Published: 17.03.2025.
Updated: 18.03.2025.

What is fire safety supervision?

State fire safety supervision is a set of preventive measures aimed at ensuring compliance with fire safety requirements established by legal acts.

Which legal act sets fire safety requirements that must be followed when operating various types of objects, including residential buildings?

Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety.

These regulations define responsibilities in case of fire, general fire safety requirements, fire safety requirements for engineering networks, fire safety requirements for critical engineering technical systems, fire safety instructions and training, fire safety signs and signal markings, evacuation procedures, fire extinguishing equipment, technological equipment, fire-hazardous work, work involving flammable liquids, and special requirements for business operation sites.

What is an object?

An object is a structure or its part. (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Subparagraph 2.9.).

Who is responsible for fire safety at the object?

The owner (possessor) or, if it is provided for in the management agreement, the manager of building, structure, parts thereof or land parcel is responsible for fire safety at the object, but the lessee (tenant) or other user, if it is provided for in the agreement, is responsible for fire safety in the leased (rented) or transferred for use building, structure, parts thereof or land parcel.

Owner (possessor) or, if it is provided for in the management agreement, the manager of building, structure, parts thereof or land parcel shall be responsible for the exploitation of common use fire safety engineering systems and equipment in conformity with the requirements of laws and regulations governing technical provisions and fire safety of the manufacturer in the building, structure, parts thereof or land parcel leased or transferred for use to several persons (Fire Safety and Fire-fighting Law, Section 9).

Which legal acts defines rights and responsibilities of officials with special service ranks who perform state fire safety supervision?

Fire Safety and Fire-fighting Law (Fire Safety and Fire-fighting Law Section 13, Paragraph 4 and 5).

Which legal act defines responsibilities of persons responsible for fire safety at the object?

Fire Safety and Fire-fighting Law (Section 10) and Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety (Paragraph 7).

Frequently asked questions:

Once in 10 years, but if there is the following in the object or the territory:

  • explosive environment - once in two years;
  • chemically aggressive environment - once a year.

Together with the inspections of an electrical installation, the quality of contact connections of an electrical installation shall be inspected with a thermal chamera. (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Paragraph 56 and 58).

Yes, at least one autonomous fire detector shall be placed in each floor of a single-apartment object and an apartment of a multi-apartment object. The autonomous fire detector shall be installed and maintained in working order in conformity with the requirements of the manufacturer. The autonomous fire detector may be replaced with an automatic fire detection and alarm system (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Paragraph 119 and 120).

It is prohibited to attach a mechanical ventilation device to the natural ventilation duct in a multi-apartment object, if a gas apparatus has been placed in the room and there is no ventilation which ensures permanent exchange of air in the room and discharge of the leaked gas outside the structure (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Subparagraph 89.10.).

For example, connecting a cooker hood to the only natural ventilation duct in the kitchen, disrupts the intended air exchange, which, in a building using natural gas, can create an explosive gas concentration.

An apartment of a multi-apartment object can be ensured with a fire extinguisher for additional safety but it is not mandatory. However, a single-apartment object (e.g. mansion) should be ensured with a mandatory fire extinguisher (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Paragraph 256).

The object should be used according to the type of use laid down, in accordance with the fire safety solutions provided for in the building design and accepted during the course of construction and the fire load laid down.

The staircase of a multi-apartment object is often the only evacuation route from apartments, where the width of the staircase determines the width of the evacuation route.

For example, placing the indoor plants on the windowsill of the staircase is not prohibited if they do not increase the fire load laid down during the construction, reduce the width of the evacuation route, or endanger the evacuation of people.

Whereas, if baby strollers are placed in the evacuation route of the staircase, it may increase the designated fire load, reduce the width of the evacuation route, creating the risk of tripping for evacuees. 

Considering the information mentioned above, it is not prohibited to place objects, materials, belongings in the staircase if their variable fire load does not reach maximum allowable limit, and the evacuation route (width, height) is not reduced and, their placement does not endanger and obstruct the evacuation of people (Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 238 of April 19 of 2016 on Regulations Regarding Fire Safety, Paragraph 9 and Subparagraph 246.8.).