Fire is a serious risk factor that not only causes loss of life and property, but also threatens social order and public safety. Therefore, the protection of buildings against fire and the determination of fire safety measures within the framework of legislation is of critical importance for both individual and public safety. In Türkiye, regulations on fire safety have been developed over the years and an important framework has been established with the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings, which entered into force in 2007.
In this article, the legal legislation on fire safety, fire safety principles in the design and licensing processes of buildings, evacuation and fire extinguishing systems, legal responsibilities of building owners and managers, and inspection processes are discussed. In addition, the obligations of the public and private sectors in fire safety are examined, and changes in the inspection powers of fire brigade organizations are also evaluated.
A. LEGAL LEGISLATION
The minimum measures to be taken against fire and fire fighting are regulated by legislation. In this context, in our country, there are direct legal regulations on the procedures and principles of the measures, organization, training and supervision to be taken before and during fire in all kinds of structures, buildings, facilities and enterprises used by public institutions and organizations, private organizations and real and legal persons. The Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings (“Regulation”) is the main legislation that addresses the issue in detail. However, there are also specific regulations on fire prevention qualifications during the licensing phase of workplaces, the region where the buildings are located (such as tourism regions, historical places) and the nature of the buildings (such as hospitals, official institutions and organizations).
In addition, the Regulation on Health and Safety Measures to be Taken in Workplace Buildings and Annexes, the Occupational Health and Safety Law and the regulations on Disaster and Emergency Management contain additional and subsidiary provisions to the Regulation. There are also communiqués and circulars issued for specific public institutions and organizations based on the Regulation.
When the legislation in force in our country is evaluated as a whole, it is seen that the regulations have a disorganized structure due to the changes and regulations made over the years, but it is seen that the provisions of the Regulation cover the general framework in detail about the rules to be followed before, during and after the fire, the precautions and responsibilities to be taken.
B. Fire Safety in Buildings: Principles and Responsibilities on Design, Evacuation and Extinguishing Systems
1. Project Design, Licensing and Related Responsibilities
ⅰ. Fire Safety in Buildings and Project Design Criteria
In our country, buildings are divided into use classes such as residential, accommodation, institutional, commercial, storage according to their usage characteristics. In addition, there are low, medium and high hazard classes depending on the characteristics of the buildings and the sections within them and the nature of the process and activities carried out. The use and hazard classes of buildings affect the measures to be taken in the building and different rules are stipulated for different hazard classes.
During the construction phase of buildings, they should be designed taking into account the possibility of fire in the building. In this context, buildings should be constructed in such a way as to limit the spread of fire and smoke, to limit its spread to the environment and to allow escape. If these obligations are not fulfilled, no license is issued for the relevant buildings and their activities are not allowed. In addition, in order to ensure fire safety in zoning plans, necessary measures must be taken in terms of fire safety and fire brigade areas must be allocated depending on the population density.
Painting, insulation, net concrete dimensions and TS standards regarding the stability of the load-bearing system of buildings are specifically defined. Fire resistance periods of fire compartments, fire walls and floors have been determined and special precautions for high-risk areas such as common areas, boiler rooms and electrical rooms are stipulated in the legislation.
ⅰⅰ. Permitting and Licensing Processes and Responsibilities
If the building projects do not comply with the conditions specified in the relevant Regulation in terms of fire safety, a building license shall not be issued. If it is determined that new buildings or buildings whose purpose of use is changed are not manufactured in accordance with the principles specified in the Regulation, the occupancy permit will not be issued until the deficiencies are corrected. In addition, a fire brigade report on fire safety shall be issued by the relevant municipal fire department to all kinds of structures, buildings, facilities and enterprises used by public institutions and organizations, private organizations and real persons. This report is a condition for the issuance of a license to open and operate a workplace.
- -Administrations authorized to issue building permits at the stage of issuing building permits; To check that the prepared architectural, static, mechanical and electrical installation projects and fire evacuation, detection and extinguishing projects, if any, are appropriate, that the productions are made in accordance with the prepared and approved projects, that the systems are operational, and to check the suitability of the structure,
- Investor organizations are responsible for ensuring that the building design is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation during the building license phase, that the construction is made ready for operation by having the manufacturing made according to the approved projects in accordance with the Regulation; to check that the fire evacuation, fire detection and extinguishing systems are active and operational at all times in accordance with the Regulation until the operation phase,
- The architects and engineers in charge and the implementing contractors and manufacturers, the architects and engineers in charge of the design are responsible for the preparation of architectural, static, mechanical and electrical installation projects and, if any, fire evacuation, detection and extinguishing projects in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation; the architects, engineers and implementers in charge as well as the contractors are responsible for the implementation of the prepared project.
