On 2 November Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers passed amendments to the Fire Safety and Fire-fighting Law, providing permission for authorities to cease operations of a structure, part of a structure or a construction object if officials responsible for them refuse to allow fire safety inspections three times in a row.
For amendments to come into force, they have to be passed by the Saeima.
Amendments to the law state that from now on the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) officials with a special rank performing fire safety checks will have the authority to make decisions on ceasing operations of a structure or parts of a structure if the persons responsible for them fails to ensure fire safety inspections three times.
There were several cases when officials refused to provide VUGD officials access to structures to perform fire safety inspections in the past. VUGD stresses that this creates serious risks for human safety. One such case was the tragedy that occurred on 8 April 2021 in Riga, when a fire broke out at an illegal hostel on Merķeļa Street 8, killing nine people.
Fire fighters receive authority to close down buildings if they are not let in for inspections
