Faulty fire sprinklers approved

As many as 90 per cent of sprinkler systems in New Zealand buildings are faulty but are being signed off as safe, a damning Fire Service report leaked to the Dominion Post says.

The Fire Service says it is powerless to shut down at-risk buildings - only local councils, which police sprinkler compliance, can declare them unsafe.

Fire protection industry representatives admit that dodgy sprinkler systems are frequently passed off as safe.

The report strongly criticises the fire prevention industry, territorial authorities and the building warrant of fitness system, which it says is ripe for abuse.

Building owners must adhere to a set of compliance standards and provide an annual WoF stating all requirements have been met. But the report claims the independently qualified person who writes the report is often the same person who maintains and tests the sprinkler system.

"(This) represents an avenue for incompetent building owners . . . to manipulate the WoF system.

"The WoF system is there to safeguard the occupants of the building and, from the analysis undertaken, it is evident that this is not happening."

Nine Auckland buildings, including shopping malls and a rest home, were examined and in each case, "persistent non-compliance issues" were found. Yet the authors of the report found WoFs were issued for each.

It also estimated that anywhere between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of the nearly 6000 sprinkler systems in New Zealand were not up to scratch.

Problems included inadequate water supply, parts of the buildings not covered by sprinklers and sprinkler systems not connected directly to the fire service.

Most of the problems were of a temporary nature and could be easily rectified. But some sprinkler systems had non-compliance issues that spanned consecutive years.

"There is a serious problem in the way the maintenance requirements of the Building Act 1991 are being applied and enforced."

Enforcement of the system has been the job of local authorities since the Building Act was first introduced in 1991, but as authorities make no money off running the system, there are few resources to police it.

Auckland City Council building inspections team leader John Lawrence said it had a policy of auditing about 5 per cent of buildings with WoFs. Sprinkler non-compliance was one of the common issues uncovered.

Non-compliant buildings are issued with an order to comply or, in extreme cases, an order to evacuate. If these are not obeyed, the building owner can be fined.

"The responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep does lie with the building owner," Mr Lawrence said.

However, the fire safety industry member who forwarded the report to the Dominion Post said the self-certification system had broken down. He likened the industry to another "leaky building syndrome", with sub-standard sprinkler systems being certified as safe.

The Fire Prevention Industry Association agreed non-compliance was rife, and the system was not working. President Kevin Kennedy said the report came as no surprise.

"We know buildings get signed off without systems being compliant."

The Building and Housing Department - a new Government agency incorporating the Building Industry Authority and the Housing Department - is reviewing the system of certifying sprinklers, as part of an overhaul with the new Building Act passed this year.

Spokesman Blair McLaren said the issue would be looked at under a consultation review early next year.

- NZPA