FIRE SAFETY DESIGN & LICENSING

According to M.D.5905/Φ15/839, the licensing procedure for business or laboratory operation requires an Approved Fire Protection Design for issuing a Fire Protection Certificate. A team of highly trained and experienced electrical / mechanical engineers, undertake the preparation of the Fire Protection Design of your business and the issuing of the Fire Protection Certificate by the Fire Brigade.

RED BOOK

Our company undertakes the updating of the Red Book (Maintenance and Good Operation Control Book of the Active Fire Protection Means of the Enterprises) of the Fire Department and the work involved.

According to the Government Gazette B’ 545/18/4/07, the compulsory keeping of the Book of Control of Maintenance and Good Operation of the Active Fire Protection Means of Enterprises is established for all kinds of enterprises and establishments that are provided with a fire protection certificate by the local Fire Services, as follows:

Article 1 – Scope of application

  1. In order to ensure the regular maintenance and proper operation of the active fire protection systems and means of active fire protection of all kinds of enterprises and establishments, the Fire Service Authority shall require them, if they have already been provided or are to be provided with a fire protection certificate, to keep a compulsory Active Fire Protection Means Inspection and Maintenance Book.
  2. Undertakings or establishments which are not required by current fire protection legislation to install permanent active fire protection systems shall be exempted from the obligation to keep a Book of Control and Maintenance of Active Fire Protection Means.
  3. The owner-operator of the undertaking or establishment is responsible for the regular and adequate maintenance and the proper functioning of the active fire protection means. For this purpose, it is required at least once (1) a year and in any case at intervals in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and the applicable legislation, the prescribed inspection and maintenance of active fire protection systems by a person who has the necessary legal qualifications, who will inform in writing the Book of Inspection and Maintenance of Active Fire Protection Means kept by the enterprise or establishment.
  4. The Fire Protection Equipment Check and Maintenance Book, which shall be in accordance with the attached Annex and form an integral part thereof, shall be the sole property of the undertaking or establishment, shall be kept in a secure place and shall be available at all times to the Fire Department and shall be produced on request.
  5. In the event of a change of name or transfer of the business, a new Active Fire Protection Equipment Control and Maintenance Booklet shall be issued and shall belong to the new owner-operator of the business.
  6. Each IM shall maintain a Fire Protection Equipment Inspection and Maintenance Book Registration File in accordance with the attached Model I. Each book shall have a General Serial Number (G.S.N.) identical to that of the Registration File.
  7. The Active Fire Protection Equipment Inspection and Maintenance Book shall accompany the fire protection study of the undertaking or establishment.
  8. The Check and Maintenance Book shall be indexed and endorsed on the first page by the locally competent fire service. This book shall also be signed by the person in charge of the establishment or installation on the first page.
  9. This book shall be made available by the local Fire Services on payment of a reasonable price, to be determined by decision of the Chief Fire Officer. The same decision shall determine the price for making the fire safety legislation available to engineering designers in printed or electronic form.

Article 2 – Transitional provisions

  1. Enterprises and establishments of all kinds, in order to be provided with a fire protection certificate after the entry into force of this Law and if they have an obligation to install permanent active fire protection means, are obliged to submit a Fire Protection Means Inspection and Maintenance Book for approval to the Fire Service.
  2. Companies that have already been provided with a fire protection certificate by the local Fire Services and in order to renew it, are required to submit a Fire Protection Equipment Inspection and Maintenance Book for approval by the Fire Service.

Article 3 – Penalties

  1. The Fire Authority, in the event that it finds that the provisions set out herein have not been complied with, shall revoke the fire protection certificate of the enterprise or establishment and shall notify its action to the licensing authority.
  2. Violators of this provision shall be prosecuted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 433 of the Penal Code.

According to the decision, among other things, the new regulation was issued because there is a need to improve fire protection of properties located in and near forest areas, to prevent the risk of fire or its rapid spread and to enhance the vulnerability to fire of structures.

Purpose

The Regulation aims to establish a uniform and mandatory framework of fire protection measures and means of protection for properties located in or near forests and wooded areas. It lays down preventive fire protection measures and minimum passive and active fire protection requirements for both new and existing buildings and their surroundings, in order to increase the level of fire safety of the property, reduce its vulnerability to fire and limit its contribution to its spread. At the same time, the above measures and means protect the natural environment, but primarily the life and health of the public.

The regulation addresses issues of protection and resilience of properties to forest fires and does not address actions and fire protection measures on common areas of residential buildings. It also does not address the operational implementation of plans relating to the safe evacuation of areas and the response to emergency situations in general.

