Fire Safety Certificates Ireland

What is a Fire Safety Certificate?

A Fire Safety Certificate is an official document that verifies if a building design submitted as part of an application will, if constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by the Building Control Authority, comply with the requirements of Part B [Fire] of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997.

Fire Safety Certificates are issued by a Building Control Authority, and applications are processed and assessed in practice by Fire Service/ Fire Brigade of appropriate county.

Where do you apply for Fire Safety Certificate?

You apply in your County Council. Usually relevant information is provided on the County Council Website.

Which developments require a Fire Safety Certification?

The Building Control Act (1990 & 2007) specifies the development types that require:

Fire Safety Certificates:

 Works in connection with the design and construction of a new building.
 Works in connection with the material alteration of a day centre, a building containing a flat, a hotel, hostel or guest building, an institutional building, a
place of assembly, a shopping centre.
 Works in connection with the material alteration of a shop, office or industrial building where additional floor area is being provided within the existing building or where the building is being sub divided into a number of units for separate occupancy.
 Works in connection with the extension of a building by more than 25 square meters.
 A building as regards which a material change of use takes place.

Which developments are exempted from requiring a Fire Safety Certification?

The Building Control Act (1990 & 2007) specifies the development types are exempt from the requirement of having a Fire Safety Certificate:

 Certain single storey agricultural buildings.
 A building used as a dwelling (other than a flat).
 A single storey domestic garage.
 A single storey building ancillary to a dwelling which is used exclusively for recreational or storage purposes or the keeping of plants, birds or animals for domestic purposes and is not used for any trade or business or for human habitation.
 Works in connection with a Garda station, a courthouse, a barracks and certain government buildings.

What is involved in submitting a Fire Safety Certificate application?

A Fire Safety Certificate application should include:

1. An application form
2. The appropriate fee
3. Relevant drawings (in duplicate)
4. A fire safety compliance report (in duplicate)
Fire Safety Certificate applications are almost always made by fire safety consultants, architects, building surveyors or engineers on behalf of an applicant. Fire Safety Certificate applications may now be made online.

What are the fees for a Fire Safety Certification application?

The fee is €2.90 per square meter relevant floor area. The minimum fee is €125 and the maximum fee is €12,500 regardless of floor area.
The relevant floor area is:
 The entire floor area of a proposed new building
 The floor area of proposed works
 The floor area of a proposed material change of use
Note that floor area is measured to the finished internal surfaces of the walls.
Note also that certain voluntary community organisations and approved housing bodies may be exempted from paying the application fee. See fee exemption form.

What drawings are required for a Fire Safety Certification application?

Typically applications should include the proposed site location, site layout, elevations, appropriate sections, floor plans and appropriate detail drawings. It is also often appropriate to include existing plan and elevation drawings. All drawings should be provided in duplicate.
“...plans (including a site or layout plan and drawings of floor plans, elevations
and sections) (in duplicate), calculations, specifications and such other
particulars as are necessary to —
(i) identify and describe the works or building to which the application relates, and
(ii) enable the building control authority to assess, whether the said works or building would, if constructed in accordance with the said plans, calculations, specifications and other particulars, comply with requirements of Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations.

What should the fire safety compliance report contain?

The fire safety report is required to demonstrate compliance with the relevant standard (generally, but not always, Technical Guidance Document B). Accordingly it is usual to systematically address each relevant clause of the guidance document.

Can I prepare & submit my own Fire Safety Certificate application?

Typically a Fire Safety Certificate application is made by Fire Safety Consultant, Engineer, Building Surveyor or Architect on behalf of an applicant. The person who submits the application needs to demonstrate that the proposed design complies with Technical Guidance Document B or an approved equivalent standard.

How does the Fire Safety Certificate process work in Fire Service?

A complete application is first submitted. Valid applications are date stamped and an acknowledgement stating date of receipt is sent back to the applicant. The application is examined for technical compliance with Technical Guidance Document B (or an approved equivalent technical standard). Where it is considered that additional information or modifications are required, the officer examining the application may request additional information/modification from the applicants’ agent (fire safety consultant, engineer, building surveyor or architect). After the application is deemed complete the Building Control Authority may grant or refuse the certificate application.