service said buildings with only one fire escape were more vulnerable to an arson attack than buildings with two fire escapes. Gardiner ruled changes to the building would enable it to achieve code compliance standards

Gardiner ruled on a dispute over whether the St Andrew's retirement village in Glendowie was required to comply with Building Code provisions on disabled access.

He ruled that the buildings owned by the Presbyterian Hospital Trustees were not for the public.

New rulings

* The Department of Building and Housing has issued more than 30 determinations.

* Most involve disputes between a territorial authority and a home owner or a developer.

* Some disputes are about a single means of fire escape from a high-rise apartment tower.

* Others challenge a council's refusal to grant code compliance certificates.

* Many disputes relate to cladding and weathertightness of homes.

See the latest list of rulings at Department of Building and Housing under the determinations link.