Finally, the regulation does not deal with the interior of the building in the light of the fire protection regulations for buildings, but is self-contained and introduces additional requirements:

a. for the surrounding area of the property and the elements that make up the property (renderings, planting, landscaping, outdoor structures, etc.)

b. for the elements that make up the building envelope (external walls, roofs, windows, etc.) on which additional measures are imposed to enhance their fire protection.

The measures introduced by this Regulation shall apply in addition to the requirements of the relevant building fire safety regulations and fire prevention fire protection provisions and shall prevail where they are less favourable.

The requirements of the Fire Protection Regulation for Properties Within or Near Forest Areas apply in parallel with the requirements of other specific regulations that regulate safety and functionality of structures or their installations (e.g. seismic protection, energy efficiency, lightning protection, accessibility, etc.).

Scope of application

The provisions herein apply to properties that:

a. are located in forests, woodlands and grasslands, and in particular:

1. in forests or forest ecosystems or forest areas of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 3 of Law 998/79, as amended.

2.in grassland areas located on semi-mountainous, mountainous and rough terrain as defined in par. 1 of article 5 of the article 5 of p.d. 32/2016, whether they are public or recognized as private.

3.in lowland grassland (not mountainous or semi-mountainous and not lying on rough terrain) of par. 3 of article 5 of the article 5 of p.d. 32/2016.

b. are located in whole or in part within a radius of three hundred (300) meters from the boundaries of the areas of the above case a.

c. are located within suburban green areas and declared forested or reforested areas, of par. 4 of Article 3 of Law 998/79, as in force.

d. are located within a radius of three hundred (300) meters from the boundaries of the areas of the above case c.

e. are located within parks and groves of cities and residential areas, of par. 4 of Article 3 of Law 998/79, as in force.

Undeveloped properties, cultivated areas and pastures which are governed by the 9th Fire Decree (Government Gazette 1923/B/2021) are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

How the Fire Protection Certificate is issued, one of the most important documents for the Operating Licence.

Briefly, the issuance procedure for Fire Protection Certificate is as follows : we submit a fire safety study with the appropriate legislation, this study is approved by the fire department, implemented by us, we submit supporting documents for Fire Protection Certificate and after the documents are examined the above certificate is issued.

Fire Safety Study

The first and foremost thing that our store must have is a fire safety study.
At this point there is a very basic distinction and it has to do with when the building permit was issued that space that houses our business .
If the date of issue is after 17-02-1988 ( new buildings ) , then the PD 71/88 ( Government Gazette 32A 17 – 02 – 1988 ) applies and each activity has its own article.

If the license was issued before this date ( existing buildings ) then for public gathering places ( cafes , bars , restaurants , restaurants , recreation – generally anything with table seating ) the PD 3/81 ( Government Gazette 20B 19-01-1981 and its amendments ) applies , while for commercial shops ( grocery stores , fruit and vegetable shops etc. ) the PD 8c/2007 ( Government Gazette 276B 02 – 03 – 2007 ) applies . These three are the basic laws with which we study the vast majority of cases.

After so many years it is quite possible that there is already a study for our premises. In this case we see what the study says and if no changes have been made, then we can submit documents for a Fire Safety Certificate. If changes have been made that affect the fire protection measures ( e.g. if premises or activities have been added ) , then an amendment fire protection study must be made in accordance with the relevant legislation. If there is no fire safety study at all, then it must be carried out, again in accordance with the legislation applicable in each case. So we submit our study to the relevant Fire Safety Office , it is checked by a fire service officer , approved and considered. Then after we have a fire safety study approved we proceed to the next steps.

Study implementation

Once there is a considered fire safety study ( either new or existing ) , this study needs to be implemented. That is, any active fire protection measures described in it must be in place in practice. Fire extinguishers to be purchased , lights and safety luminaires to be installed and any other measures to be constructed.

If there is already a fire safety study, we should make sure that all the fire safety measures described in it have been installed and are working properly.It is very important that there are no compromises on this point , because first and foremost all this concerns the safety of the business and our customers , and in addition the Fire Department makes frequent , extraordinary and strict inspections.

Supporting documents for Fire Protection Certificate

We now move on to the supporting documents needed for the issuance of a Fire Safety Certificate . According to the 13th Fire Protection Decree ( Government Gazette 1586B 21-06-2013 ) the Fire Protection Certificate is issued without an autopsy by the fire department , simply by submitting responsible statements from the owner , saying that he has installed fire safety measures , by an engineer saying that the permanent fire safety measures ( if any ) and by the company that purchased the fire extinguishers saying that they are working well . Also , we deposit a fee of 10 Euros to get the Book of Control and Maintenance of Active Means of Fire Protection .

What we should emphasise is that once we sign affidavits , they must be true. If in the inspection of the Fire Department , it is found that the fire safety study has not been implemented , then a complaint is filed against the owner, the engineer, the fire safety certificate and the license to operate the store is revoked.

Expressions of interest

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