Fragmented fire safety legislation will be consolidated as part of an upcoming building sector reform, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said on Wednesday.

Addressing a “tragically timed” seminar on fire safety just days after the death of a young man in a fire on Sunday, Dr Borg said the government was reviewing existing laws.

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“The problem we have today is that the laws on fire safety in dwellings and other buildings are sporadic, fragmented, and enforcement remains an issue. I am personally putting pressure on the [Transport] ministry’s legal team to do what needs to be done,” he told Times of Malta from the side-lines of the seminar.

Although the government had highlighted fire safety legislation in a reform on public safety last legislature, stakeholders still complain that the current legal framework has remained vague and piecemeal.

References to fire safety 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 and experts believe this should be streamlined and oversight given to a single authority.

Although it is too early to say what the government would be doing with fire safety legislation in further detail, Dr Borg said the already announced amalgamation of several entities involved in the construction industry would play a major role.

Back in December, government sources had told the Times of Malta that a new regulator would oversee the construction industry consolidating several existing construction-related bodies into one.

The Building Regulations Board, the Building Industry Consultative Council and the Masons Board are set to be merged and act as a one-stop shop for an industry that is “grossly under-regulated”.

Dr Borg today said that this new entity would have a major role to play in fire safety.

“The next step in the work for this reform is reaching out to stakeholders. A comprehensive reform has long been needed in this sector,” Dr Borg said.