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Fire research

The fire team investigates critical aspects of building fire safety design. Our research has informed Building Code and standards changes and development of computer models used by New Zealand fire safety practitioners to predict fire and smoke spread.

What we do

BRANZ fire research and experimental capabilities have evolved alongside the emergence of new materials and increases in housing density.

Many of the fire team’s current activities are part of the Building fire-safe densified housing programme. This programme of research looks at the fire resistance of façade systems and solutions to limit the external spread of fire, safe use of engineered wood products and solutions for egress in high-density housing.

Examples of projects that are part of this programme include:

  • fire safe use of timber
  • fire risks associated with lithium batteries
  • fire safety of combustible façades.

There are also several projects on topics that involve more than one discipline, including:

  • indoor pollutants in buildings exposed to fire (materials and fire engineering)
  • fire performance of hollow-core floors (structural engineering and fire engineering).

Working with system players

The fire team collaborates on research activities with domestic and international stakeholders throughout the building system. Stakeholders include:

  • industry players
  • professional bodies
  • practitioners (engineers, designers and architects)
  • government agencies
  • tertiary institutions
  • standards development bodies
  • Crown research institutes.

Research and resources

Outputs from BRANZ fire team research are documented in in-depth and actionable study reports and useful resources including fire-modelling software, Build articles, fact sheets and publications.

  • Fire research roadmap

    In 2011, BRANZ published a New Zealand fire research roadmap that was developed in consultation with key New Zealand fire industry stakeholders. The roadmap was revisited and updated in 2017.

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  • BRANZ Facts: Medium-density housing #7: Fire safety

    Moving to medium-density housing has several implications for fire safety design. This fact sheet looks at Building Code clauses C1-C6 Protection from fire and the minimum fire safety requirements.

    Download [PDF, 1.1MB]

  • BRANZ Research Now Fire safety design

    This series explores critical aspects of fire safety design for buildings.

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  • BRANZ TR8 Concrete floor systems

    TR8 software is a model to predict the fire resistance of concrete slabs and floor systems and can be used for the design of reinforced or prestressed concrete floor systems when required to have fire resistance.

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  • BRANZ TR9 Timber-framed wall or floor/ceiling systems

    TR9 software is a model extrapolating results of a fire resistance test on a light timber-framed wall or floor/ceiling to a greater height or span and/or loading.

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  • B-RISK: Design fire tool

    B-RISK fire risk modelling software allows fire simulation results to be presented in a probabilistic form and allows the variability and uncertainty associated with the predictions of the fire environment to be quantified.

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  • Passive fire risk assessment tool

    This spreadsheet provides a basis for assessing the risk posed by defective passive fire construction and determining whether it is practical and reasonable to repair in terms of section 112 of the New Zealand Building Act.

    Download [XLSM, 200KB]