Since April 2, schools, kindergartens, care homes, hotels, office buildings, and industrial and agricultural companies employing more than 100 people - among others - have been required to employ a fire safety specialist under Decree 9/2015. (III. 25.) of the Ministry of the Interior. Companies that fail to comply can be fined up to HUF 500,000 by the disaster management authority.
The new, stricter decree regulates not only where a specialist must be employed and with what qualifications, but also for how many hours - and the role can even be filled by an external service provider.
Decree 9/2015. (III. 25.) BM
Why was the change needed?
On March 5, the new National Fire Safety Code (OTSZ) entered into force. Contrary to established practice, it no longer uses the concept of fire hazard classes, so changes to the related legislation were unavoidable. In parallel, the Fire Safety Act was also amended: it now defines the need for a fire safety specialist differently.
The Fire Safety Act specifies neither the qualifications required for the tasks nor the time to be allocated to them - this is what the new decree changes, setting out where a specialist must be employed, with what qualifications, and for how long.
The new decree - similarly to occupational safety regulations - defines a minimum employment time. In practice this means the decree prescribes minimum employment hours. It is important to stress that this is the legal minimum: in certain cases a higher number of hours may be justified to operate the fire safety organisation (fire safety department or fire safety team).
Who is primarily affected by the change?
- The change most affects retail companies storing flammable materials or products on premises larger than 1,000 square metres, as well as industrial or agricultural businesses employing more than 100 people.
- Community centres, restaurants, theatres and similar venues must also pay attention, since most of them have rooms with a capacity of 300 people - as must hotels and office buildings, which can accommodate up to 500 people.
- A large share of healthcare facilities, and practically every primary school, kindergarten, nursery and care home is affected, because at these locations the number of people with limited ability to escape (those aged 0-10, over 65, etc.) reaches 20.
WarningA company that fails to meet its obligation to employ a fire safety specialist can be fined up to HUF 500,000 by the disaster management authority.
Further details can be found in Sections 3-11 of the decree.
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