Fire Safety Certificates

FiSCA provides a professional, nationwide, reliable and economic on-line service for the procurement of Fire Safety Certificates and some other architectural services to the profession, for a pre-agreed fee with prices starting from €200 + Vat.

 

How do I get a quote?

E-mail the project drawings, as dwg, dxf, pdf, jpg or png files to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   If you only possess hand drawings, print off a set and post them to FiSCA at the address in the bottom left corner of this page. If you e-mail the drawings to us, you’ll have an e-mail response within 24hrs of your enquiry and a signed copy in the post thereafter.  

 

If I’m happy with the quote, what next?

FiSCA will prepare the drawings and an accompanying fire safety report having sought pertinent information from you. The Fire Safety Certificate application will then been sent to you via e-mail for your approval prior, so that you may discuss & perhaps alter changes that may have been necessary. Once you’re happy with the proposed documents FiSCA will lodge the submission.

 

Is it really that simple?

Naturally, there’ll be some information to be provided, in addition to the drawings, but the idea is to make it as simple as possible for you. FiSCA wants your custom and will work hard to secure it and to keep it. You will receive a reliable and dependable service if you choose to use it.

 

What projects need a Fire Safety Certificate?

All new projects including flats & apartments, except single domestic dwellings, require a Fire Safety Certificate. All projects where a material alteration, extension or change of use takes place, except single domestic dwellings, require a Fire Safety Certificate.

 

FiSCA gives a professional and reliable service at a competitive price. You can depend on us to deliver our promise. If we say it’ll be three weeks, it’ll be three weeks. You’ll be told how long before the submission is ready when you confirm you want us to do the work.

 

Is FiSCA insured?

We have full Professional Indemnity and Public Liability cover. Copies available upon request.

 

Is FiSCA Tax compliant?

FiSCA is Vat registered and a Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Revenue Commissioners is available upon request.

 

Experience

FiSCA has experience in submitting & obtaining Fire Safety Certificates to Local Authorities all over the country for the following types of premises.

 

Amusement Arcade, Apartment schemes (single & multi-block), Betting Offices, Banks, Bakeries, CHP Plant Buildings, Chemists’ shops & Pharmacies, Church, Clinics, Club houses (social & sports), Crèches and Childcare facilities, Coast Guard Station, Commercial premises,  Community Centres, Credit Union, Doctors’ surgeries, Educational facilities (schools & adult training centre), Electrical Sub-Stations, Enterprise Centres,  Exhibition Spaces, Food processing plants, Factories, GAA Sports Club, Health Centres, Hotels, Industrial Units, Institutional Residences (Convents), Libraries, Light Industrial Units, Medical Centres, Mixed Use Developments, Montessori Schools, Museums, Nightclubs, Nursing Homes, Offices of all varieties, Presbyteries, Public Houses (Pubs), Respite Care Centre, Restaurants, Retail & Wholesale Warehousing, Resource Centres, Securities, Schools, Special needs buildings, Sports & Leisure Centres, Stud Farms, Supermarkets, Taxi Office, Theatre, Timber frame construction, Various types of shops & retail developments, Veterinary Practice, Ware-housing, Wind Farms and a number of Youth Centres & Hostels.

 

When is a Fire Safety Certificate required?

Under the Building Control Act 1990 two main sets of regulations have been issued, the Building Regulations 1997 which sets standards for building works and the Building Control Regulations 2007 which puts procedures in place to control building works.

What is a Fire Safety Certificate?

A Fire Safety Certificate is a certificate issued by the Building Control Authority which states that the works or building to which the application relates will, if constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted, comply with the requirements of Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997.

 

Which developments require a Fire Safety Certificate?

The following developments (other than those listed as exempt below) require a Fire Safety Certificate;

  • Works in connection with the design and construction of a new building 
  • Works in connection with the material alteration of:
    1. A day centre
    2. A building containing a flat
    3. A hotel, hostel or guest building 
    4. An institutional building 
    5. A place of assembly 
    6. 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 metres 
  • A building as regards which a material change of use takes place.

