Every once in while a media report of a building somewhere in South Africa which has caught alight for one of a variety of reasons brings home the sombre spectre of how quickly this can translate into human tragedy, not to mention the destruction of what may well be a sizeable asset.

It also raises the issue of who is responsible for the health and safety of those in such buildings, particularly in regard to fire risk, says Christo van Wyk, facilities manager for JHI, a major property services company managing some R40 billion in assets.