Although the consultants, advisors, project control, building supervision and operation authorities involved in the construction and use of the building are also responsible, authorized and liable, the aforementioned persons are held responsible for fire damages caused by non-compliance with the provisions of the Regulation in proportion to their faults.
2. Escape Routes, Escape Stairs and Special Situations
In terms of fire safety, a fundamental obligation in the design and use of buildings is to ensure that people can evacuate safely in case of fire or other emergencies. To this end, escape routes, stairways and safety measures are regulated in detail in the legislation.
Every building should be equipped with adequate escape routes to allow users to evacuate quickly. Escape routes should be designed to protect users from heat, smoke and panic-induced hazards, should be kept open at all times and should be free of obstructive elements (locks, bolts, etc.). Escape routes should be determined according to the intended use, height and number of users of the building and should have sufficient capacity. These routes must be resistant to fire and smoke and must be kept continuously accessible and unobstructed. In particular, escape stairs should be surrounded by walls resistant to fire for at least 120 minutes and protected by smoke-tight doors. In addition, in large capacity buildings, there should be at least two exit points; the number of exits should be increased as the number of users increases.
3. Warning Systems and their Periodic Maintenance and Inspection
Electrical installations, especially fire detection, alarm and emergency lighting systems, must comply with current regulations on fire safety. Electrical installations, fire detection systems and emergency lighting systems used in buildings must operate in accordance with TS EN 54 standard and the functionality of these systems must be maintained with regular maintenance. In addition, emergency lighting systems should be automatically activated to illuminate escape routes and should be supported by backup power sources in case of power failure. In addition to these, fire safety equipment should be accessible to all building users, especially systems such as fire warning buttons should be placed so that they can be easily accessed from every point. With these arrangements, the effectiveness of fire safety systems is increased and the safety of building occupants is ensured.
Emergency lighting, guidance and fire detection and warning systems are subject to periodic control, testing and maintenance required by the system specified in the relevant standards under the responsibility of the building owner and manager or the building authority to whom they have delegated their responsibilities in writing. All evacuation, fire detection and extinguishing systems in the building must be kept active and operational in accordance with the purpose of installation as long as the building is used. For this purpose, the building authority must periodically check that all systems are operational and tests related to extinguishing systems must be carried out.
4. Smoke Control Systems
Smoke control can be achieved by natural or mechanical means. For natural smoke extraction, smoke extraction chimneys, smoke cutters and partitions are used, while mechanical systems should be installed with air conditioning or special ventilation systems. Smoke evacuation openings must be automatically or manually operable in case of fire and must be kept under constant maintenance. Ducts used in mechanical smoke control systems should be made of steel, aluminum or similar non-combustible materials and protected by fire dampers or equivalent measures when passing fire compartments. Ventilation ducts should not pass through escape stairs and fire safety halls, and if they must, they should be covered with fire-resistant materials. In buildings with a building height exceeding 51.50 meters, smoke control systems must be installed in common areas such as halls and corridors.
5. Periodic Testing and Maintenance of Fire Extinguishing Systems
There are various types of fire extinguishing systems, water extinguishing systems (sprinkler systems, fire cabinets, hydrant systems), gas extinguishing systems, foam extinguishing systems and dry powder extinguishing systems, and each system is designed and applied according to the nature of the fire risk and the intended use of the building. Periodic testing and maintenance of fire extinguishing systems is mandatory. These tests and maintenance should be carried out by authorized and certified companies.
Building owners, employers or their representatives are obliged to check that fire evacuation, fire detection and extinguishing systems are always active and operational.
C. Fire Safety Responsibility, Training and Inspection
The persons responsible for fire safety in buildings are the highest supervisor in public and private institutions and the property owner or managers in other buildings. The fire safety officer is obliged to check and ensure that fire protection measures are taken during working hours.
The implementation of fire safety measures shall be inspected by the local fire brigade and inspectors of the relevant ministries. Building owners, managers and responsible persons are obliged to show all parts and equipment of the buildings requested by the inspectors and to provide the requested information and documents. At the end of the inspection, it is obligatory for the relevant persons to fulfill the deficiencies found deficient and requested to be eliminated and the requested measures within the appropriate period stipulated.
