Fire regulation
There are a significant number of laws and regulations regarding fire safety that are applicable in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Article 1 of the Act of 30 July 1979 Opens in new window(read more) on this matter states that "fire safety encompasses all safety measures aimed, on the one hand, at avoiding the outbreak of a fire, detecting any signs of fire outbreak and preventing it from spreading and, on the other hand, at alerting emergency services and facilitating both the rescue of individuals and the protection of property in the event of a fire."
In Belgium, fire safety is a federal responsibility. The federal government can therefore establish basic fire safety standards that apply to one or more categories of buildings, regardless of their purpose.
In addition to these basic standards, there are sector-specific standards issued by the federal government, Regions, Communities and municipalities, depending on the specific competences of these entities. These specific standards complement the federal basic standards.
For buildings undergoing renovation, repurposing and/or transformations, there are no legal requirements, whether in the form of a Royal Decree (RD), an ordinance or a decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region. The European Green Deal merely states that fire safety measures may be included in the event of long-term renovations. In the absence of existing regulations, the fire service outlines additional requirements in its advice, imposed as conditions in the permit or certificate to be issued. The aim is to ensure an equivalent level of fire safety for these unregulated cases, matching or approximating as closely as possible the provisions of the Royal Decree on "Basic Standards". These additional requirements are based on the firefighters’ experience and general knowledge of fire safety, and are intended to:
- prevent the outbreak, development and spread of a fire;
- ensure the safety of individuals present;
- facilitate the intervention of the fire service as a precautionary measure.
These requirements, which apply to existing buildings with multiple independent housing units – flats and/or studios but not single-family houses – are detailed in the Opens in new windowreference document.
What are the different regulatory texts?
There are a significant number of regulations regarding fire safety that apply in the Brussels-Capital Region. Most are listed below:
All buildings to be built, as well as extensions to existing buildings, regardless of their intended use.
The term "existing buildings" refers to high- and medium-rise buildings for which a building permit application was submitted before 26 May 1995, and low-rise buildings for which a building permit application was submitted before 1 January 1998.
Royal Decree of 7 July 1994 establishing basic standards regarding fire and explosion prevention with which buildings must comply External link(read more).
Explanatory brochure on fire safety measures to be implemented when dividing a Brussels house, created with "Homegrade.brussels" External link(read more).
Recommendations from the Fire Service regarding the renovation and conversion of dwellings in Brussels (External linkOpen the recommandations brochure here).
Video presentations of the Fire Service recommendations:
Any area intended to include workstations in company or establishment buildings, including any other area on company or establishment grounds to which the worker has access in the course of their work.
Opens in new windowWelfare at work policy
Comment on Title 3 relating to fire safety in the workplace in Book III of the welfare at work policy External link(read more).
Buildings open to the public
Title XIII, entitled "Fire safety measures", of the general building regulations, adopted by the Brussels Urban Council at its meeting on 17 March 1976 and approved by expiry of the enforceable period since 21 June 1977 (External linkread more).
Buildings open to the public in Anderlecht
Municipal regulations relating to fire safety standards and fire safety certification specific to places open to the public (External linkread more).
Hospitals
Royal Decree of 6 November 1979 establishing fire and panic protection standards with which hospitals must comply (External linkread more).
Shooting ranges
Royal Decree of 13 July 2000 determining licencing conditions for shooting ranges (External linkread more).
Fireworks storage
Royal Decree of 23 September 1958 establishing general regulations on the manufacture, storage, possession, sale, transport and use of explosive products (External linkread more).
Car parks
Operating conditions for car parks with 10 or more spaces
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region establishing general and specific operating conditions applicable to car parks (External linkread more).
Additional operating conditions for car parks that can accommodate LPG vehicles
Royal Decree of 17 May 2007 establishing fire and explosion prevention measures with which enclosed car parks must comply for the parking of LPG vehicles. (External linkread more).
Terms of use for charging stations in car parks
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region determining the ratios of charging stations for car parks, as well as certain additional safety conditions applicable to them (External linkread more).
Environmental permit
Information regarding the environmental permit for car parks (External linkread more).
Tunnels
Royal Decree of 6 November 2007 on minimum technical safety standards applicable to tunnels on the trans-European road network (External linkread more).
