Description

The New Zealand Building Code (NZBC) and Verification Method C/VM2 help ensure that a building design complies with criteria for fire safety.

However, the values given as parameters in the NZBC and C/VM2 do not account for risk, and some may be conservative estimates. BRANZ undertook an international literature review on technical justifications for these parameters and to find representative statistical distributions, where available. Incorporating statistical distributions could support a more risk-informed design output, but further work is needed to understand and constrain many of these values and distributions.

Scope

In this research:

• Parameters set in the NZBC
  • Clause C1 - requirements for risk
  • Clauses C3.2 and C3.5 - spread of fire between floors and over external cladding
  • Clause C3.4v(b) - spread of fire over floor coverings
  • Clauses C3.6 and C3.7 - spread of fire to adjacent properties
  • Clause C3.8 - large buildings without sprinklers
  • Clause C4.3 - maintaining tenable environments and safe egress
• Input parameters for calculations for C/VM2
• Recommendations