Building visits

Building visits are undertaken in accordance with the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017.

The purpose of these visits is to obtain information for:

• operational planning
• hazardous substances emergency planning
• emergency evacuation.

These visits provide information that is stored in the Fire and Emergency Station Management System (SMS) building information database. The SMS database provides a risk score for each building based on a risk matrix. This helps us identify at-risk buildings.

If we find that any provisions within Part 1 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes) Regulations 2018 has been breached we will notify the building owner of the problem.

For more significant building non-compliance, we will begin a formal dangerous building procedure to ensure that we meet our legislative responsibilities. We are required to notify the local territorial authority in order that everything possible is done to return buildings to an acceptable level of safety.

Persons deemed competent

Part 2 subpart 6 of the Building Act 2004 deals with dangerous buildings. As a part of that statutory regime territorial authorities can request advice from members of Fire and Emergency who are notified to territorial authorities by the Board of Fire and Emergency New Zealand as competent to give such advice.

Under section 121(2) of the Act, it is advised that the following members of Fire and Emergency are competent to give advice under section 121 of the Building Act 2004: