Fire Safety (Exemption) Order

Fire Safety Act

(Chapter 109A, Section 53)

Fire Safety (Exemption) Order

O 1

G.N. No. S 171/1994

REVISED EDITION 2008

(2nd June 2008)

[8th April 1994]

Citation

1.  This Order may be cited as the Fire Safety (Exemption) Order.

Exempt fire safety works in building works

2.—(1)  Sections 55, 56 and 60 of the Act and the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations (Rg 1) do not apply to any fire safety works that are to be started or carried out in any building specified in the First Schedule.

(2)  Sections 55, 56 and 60 of the Act and regulation 17 of the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations do not apply to any fire safety works that are to be started or carried out in any building specified in Part 1 of the Second Schedule, if the conditions specified in Part 2 of that Schedule are satisfied for those fire safety works.

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

When building is standalone building

3.  In this Order, a building is a standalone building if —

(a) it is not located within; and

(b) it does not abut on,

any other building.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Paragraph 2(1)

Exempt buildings

1.  [Deleted by S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

2.  Existing residential flats, maisonettes and townhouses in which alterations or additions are carried out provided such alterations or additions —

(a) do not increase the floor areas of; and

(b) do not affect —

(i) the common areas of;

(ii) the doors which afford a means of entry into or exit from;

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

(iii) the walls separating the residential units from the common areas of; or

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

(iv) the roofing of,

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

such residential flats, maisonettes and townhouses.

3.  Swimming pools in detached, semi-detached and terrace houses.

4.  Retaining walls, fencing and boundary walls.

5.  Guard houses.

6.  Detached bin centres.

7.  Oil sumps and grease interceptors.

8.  Chimneys.

9.  Awnings over windows and doorways having a horizontal projection not exceeding 1.4 metres.

10.  Flag poles and signboards.

11.  Cooling towers.

12.  Automated teller machines, ticket kiosks and taxi kiosks, not being part of a building.

13.  Goliath cranes at shipyards.

14.  [Deleted by S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

15.  [Deleted by S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

16.  Standalone bus-stops.

17.  Standalone taxi stops.

18.  Standalone areas for picking up or dropping off passengers of vehicles.

19.  Pedestrian overhead bridges —

(a) none of the sides of which is enclosed in any manner other than by handrail or overhead shelter; and

(b) which are not intended to be used as premises for the carrying out of any business activity.

20.  Pavilions —

(a) which are outdoors;

(b) none of the sides of which is enclosed in any manner other than by handrail or overhead shelter;

(c) which have floor areas not exceeding 20 square metres; and

(d) which are not intended to be used as premises for the carrying out of any business activity.

21.  Viaducts and flyovers.

22.  Walkways —

(a) none of the sides of which is enclosed in any manner other than by handrail or overhead shelter;

(b) which are not more than 3 metres in width;

(c) which do not span any driveway; and

(d) none of the sides of which (other than their ends) abuts on any building.

23.  Standalone toilets.

24.  Existing toilets in which alterations or additions are carried out provided —

(a) approvals have been previously obtained under section 55(1) of the Act in respect of such toilets; and

[S 493/2023 wef 31/12/2021]

(b) such alterations or additions do not increase the floor areas of such toilets.

25.  Standalone kiosks with floor areas not exceeding 10 square metres.

26.  Buildings in which reinstatement works are carried out following the expiration or termination of any tenancy or lease provided that such reinstatement works only involve the removal of all partitions installed in the buildings during or for the purpose of that tenancy or lease.

27.  Hoardings, except hoardings described in item 2 of Part 1 of the Second Schedule.

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

28.  Containers that —

(a) do not exceed 20 square metres in area;

(b) do not exceed 45 cubic metres in volume;

(c) are made of non‑combustible material within the meaning given by the Fire Code;

(d) are outdoors;

(e) are at ground level;

(f) are not stacked with other containers;

(g) are not within 13 metres of other containers;

(h) are not within 13 metres of other buildings, motor vehicles or parking lots for motor vehicles;

(i) are not within 3 metres of batteries, electrical sources, electric equipment or wires or other sources of ignition;

(j) are used only to store goods that are not hazardous; and

(k) do not contain batteries, electrical sources, electric equipment or wires or other sources of ignition.

