Public Consultation on the Draft Code of Practice for Fire Safety Assessment of Premises and Buildings

This draft code of practice has been developed as a result of the recommendations contained in Fire Safety in Ireland (2018) – the report of the Fire Safety Task Force, which was set up by the then Minister following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017.

This draft document has been prepared in response to a specific recommendation in the Task Force report. It is proposed that the code of practice be issued under section 18A of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003.

Purpose of the Code of Practice

Section 18(6) of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003 provides power for a person (a fire officer) authorised by a fire authority to require a person having control over premises (building owner or occupier) to carry out a fire safety assessment of the premises, and to notify the fire authority of such assessment. Typically, building owners engage professionals to carry out the fire safety assessment.

It is expected that this code of practice will be of assistance to fire services, in providing standard guidance for building owners and their professional advisors, where the fire service requires a fire safety assessment. Heretofore, there has been no standard methodology for carrying out fire safety assessments; it is expected that provision of the code of practice will introduce a recognised national approach which will assist in this regard.

This code of practice will provide a framework for rigorous assessment of buildings with respect to fire safety. It will provide for clarity and consistency of approach, nationally. It will also help to ensure reasonable and proportionate recommendations will be made to address any fire safety deficiencies identified in buildings.

All correspondence regarding this public consultation should be sent to the following e-mail address: firesafetypublicconsultation@housing.gov.ie by close of business on 30th March 2021.

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation.

Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Please note that submissions received may be made available on the Department’s website, unless otherwise requested. In any event, all submissions received will be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection legislation. See also the Privacy Statement.