Lack of sprinklers in 31 fire stations is 'mind-blowing', union says

Thursday, 19 December 2019

Two fire trucks ablaze on the same morning have sparked a call for mandatory sprinklers in NZ stations.

At least 31 of the 79 stations where career firefighters work lack automatic sprinkler systems, Stuff has learned.

The secretary of the professional firefighters union says it's mind-blowing some stations still lack sprinklers.

Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) management says all stations meet or exceed Building Code standards, while 48 with sleeping accommodation have sprinkler systems.

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But The Code does not require automatic sprinklers to be fitted in every building, as NZ Professional Firefighters Union secretary Wattie Watson discovered.

She sounded the alarm after Stuff revealed a fire truck inside Hamilton station caught alight in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Later that day in Wellington, a 29-year-old truck standing in for a damaged vehicle also caught fire while it was out and about in the central city, filling the cab with smoke after an electrical fault.

The Hamilton truck fire was doused by the station's sprinkler system before it could engulf the vehicle and spread further.

If that truck had erupted into flames at Kilbirnie Station in Wellington the blaze might not have been contained so quickly

Because of that station's age, it lacked sprinklers, as an astonished Watson discovered.

'It blew my mind.'

She believed FENZ should lead by example by installing sprinklers in all stations.

'It's a no brainier, they should be putting in fire sprinklers and other fire safety systems, whether or not it's required by the planning requirements. 

'FENZ isn't acting unlawfully .. the point is they should be going over and above.'

Nationally, there are 42 career stations and 37 'composite' stations, housing both career and volunteer brigades, according to the FENZ annual report. 

FENZ strategy and capability development deputy chief executive Russell Wood said 48 stations with sleeping accommodation have sprinkler systems.

When the organisation carried out significant upgrades or built new facilities, fire safety requirements in a 2016 Fire Station design guide were applied, Wood said.

'Our guide says that stations with sleeping accommodation require a sprinkler system as well as supplementary fire alarms and a fire hydrant system.'

Any major upgrades to meet fire design requirements were generally carried out during major refurbishments, rebuilds or new-builds, he said.

'At the stations that don't have sprinkler systems, we have relevant fire safety systems in place e.g. smoke alarms.'

An MBIE spokeswoman said New Zealand has a performance based Building Code, meaning there are a variety of ways buildings can achieve compliance. 

'As long as the performance criteria are met a building can be shown to be compliant with the Building Code.'

Therefore, it was possible to design a commercial building without fire sprinklers, the spokeswoman said.