The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) fears too many commercial buildings fall short of fire safety standards, putting lives and property at risk.

Insurer risk surveys have found non-compliant “passive” fire protection measures, including problems with fire-rated walls and floors, missing smoke dampers in heating and ventilation and control doors that do not seal properly.

“My discussions with various experts in the fire protection industry and with building consent authority managers confirmed New Zealand has a potential systemic passive fire non-compliance problem,” ICNZ Insurance Manager John Lucas said.

“This is worrying because so many people live and work in high-rise and multi-unit buildings these days.”

More high-rise structures are on the way, with plans in Auckland for several buildings that exceed 50 floors.

Passive fire protection aims to prevent or slow the spread of fire and smoke from one area to another, giving occupants time to evacuate.

ICNZ, Auckland Council and the Association of Building Compliance are holding a seminar at the Ellerslie Event Centre in Auckland on Friday to discuss the problem.

Suggested actions include licensing and training for specific trade qualifications, and stricter construction monitoring.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors expert Gary Strong and IAG Australia Senior Risk Engineer Jim Filer will be keynote speakers. The full program is available here.