Gov't to Tighten Sanctions for Violating Fire Safety Rules
The Emergency Management Service of Georgia has prepared a draft law which envisages stricter penalties for breaching fire safety regulations.
According to the draft, in case of violation of fire safety rules, fines will be ten times greater than previously.
Violation or failure to comply with the requirements of the fire safety rules and conditions shall be subject to a fine of GEL 500.
However, if violated during a special fire-fighting regime, the same action will be subject to a fine of GEL 1000. Currently, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses, the breach of above-mentioned rules envisages GEL 50 and GEL 200 fines, respectively.
According to the draft, the absence of fire-fighting systems, special equipment and fire extinguishers in buildings will result in a GEL 1,000 fine instead of the current GEL 100.
According to the project, buildings subject to state fire supervision will be: buildings owned by the state authority and municipality bodies; educational, sports, medical and cultural heritage monuments; more than 28m-high public buildings; Public buildings with two or more underground floors; multi-functional buildings and complexes; shopping centers, complexes and hypermarkets; clubs and entertainment-leisure centers; hotels, guesthouses, tourist bases and campsites; sanatoriums; leisure houses; public catering facilities (restaurants); 2000 m2 or more general retail and wholesale trade buildings / territories; railway and motor transport stations, as well as metro, air and sea buildings (ports); oil bases and terminals containing 500 m3 or more tank volumes; petrol and gas stations; thermal and hydro power plant buildings; storage and construction material warehouses; and grain storage and / or processing enterprises (mills).
Violation of rules of evacuation and emergency exits, fire alarms, safety announcements during a fire, and evacuation management, will be fined from GEL 1000 to GEL 5000 while the current law only implies a GEL 200 fine.
If the law regarding access to buildings has been violated, it will be followed by a GEL 100 fine.
If the safety rules are violated by a private fire-rescue unit, the owner company will be fined from GEL 5000 to GEL 10,000.
Violation or failure to comply with emergency situation prevention or to react to requests on important buildings shall be subject to a fine of GEL 1000.
If the fire-fighting brigade is sent to the fire location late, this will result in a 1000 GEL fine.
Failure to meet the requirements for the protection of the population, material and cultural values during an emergency situation will be subject to a fine of GEL 3000.
Several Georgian markets and shopping centers were destroyed in blazes in 2017 due to the absence of proper safety systems in the buildings.
However, the worst incident happened in the Leo Grand Hotel in Georgia’s Black Sea coastal city Batumi, which left 11 people dead in November last year.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs assessed that the 5-star hotel had been functioning without observing the safety norms, being unequipped with an automatic fire and alarm system and not possessing the right ventilation system, which would have facilitated the evacuation of people from the building during the fire.
The new draft law has already been submitted to Parliament for consideration.
By Thea Morrison