The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Fire Services Act (消防法), altering 27 articles in the most significant change to the act since its promulgation in 1995.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said the amendments address the issue of how buildings are used after multiple recent fires to better enforce fire safety management systems.
Fire safety professionals have been in short supply since the act’s promulgation in 1995, and the mandated number of professionals — 5,000 — would not be reached until 2026, the National Fire Agency said, adding that the amendments have extended a sunset clause on personnel regulations by five years until the nation’s fire safety sector can employ and retain more than 5,000 people.
Photo courtesy of the Miaoli Fire Department
The Ministry of the Interior aims to convene authorities and executive agencies to complete amendments to 22 supplementary laws to the act, including the Enforcement Rules of the Fire Service Act (消防法施行細則), Lin said.
The agency previously said that businesses that failed to observe fire safety regulations, or which possessed defective or missing equipment would be given a grace period to make improvements, after which they would be fined.
Once the amendments go into effect, businesses found to have contravened fire safety rules would be fined immediately, and the fines have been increased from between NT$6,000 and NT$50,000 to between NT$20,000 and NT$300,000, the agency said.
All retail sellers of liquified petroleum gas would be inspected by safety personnel, while establishments that produce dangerous materials or products must hire safety technicians and inspectors to improve prevention efforts, it said.
Petroleum refinery owners are responsible for reporting any fires that break out, the agency said.
Those who lie about fires, businesses that fail to pass fire safety inspections, and establishments that store or produce dangerous materials or products that try to avoid fire inspections would be fined, it added.
If inspectors find that a construction project is exposed to fire risk, they can order managers to cease construction immediately, the agency said, adding that construction can only restart once local fire safety authorities have reviewed the safety plans.
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