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Fire Safety

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 March 2018

Tuesday, 27 March 2018

Ceisteanna (628)

John Lahart

Ceist:

628. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the measures taken to ensure fire safety and fire safety compliance with regard to apartment complexes and new timber-framed housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13861/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Matters relating to fire safety and fire safety compliance are dealt with by my Department by way of legislation, Regulations and Guidance Documents.

In relation to the Building Regulations, work has been on-going in my Department to review Part B/Technical Guidance Document (TGD) B – Fire (2006). A new Part B/TGD B Volume 2 (2017) came into force on 1 July 2017, in relation to dwellings. Important revisions in the TGD B Volume 2 include enhanced provision for fire detection and alarm systems in dwelling houses, guidance on fire safety in community dwelling houses, guidance on timber frame construction, including new provisions in respect of timber frame party walls, enhanced provisions in respect of loft conversions, new provisions for galleries in dwelling houses and other general updates. The existing TGD B volume 1 provides guidance on other building types, including buildings containing flats or apartments.  Work is currently underway on a revision to TGD B Volume 1. 

With regard to timber framed construction, in accordance with the recommendations of the Timber Frame Housing Report, a standard in relation to timber frame construction was developed. Irish Standard 440: 2009/A1:2014 Timber Frame Construction, Dwellings and other Buildings (I.S. 440) specifies requirements for materials, design, manufacture, construction details, site work and quality control for platform timber frame construction. It requires that the responsibilities for the tasks involved in the planning, structural design, site erection and inspection be agreed and recorded prior to the commencement of each project. I.S. 440 also gives specific details relating to fire, including the construction of separating walls, horizontal and vertical fire stopping, cavity barriers and detailed fire stopping junctions for walls and floors and service penetrations.

I.S. 440 is currently under review and it is intended that both external and party wall new constructions and methods will be included in the next revision of the document. Manufacturers of timber frame buildings are assessed under an approval scheme operated by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) for compliance with I.S. 440 requirements, including Factory Production Control (FPC), and a register of compliant manufacturers is available on the NSAI website at https://www.nsai.ie/Our-Services/Certification/Company-Registration-Search.aspx.

It should also be noted that my Department has recently issued guidance on Timber Frame Walls, which have been tested to the European fire test standard and meet the performance set down in Technical Guidance Document B (TGD B) for external and separating walls in dwellings. This has been transmitted to all registered users of the Building Control Management System and to all Building Control Authorities.

Under section 18(2) of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, responsibility for ongoing fire safety in buildings of all kinds (other than dwellings) is placed on the ‘person having control’ of each building. In the case of a building containing flats or apartments, this may, for example, be an Owners Management Company.

Local fire authorities have powers of inspection, and where necessary enforcement, under the Building Control Act 1990 and the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003.

Typically, in carrying out inspections under the Fire Services Acts, some or all of the following aspects will be reviewed –

- The passive or inbuilt fire safety features in a building, such as the layout and escape routes from the building and the construction of the building; the required passive fire safety features relating to the use of the building and the scale and occupancy;

- The active fire safety features, such as fire detection and alarm systems, which alert persons on the premises to the danger of fire and enable them to use the means of escape;

- The management of the building, including management of fire safety, to prevent fires occurring in the first place and to manage building services and fire safety to ensure that safety is not compromised.

Guidance on these features is generally set out in relevant guidance documents and codes of practice rather than in specific legislation or regulation. My Department has published guidance documents and codes of practice for a range of building types.

A fire authority may require a ‘person having control’ over a building, or an owner or occupier of such a building, to carry out a fire safety assessment of such building and to notify the fire authority of such assessment. In such instances, the ‘person having control’ over a building may engage professional advisors to carry out these inspections and to assist with discharging their statutory duties; however, ultimate responsibility for fire safety in the building remains with the ‘person having control’.

In August 2017, my Department published a Framework for Enhancing Fire Safety in Dwellings, where concerns arise. The Framework is intended to be used as a guide by the owners and occupants of dwellings where fire safety deficiencies have been identified, or are a cause for concern. The Framework will also be of assistance to professional advisors, both in developing strategies to improve fire safety and in developing strategies to enable continued occupation in advance of undertaking the necessary works to ensure compliance with the relevant Building Regulations. 

Any member of the public who is concerned about fire safety in a building should contact the person having control of the building in the first instance, and their local Fire Service if the concerns remain unresolved.

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