Enforcement

Fire Safety Notice

A fire authority can serve a fire safety notice on the owner or occupier of any building it considers potentially dangerous. This applies to a building that in the event of fire would pose a serious risk to life.

A fire safety notice may do the following:

• Prohibit the use of a building or part of that building.
• Prohibit use of a building for specified purposes.
• Prohibit the use of a building until certain measures are taken to the satisfaction of the fire authority to make the building safe.
• insist that the owner or occupier take certain measures to make the building safe, without closing the building down.

A person on whom a fire safety notice is served may, within fourteen days, appeal against the notice to the District Court on certain grounds.

High Court Order

If a fire authority thinks that the use of any particular building or land would put people at such a serious risk from fire that its use should be forbidden or curtailed until certain measures have been taken to reduce the risk to a reasonable level, it can immediately apply to the High Court for an order forbidding or curtailing its use.

Inspection of Premises

An authorised officer of the Council may enter at all reasonable times and inspect land or a building to which the public has access. As well as carrying out fire safety inspections, an officer can examine premises for pre-fire planning purposes.

Control of dangerous Substances

Cork Fire Service is responsible for the inspection of applications for petroleum bulk stores licences and witnessing of pressure test on tanks and pipelines on new applications.