Municipalities, public and private sector organizations should establish internal regulations to ensure fire safety in their buildings. These regulations should include details on the organization of emergency teams, identification of fire equipment, evacuation plans and the use of fire compartments. In addition, fire safety plans and sketches should be kept at an accessible point in the building.
Fire evacuation projects should be available in workshops, workshops, warehouses, hotels, health, assembly and education buildings with a total indoor area exceeding 10,000 m². These projects should include the building’s escape routes, fire escapes, fire escapes, fire brigade elevators, fire cabinets, water supply points, fire pumps and generators and should be located in a place easily accessible to the fire brigade during a fire.
D. General Responsibilities
In the event that systems such as fire extinguishing, detection and emergency lighting are missing or faulty, project authors are held responsible for deficiencies in the project, contractors or construction companies are held responsible for construction errors, while the operating organization is directly responsible if the system does not work. If fire safety systems are not installed in accordance with the standards despite written notification to the building owner, the building owner will bear responsibility.
Building owners, employers, architects and engineers in charge of design and implementation, building inspection organizations, contractors and consultants are considered responsible for fire damages caused by non-compliance with the provisions of the Regulation.
Responsibility for fire safety and assisting the fire brigade rests with the building’s highest authority in public buildings and with managers or owners in other buildings.
E. Changes in Fire Control Authority and the Role of the Fire Brigade
Prior to 2007, the authority and responsibility for the inspection of fire safety of buildings belonged to the local administrative authorities, but with the Regulation that entered into force in 2007, this authority was transferred to the local fire departments, inspectors, controllers or audit staff of the ministries and public institutions to which they are affiliated or related. However, according to Additional Article 1 of the Municipal Fire Brigade Regulation, the fire brigade does not have the authority to act directly and ex officio to conduct inspections on fire precautions. The Regulation makes the fire brigade’s ability to carry out inspections dependent on a request from the applicant, the administration authorized to issue workplace opening and operation licenses or the relevant ministry.
In this context, it follows that the inspection authority granted to the fire brigade in Article 131 of the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings can only be exercised upon a request and the fire brigade cannot perform inspections on its own. Therefore, the fire safety inspection process is operated upon the request of the relevant administrations or applicants, and the authority of the fire brigade is limited to a reactive inspection process rather than a proactive one.
CONCLUSION
Fire safety is the shared responsibility of individuals, businesses and public institutions. The Regulation provides a broad framework from precautions to be taken before a fire, evacuation systems during a fire, post-fire inspection processes and administrative sanctions. In particular, it is of great importance to plan buildings in accordance with the fire risk at the project design stage, to organize escape routes, to install fire detection and extinguishing systems effectively and to inspect these systems periodically.
Furthermore, with the delegation of fire safety inspection authority to fire departments, the inspection process has become available only upon request, introducing a new understanding of inspection in terms of the applicability of fire safety measures. Therefore, it is important for building owners, employers and public institutions to comply with fire safety measures with a proactive approach. However, in practice, the fact that the inspection of building obligations left to public institutions and organizations, building owners and managers or employers is carried out upon request raises questions about the approach of responsible persons and public institutions and organizations towards this inspection process and the effectiveness of these inspections. Major fire disasters in Türkiye and fire safety practices around the world reveal the need for a more technical and competent inspection mechanism in the legislation.
The effectiveness of fire safety legislation should not be limited to the existence of legal regulations, but should also be supported by effective inspection mechanisms and awareness-raising activities. In this context, it is important to make the inspection process more proactive rather than only upon application, to strengthen private and public sector cooperation and to expand fire safety trainings. It is especially important to implement stricter and more specific regulations for high-risk buildings such as industrial facilities, shopping malls, hotels and storage areas.
As a result, in order to ensure fire safety, it is not enough to create an infrastructure that complies with the legislation; these regulations need to be continuously monitored, improved and rigorously implemented by all stakeholders. Fire safety is not only a legal obligation, but also a necessity for the safety and sustainability of society.
In our country and in the world, there are serious losses of life and property due to unpredictable and unpredictable fire disasters. The fire that took place in Bolu Kartalkaya on January 21, 2025, which plunged our country into mourning, has once again brought the discussions on fire safety in Türkiye to the agenda. We hope to contribute to raising awareness on fire safety and to have created a useful resource for our readers.