 

Which developments are exempted from the requirement of a Fire Safety Certificate?

The following buildings are exempted from the requirement to obtain 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 by a Building Control Authority in it's functional area.
  • Works in connection with a Garda station, a courthouse, a barracks and certain government buildings.

 

How does the Fire Safety Certificate process work?

  • An application is submitted to the Building Control Authority
  • Valid applications are date stamped and an acknowledgement stating date of receipt is sent to the applicant. Where an application is incomplete and therefore not valid , the Building Control Authority may request the applicant to submit the necessary documentation to enable the application to be validated. 
  • The application is examined technically for compliance with the 'Fire' part of the Building Regulations.
  • Where it is considered that additional information or modifications are required to the application, the officer examining the application may request such additional information/modification from the applicant. 
  • A Fire Safety Certificate will issue to the applicant as soon as possible after all required additional information has been submitted.
  • The Building Control Authority must notify the applicant of the decision on the application within two months of the application date or within such extended period of time as may be agreed between the applicant and the Authority at any time.

 

What must be submitted?

A Fire Safety Certificate Application should contain: 

  1. A completed application form
  2. Relevant drawings (in duplicate) 
  3. A fire safety report 
  4. The appropriate fee

 

What should the fire safety report contain?

The application is required to demonstrate that the development complies with Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. One way to achieve this is to systematically address each relevant clause of the particular Codes and Guidance documents which are being used in the fire safety design of the building.

 

Who can prepare a Fire Safety Certificate application?

Usually a Fire Safety Certificate application is made by a Fire Safety Consultant, Architect or Engineer who is familiar with the Building Regulations and the procedure for applying for a Fire Safety Certificate.

The content of the application needs to be comprehensive in nature. A person preparing a fire safety certificate should have a sound knowledge of building construction and fire safety design. If the application submitted is lacking in information or drawings, then the local authority  will consider it invalid and will return it to you together with your fee.

 

What is the fee for a Fire Safety Certificate?

The fee is €2.90 per square metre floor area (for the part of the building which the Fire Safety Certificate Application relates to). The minimum fee is €125 and the maximum fee is €12,500 regardless of floor area.

When can I start work on the development?

Where a Fire Safety Certificate is required in respect of works or a building then a person shall not carry out the works until a Fire Safety Certificate has been issued for the works. Alternatively, you may carry out the works and then seek a Regularisation Certificate, however such an application attracts a fee equivalent to four times the fee if sought before works commence, ie, €11.60 per m2.

 

What do I do about changes in the design after a Fire Safety Certificate has been granted?

A Fire Safety Certificate is granted based on the design and information submitted. Deviations at construction stage from the documentation submitted might call into question the validity of the Fire Safety Certificate as it applies to the development. It is accepted that changes can occur as a building project proceeds. These changes may be insignificant from a fire safety point of view or they may be such that a new Fire Safety Certificate Application is required.  Your project supervisor will be able to advise you in this regard or you can seek FiSCA's assistance.

 

Do I have to wait for my planning permission to come through before I can apply for my fire safety certificate?

No. You can apply for both at the same time. However most people wait until planning is granted for a development before applying for a Fire Safety Certificate as if the Planners make alterations to the plans the Fire Safety Certificate granted may not be valid.

 

What if I don't bother with applying for a fire safety certificate and build anyway?

If you build without a fire safety certificate, you will leave yourself open to prosecution under building control legislation. If you decide at some later date to sell your premises the buyer's solicitor will, in all likelihood, look for a copy of the fire safety certificate for the building. If you are unable to produce a fire safety certificate you may find it difficult to sell. If you build or extend a public house /licensed premises without a fire safety certificate you will even run into difficulties obtaining or renewing a license. If you still persist in building without the necessary Certificate you may then apply for a Regularisation Certificate, as stated above.

 

I want to build three separate buildings on my site. Will the one fire safety application cover the three buildings?

No. The building control legislation requires that a fire safety certificate be obtained for a particular building. This applies even if the three buildings to be built are all identical to each other.