Undersigned organisations representing the European fire safety sector call for European institutions to prioritise fire safety in buildings and to develop a strategy with Member States for the fire safety of people who live and work in buildings.
Euralarm are among the co-signers of the Manifesto Keeping EU citizens fire safe in all building.
The company highlights that in 2024, almost 450 million citizens from across the European Union will have the opportunity to elect their representatives to the European Parliament and shape the agenda for the decade. These EU citizens spend 90% of their time in buildings, at home, at work or for other activities, in their home country or in other EU Member States in which they freely travel for work, studies or tourism. The firm says that citizens expect an equal level of fire safety in any European building.
Euralarm, and the other undersigned organisations, believe that the European Union should play an important coordinating role in fire safety as it impacts and is impacted by several of its core objectives.
The group have highlighted that a focus on fire safety would help meet objectives of the EU Green Deal, where, they say, the European Union needs to properly address the emerging safety risks linked to electrification solutions and other modifications of the built environment. They believe this is needed to avoid slowing down the deployment of innovative decarbonisation and sustainability solutions in EU buildings.
Euralarm add that the EU’s involvement in the field of fire safety is also deeply interwoven with principles surrounding the Single Market, having a responsibility to ensure that products within this market are not only efficient and affordable but also safe.
Through this the collation of data, shared research, and exchange of experience, the EU can then offer a unique perspective that can strengthen the development of knowledge in the field of fire safety and help address common challenges across Member States.
The co-signatories have said that they do not want to challenge the principle of subsidiarity in the domain of building codes: Member States should therefore remain free to design their fire safety regulations by considering the local specificities in terms of building design solutions, materials, use patterns and climate. However, the undersigning parties believe that action on fire safety in buildings goes beyond building codes.
The European Union can support Member States, the group said, by having a coordinating role on fire safety to realise its objectives related to its shared and supporting competences in the fields of tourism, energy, environment, human health, and consumer protection.
The Manifesto is undersigned by Euralarm, ANEC, BSEF, CoGDEM, Concrete Europe, EAPFP, Eurolux, Europacable, European Fire Safety Alliance, European Fire Sprinkler Network, Eusas, FEEDS, Fire Safe Europe, IWMA, Modern Building Alliance, Pinfa, RICS and SFPE.
