Insurers are concerned the lack of comprehensive legislation on fire safety could prove problematic in the case of a major disaster. They claim they are often stuck in limbo when attempting to pinpoint responsibility.

Raising the alarm following last month’s Grenfell Tower tragedy in London, which left at least 80 people dead, Malta Insurance Association head Adrian Galea expressed concern that many entities in Malta were working independently of each other due to the lack of a comprehensive law.

He feared this made it difficult for those in the industry to carry out their job properly.

“There tends to be fragmentation because you get several bits of legislation on fire safety, not a single law, and so there is nobody to make sure that everything is covered from A to Z,” Mr Galea said.

Reference to fire safety and precautions in the current legal framework is vague and therefore could be open to interpretation, which meant that enforcement could be limited, he added.

The references can be found in the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act, the Catering Establishment Regulations, Holiday Premises Regulations, Maintenance of Good Order at Places of Entertainment and the Malta Travel and Tourism Act.

The blaze at the 24-storey residential building in London was the worst since World War II. The fire sparked fears that Malta could not handle a similar disaster.

Education and enforcement go hand in hand with proper legislation

While it seemed such incidents serve to raise awareness on the importance of having things in order, Mr Galea fears that without a single law on fire safety and, especially with the spike in construction in recent years, managing such an incident could be difficult.

“The government seems to be moving in favour of not just high-rise buildings but construction in general. The fact that you see so much tower cranes around means that the construction industry is doing very well.

“But, at the same time, you still get many aspects working independently of each other and unfortunately things tend to fall in between. This makes it difficult to pinpoint responsibility. Everyone just pushes responsibility away from one person to another or from one authority to another,” Mr Galea went on.

He insisted that it was crucial there was more awareness on the importance of precautionary measures, especially when designing and building new developments.

However, the association head was quick to add that while important, education alone was useless if this was not coupled with legislation that enabled proper enforcement.

“We want to think about prevention and awareness and encourage people to ask themselves some very simple questions that could prevent such disasters.

“But while education is important, life doesn’t stop at education and you need to be in a position to enforce. Education and enforcement go hand in hand with proper legislation that brings the clarity that we need in the industry,” Mr Galea said.

Engineer Fabio Stivala, who specialises in fire safety and is working closely with the association on the matter, also expressed concern that having fragmented laws could be problematic.

Mr Galea fears that without a single law on fire safety and, especially with the spike in construction in recent years, managing such an incident could be difficult

“When the Planning Authority asks a developer to engage an engineer, the authority is telling the developer who is responsible but in reality there is no law that says so.

“If there is a single law, it would be more watertight and add clarity. We are still in limbo,” Mr Stivala said.

The call for better legislation comes just a week after fire safety operators, engineers and architects questioned whether the country could handle an incident similar to that in London.

The Chamber of Engineers questioned the existing level of fire safety regulations enforcement, urging the government to introduce standard rules across the board, an appeal that received the full backing of the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers.