Edmonton's fire chief is calling for changes to be made in the way builders construct houses across the country, saying that advances in technology and construction have left housing standards and regulations outdated.

In particular, Randy Wolsey said the housing industry should be forced to use more fire-resistant materials.

"The codes have not kept pace alongside technology," Wolsey told CBC, noting that the Canadian national building code was not amended between 1995 and 2005.

"That may have been okay in 1940 and 1950 to take a 10-year process to change a code but that's no longer acceptable because technology moves faster than that."

Wolsey spoke Monday at Fire Summit 2006, a meeting in Edmonton of more than 100 government and industry representatives. Participants at the conference agreed to create a draft report on current industry practices, to be completed in two weeks. A second report will be submitted to Edmonton's city council in October.

Wolsey's ultimate aim is to modernize the national building code. However, he acknowledged the process will take a long time. In the interim, the fire chief said he hopes to push through changes to the Alberta building code.

Alberta home builders agreed that some modifications may be called for with respect to flammable construction materials but were not yet convinced that the issue posed a serious threat to consumers.

"We want to work with the chief on this, absolutely," said Grant Aisley, executive officer of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association.

"But being the people who build the homes in this province … we want to make sure that before a change is made, it's based on the right science, the right technology and the right thought."