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

[G.N. Nos. S 171/94; S 256/97; S 66/2001; S 708/2005]

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

SECOND SCHEDULE

Paragraph 2(2)

Part 1

BUILDINGS EXEMPT IF CONDITIONS IN PART 2 ARE SATISFIED

1.  Detached, semi-detached and terrace houses each of which —

(a) does not exceed 3 storeys or 3 levels, including basement and attic; and

(b) does not share any facility with any other building.

2.  Hoardings that —

(a) are used to carry out alterations or additions for an existing building; and

(b) affect any of the following for the building:

(i) any means of escape from the building;

(ii) the building’s fire protection system;

(iii) the building’s fire-fighting system;

(iv) any means of access for officers to fight fires at the building;

(v) any fire hydrant for the building.

3.  Containers that —

(a) fit the description in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (j) of item 28 of the First Schedule; but

(b) do not fit the description in paragraph (g), (h), (i) or (k) of that item.

Part 2

CONDITIONS OF EXEMPTION

1.  The person for whom any fire safety works are to be carried out must appoint a qualified person for those works.

2.  The qualified person mentioned in paragraph 1 must, in addition to his or her duties under the Act and any regulations made under the Act —

(a) design and prepare the plans for the fire safety works in accordance with the Fire Code and certify in the form required by the Commissioner that the plans are prepared in accordance with the Act, any regulations made under the Act and these conditions;

(b) take all reasonable steps and exercise due diligence in supervising and inspecting the fire safety works to ensure that those works are being carried out in accordance with the Act, any regulations made under the Act and these conditions; and

(c) upon completion of the fire safety works, certify in the form required by the Commissioner that the fire safety works have been inspected and completed in accordance with the Act, any regulations made under the Act and these conditions, and furnish that certificate, together with the plans and the certificate mentioned in sub-paragraph (a), to the person for whom the fire safety works have been carried out.

3.  The person for whom the fire safety works have been carried out must ensure that all the plans and certificates mentioned in paragraph 2(c) are kept available for inspection either in a physical form at the building where the fire safety works were carried out or in an electronic form, for the following duration:

(a) where the fire safety works relate to fire protection works — as long as the fire protection system related to the fire protection works is in use;

(b) where the fire safety works relate to a fire safety measure — as long as the fire safety measure is in use;

(c) where the fire safety works relate to a relevant pipeline — as long as the relevant pipeline is in use;

(d) where the fire safety works relate to relevant works — as long as the building or system (as the case may be) related to the relevant works is in use.

[S 757/2023 wef 24/11/2023]

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Fire Safety (Exemption) Order

 

This Legislative History is provided for the convenience of users of the Fire Safety (Exemption) Order. It is not part of this Order.
1.	G. N. No. S 171/1994—Fire Safety (Exemption) Order 1994
	Date of commencement	:	8 April 1994
2.	1995 Revised Edition—Fire Safety (Exemption) Order
	Date of operation	:	1 April 1995
3.	G. N. No. S 256/1997—Fire Safety (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 1997
	Date of commencement	:	1 July 1997
4.	G. N. No. S 66/2001—Fire Safety (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2001
	Date of commencement	:	15 February 2001
5.	G. N. No. S 708/2005—Fire Safety (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2005
	Date of commencement	:	10 November 2005
6.	2008 Revised Edition—Fire Safety (Exemption) Order
	Date of operation	:	2 June 2008
7.	G.N. No. S 493/2023—Fire Safety (Exemptions — Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2023
	Date of commencement	:	31 December 2021
8.	G.N. No. S 757/2023—Fire Safety (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2023
	Date of commencement	:	24 November 2023