Section 8 – Fire safety
14.This provision places a statutory duty on relevant authorities to make provision for the purpose of promoting fire safety. At present, fire authorities undertake community fire safety initiatives. These take various forms, for example, schools education programmes, safety information advisory sessions for community groups and attendance at public events, fetes, etc. In some cases individual home fire safety advisory visits are undertaken and advice is given to homeowners on fire prevention issues. This work is currently carried out on a discretionary basis and the effect of section 8 is to make it a statutory duty.