Malta is developing at a faster rate than predicted and safety measures are not catching up.

The contrast between Malta’s fast pace of building development and inadequate fire legislation was well documented in a 2016 public consultation report to clear the way forward for enactment of a Fire Safety Law by the Civil Protection Department.

Planning applications for new buildings are reviewed by the CPD yet there is so far no enforcing legal framework. The department reported it was “challenged many times by owners and architects who are keen on saving money and avoiding the implementation of such safety measures”.

More worryingly: “Due to the lack of recognition any mechanical, electrical engineer or architect are signing off such works for Mepa (now the Planning Authority) without the necessary standards, or expertise in the matter. Just as one should not consult a marine engineer for an electrical job, such expertise should be left to professionals.”

To quote Peter Paul Coleiro, Institution of Fire Engineers graduate, Fire Behaviour Training Instructor and CPD deputy director:  “It is certainly not the intention of the author (Fire Safety Legislation Malta, January 1, 2016) to cause upheaval in the sector or impose a heavy burden on business operators, but the reality is that Malta is developing at a faster rate than predicted and safety measures are not catching up. We currently have legislation that is 1970s style at the beginning of the fire safety movement with infrastructure that sometimes is so state-of-the-art that it is beyond 2020.”

Further to my coverage last Sunday (‘Overdevelopment ignites new fire regulations’, The Sunday Times of Malta, February 25) on the seminar ‘Raising the bar on fire safety legislation in Malta’ held by the Alberta Group, the above quoted full background report is available on the internet by searching ‘Fire Safety Legislation Malta 2016’.