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Table 1: Design comparison for a residential apartment
System	NEW ZEALAND– non-sprinklered	NEW ZEALAND – sprinklered	United Kingdom
Alarm system	Type 4e¹	Type 7e²	Local smoke detectors in protected halls
Other fire safety systems	Fire hose reels, emergency lighting, and a dry hydrant riser dry hydrant riser	Fire hose reels, emergency lighting,	Fire fighting shaft, dry hydrant riser, emergency lighting
Stairs³	Two stairs	One stair	One⁴ (fire fighting)
Evacuation policy	Single phase – all apartments evacuate	Single phase– all apartments evacuate	Defend in place, phased evacuation with individual apartments evacuating when told to do so
Fire rating to stairs	45 minutes	22·5 minutes	90 minutes for non fire-fighting, 120 minutes for fire-fighting
Fire rating to corridors and between apartments	Based on time equivalence formula but no less than 30 minutes	From time equivalence formula, (halved due to sprinklers). No less than 30 minutes	90 minutes
Ventilation to corridors	1 m² or 0·5 m³/s if there are dead end travel distances	None required	1·0 m² manual openable vent where two directions of escape are available or 1·5 m² automatically openable vent where a single means of escape is provided.
External fire spread to neighbouring property	Calculated based on windows in external walls and boundary distance	Half the distance calculated for a non-sprinklered building	Calculated based on windows in external walls and boundary distance. Sprinklers allow double percentage of openings
Max Travel distances	24 m dead end within flat, 60 m total open within flat, 60 m protected path (corridor)	36 m dead end within flat, 90 m total open within flat, 60 m protected path (corridor)	9 m internal protected hall, 7·5 m dead end corridor distance, 30 m corridor distance where two directions of escape are provided
Vertical fire spread	300 mm aprons or 1500 mm spandrels or part combinations	No requirement	No requirement
Notes: ¹Type 4e consists of a hybrid smoke and heat detection system. The building fire alarm system will consist of smoke detectors in the common areas, with heat detectors in all rooms of residential flats. These detectors will operate alarms in all areas of the building. Local smoke detectors within each flat are provided in the sleeping areas to afford early warning to occupants in the residential unit of fire origin only. Also includes manual fire alarm system.
²Type 7e is similar to the above, where sprinklers are provided in lieu of heat detectors within the flats. The common spaces are protected with sprinklers and smoke detectors. Also includes manual fire alarm system.
³Provided travel distances are within the limitations outlined in the guidance.
⁴This is required to be part of a fire-fighting shaft due to the height of the building.