Football stadiums
Royal Decree of 6 July 2013 establishing safety standards applicable to football stadiums (External linkread more).
Housing
Building used or intended for the accommodation of one or more households: Brussels Housing Code (External linkread more).
Furnished rental accommodation
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 9 November 1993 on quality and safety standards for furnished rental accommodation (External linkread more).
Rental accommodation
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 15 April 2004 determining additional fire safety standards for rental accommodation (External linkread more).
Fire detection in dwellings
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region establishing requirements regarding fire detection in dwellings (External linkread more).
Advice from our awareness team (External linkread more).
Advice from "Bruxelles Logement" (External linkread more).
Tourist accommodation
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 24 March 2016 implementing the Order of 8 May 2014 on tourist accommodation (External linkread more).
ANNEX 7 - Fire safety standards specific to tourist accommodation (External linkread more).
Petrol stations and their fuel storage facilities
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 21 January 1999 establishing operating conditions for petrol stations (External linkread more).
Static transformers with a certain rated load
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 9 September 1999 establishing operating conditions for static transformers with a rated load of 250 to 1000 kVA (External linkread more).
Road works
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 11 July 2013 on the execution of road works (External linkread more).
Storage of flammable liquids
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 1 February 2018 on the storage of flammable liquids used as fuel (External linkread more).
Rest homes and nursing homes
"Bicommunal" facilities accommodating or providing care for elderly people
IRISCARE - Presentation of new fire safety standards following the decree of 7 March 2024 (External linkread more).
7 MARCH 2024. - Order of the joint bicommunal commission establishing specific fire safety standards with which facilities for the elderly must comply (External linkread more).
Facilities accommodating or providing care for elderly people falling exclusively under the authority of the Flemish Community
Decree of the Flemish Government of 9 December 2011 establishing specific fire safety standards to which facilities for the elderly and convalescent centres must comply and establishing the procedure for issuing certificates of compliance with these standards (External linkread more).
Childcare facilities (ONE accreditation for the French Community)
Decree of the Government of the French Community of 12 November 2014 amending the Decree of the Government of the French Community of 27 February 2003 on the general regulation of childcare facilities and French Community Government Decree of 19 July 2007 approving the terms and conditions set by the ONE pursuant to Article 18 of the French Community Government Decree of 27 February 2003 regulating childcare facilities (External linkread more).
Childcare facilities (Kind en Gezin accreditation for the Flemish Community)
Decree of the Flemish Government of 22 November 2013 on the conditions for accreditation and the quality policy for family and collective childcare for babies and toddlers (External linkread more).
Childcare facilities (a third regime created by the joint bicommunal commission came into force on 1 June 2019)
Order of 23/03/2017 (MB - 13/04/2017) on the organisation of childcare facilities. Decree of 12/07/2018 (MB - 01/02/2019) of the joint bicommunal commission on the implementation of the joint bicommunal commission order of 23/03/2017 on the organisation of childcare facilities. (External linkread more).
School buildings
NBN S21-204 on fire safety in school buildings (External linkread more).
Single-family houses
Single-family house: Definition (External linkread more).
Culture & leisure
Performance venues, cinemas, theatres, opera houses, music halls, function rooms, discotheques and concert halls
Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 3 May 2019 establishing the operating conditions for performance venues, cinemas, theatres, opera houses, music halls, function rooms, discotheques and concert halls (External linkread more).
More information from Brussels Environment (External linkread more).
Emergency accommodation for vulnerable people
Minimum operating requirements for emergency accommodation for vulnerable people (External linkread more).
Exemptions from basic safety standards
In certain cases, it is possible to obtain an exemption from some of these standards.
Article 2, § 2, of the Act of 30 July 1979 (External linkread more) authorises the Federal Public Service Home Affairs to grant exemptions from basic safety standards, provided that the construction to which these exemptions apply maintains a level of safety at least equivalent to that required by these standards.
A Royal Decree of 18 September 2008 (External linkread more) establishes the procedure and conditions under which exemptions from the basic safety standards are granted.
More information on the procedure: FPS Home Affairs (Opens in new windowread more).
Brussels Spatial Planning Code (CoBAT)
The Brussels Spatial Planning Code, commonly known as CoBAT, forms the legal basis for urban planning and spatial planning tools for the entire Brussels-Capital Region.