Fire Prevention

Louth Fire and Rescue Services is tasked with the provision of a Fire and Rescue Service along with Fire Prevention and Building Control duties to the people of County Louth. The Service comes under the umbrella of the Environment and Emergency Services Directorate which is one of the 4 directorates of the Council.

More detail of Louth Local Authorities is contained in the Louth Corporate Plan 2010-2014 (English).pdf (size 318.1 KB)

Fire Services Act 1981 & 2003

The current structure of the Fire Service in Ireland is based upon the legislation of the Fire Services Act of 1981 & 2003. While the "duty of care" in respect to Fire Safety in Buildings rests with the Owner/Occupier under the Fire Service Act, 1981, the Fire Authorities have various powers of inspection and enforcement for Fire Prevention/safety measures in existing Buildings. Section 18(2) of the Fire Services Act, 1981 & 2003 is quoted as follows: -

“It shall be the duty of every person having control over premises to which this section applies to –
(a) take all reasonable measures to guard against the outbreak of fire on such premises,
(b) provide reasonable fire safety measures for such premises and prepare and provide appropriate fire safety procedures for ensuring the safety of persons on such premises,
(c) ensure that the fire safety measures and procedures referred to in paragraph (b) are applied at all times, and
(d) ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of persons on the premises in the event of an outbreak of fire whether such outbreak has occurred or not.”

A person convicted for an offence under the above may be liable to a maximum fine of €12,697.38 and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.

Links to the Act:

 

Management Inspection

Louth Fire Prevention section regularly checks buildings of public resort for compliance with the Ease of Escape Regulations. These inspections can occur at any time during normal operating hours of public premises. Ease of Escape Regulations can be viewed here

 

Licensing and the Fire Service

Throughout the year the Fire Service receives notification of applications to the courts for licences for various types of public premises. As a notice party to many types of licence applications the Fire Authority is requested to carry out inspections of premises and to be represented at the licence hearing to state if it has any objection to the licence being granted. The types of notifications the Fire Authority receives are:

  • Certificates of Registration
  • Excise Licences
  • Lottery Licences
  • Occasional Licences
  • Public Dance Hall Licences
  • Transfer of Licences
  • Restaurant Licences
  • Declaratory Licences
  • Ad-Interim Transfers

 

Event Licensing

Louth Fire Service is a notifiable body as part of the planning process for large Events, Concerts, Parades e.t.c. The following are links to the relevant legislation that applies.

Fire safety Guides/Codes of Practice can be viewed here

These include:

 

Petroleum Licensing

Louth Fire Services receives applications regarding petroleum licencing for petrol stations and petroleum stores throughout the county. Petroleum, for legislation/regulation purposes, is defined as being one of three Classes.

  • Class I Petrol Leaded & Unleaded
  • Class II Kerosene/paraffin
  • Class III Diesel/DERV/Central Heating Oil

The primary legislation in this area is the Dangerous Substances Act 1972 (DSA 1972) and various regulations detailed in the subsequent Statutory Instruments as detailed as follows.

 

Amendments to Petroleum Licensing Legislation

information on storage of petroleum.doc (size 37.4 KB)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL OR EMAIL:

Fire & Building Control Section, Louth County Council

Tel.:0429353153

Email:Fireoff@louthcoco.ie or BuildingControl@louthcoco.ie