Fire protection - approval and enforcement

All new buildings, the alteration and extension of existing buildings or parts of buildings as well as the construction, alteration and operation of combustion plants for gaseous, solid and liquid fuels are subject to the fire police permit requirement. The Office of Building Construction and Spatial Planning (AHR), Department of Building Law and Fire Protection, is the licensing and fire protection authority. Fire police requirements are usually part of the building permit.

If, according to the Ordinance to the Fire Protection Act, the submission of a fire protection concept is required, early contact with the AHR, Department of Building Law and Fire Protection, is recommended.

As a rule, the fire protection concept must be submitted at the latest when the building application is submitted. Otherwise, in exceptional cases, the temporary subsequent submission of the concept is required with the issuance of a condition in the building permit.

All buildings and installations requiring a building permit are divided into quality assurance levels (QSS)

The regulations, standards and guidelines of the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurers VKF (current status 01 March 2015) apply to the buildings, facilities, warehouses and installations covered by the Fire Protection Act.

After the building has been approved, the municipalities are responsible for enforcing the fire protection regulations.

This concerns in particular the verification of and compliance with fire safety regulations on the occasion of periodic inspections of buildings and existing facilities. In principle, the fire safety inspections are carried out annually, although once within three years the inspection is required during the heating season. In completely solidly constructed residential and office buildings without commercial operations, this period can be extended to five years.

The AHR is authorized to carry out its own fire safety inspections independently of the periodic inspection or to commission experts to do so.

In case of non-compliance with the fire safety inspection, the AHR may order a replacement inspection at the expense of the municipality after prior unsuccessful reminder.

Note: The Fire Protection Act is currently under revision.

Deficiencies identified during the periodic fire safety inspection shall be reported in writing to the building owner or responsible party. Any existing deficiencies shall be corrected in a timely manner. In case of non-compliance, the law provides for compulsory enforcement at the owner's expense.