Thirteen buildings in Auckland have been confirmed as containing combustible panels like those in the Grenfell Tower fire but the council says there's no risk to occupants.
The charred remains of clading are pictured on the outer walls of the burnt out shell of the Grenfell Tower block in north Kensington, west London on June 22, 2017. Photo: AFP
Aluminium composite panels (ACP) with a polyethylene or plastic core were suspected to be behind the rapid spread of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 71 people in London last year.
Auckland Council building control manager Ian McCormick said more than 215 buildings were reviewed last year.
"Forty-two of the buildings had some degree of the less combustible ACP-FR [fire-resistant] cladding panels. Thirteen have the PE [polyethylene] core panels and a further 70 buildings have cores which have not yet been confirmed, are under 25 metres or have a sprinkler system," he said.
However, Benjamin Hughes-Brown who helped with Australia's recent overhaul of building product quality control rules and said New Zealand was ahead of other countries.
He said the proof was in the fact Australia had many hundreds of high-rise buildings clad with the kind of highly combustible panels that fuelled the London fire, while New Zealand had few.
"The New Zealand Building Code already had a pre-established approval process for composite panels," Mr Hughes-Brown said.
"So New Zealand was already ahead of the game many years before Australia on combustible materials and their suitability for use on buildings."
Mr McCormick said the ACP panels posed no immediate safety risk.
"While some of the buildings assessed may not comply with the current building code, Auckland Council considers that a combination of fire prevention measures, fire safety systems, the extent of ACP coverage, and its exposure to an ignition source do not cause immediate concerns for occupants safety."
In Christchurch, six buildings have been identified as needing further investigation.
Council head of building consent Robert Wright said last year about 7500 records were reviewed to identify anywhere an ACP product had been used. Seven buildings were identified and the council had now asked all owners to conduct a safety review. None of the Christchurch buildings were residential.
In Wellington, the council said 103 buildings, mostly in the central city, had aluminium composite panels of some description. A spokesperson said it was not known what type of aluminium composite panel had been used.