Building (Building Code: Fire Safety and Signs) Amendment Regulations 2012

4  Schedule 1, clause A2 amended

  • (1) In Schedule 1, clause A2, revoke the definitions of:

    • (a) building height:

    • (b) combustion appliance:

    • (c) concealed space:

    • (d) evacuation time:

    • (e) fire hazard:

    • (f) fire intensity:

    • (g) fire resisting closure:

    • (h) fire safety system:

    • (i) open path:

    • (j) protected path:

    • (k) purpose group:

    • (l) safe path:

    • (m) smoke separation:

    • (n) unprotected area.

    (2) In Schedule 1, clause A2, insert in their appropriate alphabetical order:

    “boundary means any boundary that is shown on a survey plan that is approved by the Surveyor-General and deposited with the Registrar-General of Land, whether or not a new title has been issued

    “building height means the vertical distance between the floor level of the lowest occupied space above the ground and the top of the highest occupied floor, but not including spaces located within or on the roof that enclose stairways, lift shafts, or machinery rooms

    “burnout means exposure to fire for a time that includes fire growth, full development, and decay in the absence of intervention or automatic suppression, beyond which the fire is no longer a threat to building elements intended to perform loadbearing or fire separation functions, or both

    “clearly visible, for the purposes of clause F8.3.1, means visible, under the worst likely conditions and at the maximum distance from which the sign in question needs to be viewed, by a person who either does not have a visual impairment or uses corrective lenses

    “combustible building materials means building materials that are deemed combustible according to AS 1530.1

    “evacuation time means the time between the ignition of a fire affecting a building and the time when all the occupants of the building have reached a place of safety

    “fire safety system means the combination of all active and passive protection methods used in a building to—

    • “(a) warn people of an emergency; and

    • “(b) provide for safe evacuation; and

    • “(c) provide for access by, and the safety of, firefighters; and

    • “(d) restrict the spread of fire; and

    • “(e) limit the impact of fire on structural stability

    “fire source means the combination of the ignition source and the item first ignited within a room, space, or firecell, which combination is considered to be the origin of the fire for the purposes of design

    “fractional effective dose means the fraction of the dose that would render a person of average susceptibility incapable of escape

    “hard-standing means a hard-surfaced area that is sufficiently stable to carry a fire truck, and includes a road

    “open space means land on which there are, and will be, no buildings and which has no roof over any part of it other than overhanging eaves

    “place of safety means either—

    • “(a) a safe place; or

    • “(b) a place that is inside a building and meets the following requirements:

      • “(i) the place is constructed with fire separations that have fire resistance sufficient to withstand burnout at the point of the fire source; and

      • “(ii) the place is in a building that is protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system that complies with NZS 4541 or NZS 4515 as appropriate to the building's use; and

      • “(iii) the place is designed to accommodate the intended number of persons; and

      • “(iv) the place is provided with sufficient means of escape to enable the intended number of persons to escape to a safe place that is outside a building

    “relevant boundary means the boundary of an allotment that is other property in relation to the building in question and from which is measured the separation between the building and that other property; and for the external wall of any building, the relevant boundary is the nearest of—

    • “(a) a boundary of a freehold allotment, except that if the other property is a road, railway line, or public open space, the relevant boundary is the boundary on the far side of that other property; or

    • “(b) a boundary of a cross-lease or a company lease or a licence, except that if the other property is open space to which the lessee or licensee of the building in question has an exclusive right of access and occupation or to which 2 or more occupiers of the building in question have rights of access and occupation, the relevant boundary is the boundary on the far side of that other property; or

    • “(c) a boundary shown on a unit plan (but excluding a boundary between a principal unit and its accessory unit), except that if the other property is open space and is common property, the relevant boundary is the boundary on the far side of that other property”.

    (3) In Schedule 1, clause A2, definition of fire load, replace “MJ” with “MJ or TJ”.