Purpose: This paper aims to determine the drivers of compartmentalization for fire safety in high-rise buildings with a view of improving fire safety in buildings as the universe is embarking on high-rise construction.

Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a survey design with different construction professionals in Gauteng using snowball sampling method through structured questionnaire. Percentages, mean score, and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the collected data.

Findings: The results shows that factors such as protection of people, property and law compliance drives the adoption of compartmentalization.

Practical implications: This research paper was conducted in Gauteng. However, some of the respondents were not from Gauteng as the researcher used snowballing method. The findings therefore show a true reflection of the compartmentalization in the country.