Fire protection regulation remains in effect without changes

Brno - The so-called fire protection regulation remains unchanged after today's decision by the Constitutional Court (CC). The judges rejected the ombudsman Otakar Motejl's proposal to abolish the norm, which, among other things, establishes the obligation to equip new buildings with fire extinguishers and, in selected cases, with smoke detectors. According to reporter judge Jan Musil, the regulation is a reasonable measure against the threat of fires.
    The regulation on technical conditions for fire protection of buildings was not created solely due to public interest, as its authors state, but also to provide profit to some manufacturers of fire protection equipment. The constitutional judges did not delve too deeply into this. They merely stated that a certain intervention in the property rights of property owners is balanced by the public interest in protecting health, life, and property.
    "Damage from a fire threatens not only the owner of the building but also uninvolved third parties. Under the conditions of urban development in the Czech Republic, there is always a risk of fire spreading. Even third parties must be protected from risks," Musil stated.
    The ombudsman also objected to the fact that the regulation refers to hard-to-access documents, specifically technical standards. According to Musil, this is not a problem because designers, technicians, and specialists, who are required to know the standards, work with the regulation.
    "It is not the builders who are burdened by this but the professionals who process the projects. They can also be required to incur certain costs to familiarize themselves with the standards," Musil stated. Incorporating technical standards directly into the regulation is, according to the judges, impossible, besides which they also contain many generally incomprehensible symbols, numerous tables, calculations, and so on.
    The regulation has been in effect since July 1 of last year. It was proposed by firefighters. They claim it will help reduce the number of fires in the Czech Republic and limit the resulting damages. The fire brigade published data earlier this January showing that fires in households caused nine more victims last year than in 2007 and injured 500 people, the highest number in the last five years.
    The regulation requires owners of new buildings to acquire fire extinguishers, ensure their inspections, and in specified cases, also purchase smoke detectors. The Ministry of the Interior justifies this obligation by the public interest in protecting against the risk of fire.
    Motejl stated in his complaint that he fully supports the effort to increase fire protection. However, he considers the method unfortunate. He suggested, for example, that property owners who invest in fire extinguishers and smoke detectors should receive more favorable insurance conditions.