Three fire protection Standards published

STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE

19 October 2009

Three fire protection Standards published

Smoke alarms for houses – revised Standard published

Standards New Zealand recently published an updated and revised Standard for Interconnected smoke alarms in houses, NZS 4514:2009. Architects, fire engineers, and electricians can use NZS 4514:2009 to install smoke alarms in houses to prevent loss of life and provide ongoing protection.

‘Externally-powered, interconnected smoke alarms with battery backup, as described in NZS 4514:2009, provide the best chance of the whole family surviving a house fire’, says David Prosser, Chair of the development committee. ‘While not currently specified in the New Zealand Building Code Acceptable Solutions, the NZS 4514:2009 development committee hopes that this Standard will soon become the benchmark for smoke alarms in New Zealand homes.’

Order or download NZS 4514:2009 from www.standards.co.nz (keyword ‘4514’), email enquiries@standards.co.nz, or call 0800 782 632.

Read the full story in the October 2009 Touchstone at www.standards.co.nz/touchstone/Issue+10/Fire+Protection

Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes – new adopted Standard

Standards New Zealand recently published NZS/AS 4830 Determination of the extinction propensity of cigarettes. NZS/AS 4830:2007 is an adoption of the Australian Standard AS 4830. A New Zealand Standards development committee, which included industry representatives, assessed the appropriateness of AS 4830:2007 for use in New Zealand and it has been adopted with no alterations to the text.

One way to reduce fire damage is to limit how often fires are started accidentally. NZS/AS 4830:2007 is intended to apply to the testing of all machine-made cigarettes by cigarette manufacturers. The Standard establishes a test method for the propensity of a cigarette to remain lit and therefore potentially capable of igniting soft furnishings.

Order or download NZS/AS 4830:2007 from www.standards.co.nz (keyword ‘4830’), email enquiries@standards.co.nz, or call 0800 782 632.

Read the full story in the September 2009 Touchstone at www.standards.co.nz/touchstone/Issue+09/Fire+Protection

Fire safety design – new international Standard will help save lives and cut costs

A new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard for fire safety engineering should help to save lives, reduce costs of fire damage, and bring substantial economic savings through improved fire safety design.

Fire safety engineering – General principles, ISO 23932:2009 provides general principles for a performance-based methodology for engineers to assess the level of fire safety for new or existing built environments.

The Standard is written for fire safety scientists and engineers who need to better understand the context of Standards developed by ISO Technical Committee 92, ‘Fire safety’, Subcommittee 4, ‘Fire safety engineering’. It is also very valuable for practising fire engineers. The Standard provides an overview of how fire safety-engineering analyses and assessments are conducted, with links to more specific Standards, including those already published or under development.

Order or download ISO 23932:2009 from www.standards.co.nz, click ‘ISO’ in the search area, keyword 23932, email enquiries@standards.co.nz, or call 0800 782 632.

Get the latest Standards news in Touchstone, Standards New Zealand monthly enewsletter at www.standards.co.nz/touchstone. To sign up to receive monthly updates about Standards in sectors relevant to you, visit www.standards.co.nz/touchstone, scroll to the end and click 'subscribe'.

ENDS

© Scoop Media