Architects “Aware Of Fire Dangers”

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31421, 14 July 1967, Page 10

Architects “Aware Of Fire Dangers”

Guarding against fire dangers inherent in modern building was a most important part of an architect’s training and architects were keenly aware of them, said the chairman of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (Mr G. W. Lucking) yesterday. He was commenting on a statement made by Mr T. H. Boyle at the meeting of the Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board. Mr Boyle had said that bigger and higher buildings today had fire dangers not recognised by the designers and owners. Because the buildings were made of concrete and steel, the designers said there was nothing to burn, Mr Boyle said, but it had been shown overseas that smoke from a fire on a lower floor had caused the deaths of people on higher floors.

Rules governing fire precautions in buildings were laid down in the egress code of the New Zealand Specifications, said Mr Lucking.. A number of factors, including the use to which the building is to be put, whether a sprinkler system was installed and the situation of the building decided the fire prevention features incorporated in any building, he said. Regulations governed “smoke stop lobbies” or doors, so that the egress from the building was separated from the rest of the building itself, said Mr Lucking. “In many cases buildings are built as shells and what happens afterwards is the tenant’s responsibility,” he said. “In New Zealand, however, there is a keener awareness of fire dangers by designers and local authorities than in many other countries in the worl<V he said.