The fire engineering brief (FEB) provides an opportunity to

  • collaborate with all stakeholders involved with the design process,
  • document what has been agreed between all stakeholders,
  • obtain advise from Fire and Emergency New Zealand as a stakeholder, and
  • agree on specialist peer review as appropriate to the project.

When are you required to use the FEB process?

You are required to use a FEB process when

  • fire designs establish compliance using C/VM2, except where C/VM2 is used solely for establishing compliance for external fire spread, or
  • fire designs establish compliance using alternative solutions, except when
    • a departure from an acceptable solution is considered minor by the building consent authority (BCA), or
    • where a design guide issued by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under section 175 of the Building Act 2004 is followed in full.

Fire engineering brief principles

Fire engineering brief (FEB) is referenced in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) guidance Commentary for Verification Method C/VM2.

The FEB process is well accepted by the fire engineering community. Detailed guidance can be found in the Fire Engineering Brief (FEB) Content Guidelines available on the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) website.

Following the FEB process the fire designer will carry out and document their design based on Engineering NZ Practice Note 22 - Documenting Fire Safety Designs, and can refer to the International Fire Engineer Guidelines or other internationally recognised standards for further information regarding the content of fire engineering brief documentation.

Additional process to the FEB?

Note: Additional to a FEB process you may need to contact our building team to arrange a pre-application meeting.

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Project lead design/fire engineer

  • Decide if any FEB process is required during the design stage
  • Forward the Fire Engineers FEB documents via email to us

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SDC building team

  • Review the FEB documents, and forward the documents to SDC fire engineer to provide the initial SDC stakeholder comments
  • Provide the initial feedback to the owner/agent, and the reference code for continuing communications and when the building consent is submitted
  • Ensure continued review of fire engineering design between SDC, FENZ and other stakeholder to resolve issues - with a copy of all communications saved by SDC

Note: it's typical that the fire engineering design will require a PS2 design review - if so, this will be identified in the SDC stakeholder feedback

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Fire & Emergency New Zealand

  • Review the initial FEB Fire Design Strategy and provide stakeholder feedback to the engineer

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SDC building team (if necessary)

  • Arrange a meeting with key stakeholders attending where possible (ie owner, fire engineer, SDC, FENZ) to discuss the project and parties involved in the project
  • Distribute the meeting minutes to attendees

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Project design team fire engineer

  • Continue to develop fire strategy into a details fire report including taking into account all stakeholder comments and requirements

Note: it's typical that the fire engineering design will require a PS2 design review - the project design fire engineer will typically engage with the reviewer as they develop their design

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Project design team 

  • Resolve fire engineering/design concerns via design development
  • Produce updated fire report with the FEB process as an appendix

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Project design team 

  • Complete detailed design, incorporating requirements of the FEB into the fire design as part of the overall design

Note: It's typical that a coordination statement is provided by all design disciplines, and reference the final fire report

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Peer reviewer (if applicable)

  • Review the engineering design
  • Carry out a design coordination review based on Engineering NZ Practice Note 22 - Documenting Fire Safety Designs
  • Issue a PS2 which typically includes: FEB communications log with project design Fire Engineer, a design coordination statement, any conditions to apply to the consent, and  list of certifying documents to support application for the code compliance certificate

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Project design team

  • Complete documentation for the building consent application