City Gardens Apartments on the corner of Albert Street and Durham Street West, in Auckland, on 18 April 2024. Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia
Auckland Council says residents will not need to evacuate a fire hazard prone building in the central city, if certification data comes back saying it is no longer dangerous.
Residents of the 16-storey City Gardens Apartments building in central Auckland had been told by Auckland Council they would need to vacate the building by Monday 22 April due to significant fire safety risks.
However, in a statement, Auckland Council general manager building Ian McCormick said since that notice was issued additional measures had been put in place to ensure the residents' safety.
The building had significant issues and the council had been working with the body corporate for some time to rectify them, he said.
"However a recent incident highlighting issues with sprinkler and alarm systems elevated our concerns to the point where the issuing of a Dangerous Building Notice became necessary."
McCormick said he was on site on Friday along with 15 building inspectors and Fire and Emergency specialists to assess the situation.
"We are pleased to say that good progress has been made and based on our observations we believe the building is no longer dangerous.
"Owners were able to demonstrate that crucial life-saving systems including the alarm systems, sprinklers, smoke and heat protectors and fire doors are all working compliantly."
It was expected that certification documentation confirming this would be completed today, he said.
Once that was received and council was satisfied, the body corporate and residents would be informed that they would not need to vacate the building on Monday, he said.
Council would then usually lift the Dangerous Building Notice at that point, he said.
"However due to a determination to MBIE sought by the building owner's legal representation, we are currently unable to do so. We are working through that process, but this will not affect the fact that residents do not need to vacate."
Some work still needed to be done on the building "to improve the passive fire systems and complete the separation of the stairwells through the carpark building", he said.
"This work will be incorporated into a Notice to Fix which we will serve on the body corporate in the immediate future."
The issues facing this building were unique and council did not share similar concerns for other apartments in Auckland, he said.
