SR291 Fire safety features in housing (2019)

This report was prepared during research into fire safety features in housing. It examines trends in fire safety measures and hazards in the housing stock in recent years, based on the BRANZ House Condition Surveys of 1999, 2004 and 2010.

• The prevalence of smoke alarms in houses is increasing, from 85% in the 2004 survey to 93% in the 2010 survey.
• In general, renters are less likely to have smoke alarms installed than owner-occupiers (11% of renters do not have smoke alarms compared to 6% of owner-occupiers).
• Households with a total income of between $10,001 and $30,000 have a lower proportion of houses with smoke alarms compared to other income groups.
• The average number of smoke alarms per house is increasing. However, the proportion of houses with alarms that actually have at least one of those operational decreased from 96% in 2004 to 90% in 2010.
• Smoke alarms are most commonly located in hallways.
• 83% of houses have battery-powered smoke alarms.
• 8% of smoke alarms were interconnected and this is increasing.
• 77% of houses have additional fire safety equipment installed in the latest survey. These are mainly fire extinguishers and hose reels. Readily accessible garden hoses were considered to be a hose reel.
• The proportion of houses with potential ignition sources decreased between the 2004 and 2010 surveys.
• The prevalence of flammable aspects within houses is decreasing.
• The cost of fire hazard mitigation averages about $500 per house, and this amount is about 15% of the typical amount of other repairs needed to address immediate safety concerns in housing.