At the end of July, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine registered the Order No. 474 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine dated July 11, 2024 «On Approval of Amendments to the Fire Safety Rules in Ukraine» (hereinafter referred to as Order No. 474). This Order shall enter into force on the date of its official publication.
Something about the changes approved by Order No. 474, which are worth paying special attention to
As for the changes approved by this order, it is worth knowing about them now.
- According to the new wording, fire and rescue units can be created by decision of the head and with reference to the new current Procedure for the Formation and Operation of Fire and Rescue Units to Ensure Voluntary Fire Protection.
- The word "to breed" has been replaced by the word "to kindle".
- The reference to the Rules for the Installation of Electrical Installations (PUE) has been replaced with the corresponding regulatory document of the current version (approved by the order of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine dated July 21, 2017). No. 476).
- Section IV is supplemented with a new Chapter 5 «Power Generating Equipment», which contains requirements for the safe operation of the relevant equipment, in particular:
- placing;
- installation;
- fire protection distances to adjacent objects;
- connection to the electrical network;
- fuel storage:
- under normal conditions;
- for the period of validity of the legal regime of martial law or a state of emergency.
We suggest you familiarize yourself with the changes approved by Order No. 474
Changes
to the Fire Safety Rules in Ukraine
(not effective as of 08/09/2024)
1. In Section II:
1) paragraph 12 shall be worded as follows:
«"12. In order to carry out measures to prevent fires and organize their extinguishing at enterprises, fire and rescue units may be formed by decision of the head to ensure voluntary fire protection in accordance with the Procedure for the formation and functioning of fire and rescue units to ensure voluntary fire protection, approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated April 7, 2023 No. 314.".
2. In Chapter 1 of Section III:
1) in the first paragraph of clause 1.18:
in the first sentence, replace the word "to breed" with the word "to kindle";
in the second sentence, the words «in certain cases» should be deleted;
2) in paragraph 1.20, the word "dilution" shall be replaced by the word "ignition".
3. In Section IV:
1) in paragraph 1.1 of Chapter 1, the words «PUE requirements» shall be replaced with the words and figures «the requirements of the Rules for the arrangement of electrical installations, approved by order of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine dated July 21, 2017 No. 476 (hereinafter referred to as the PUE)»;
2) to supplement with a new chapter of the following content:
«"5. Power generating equipment
5.1. Operation of diesel, gasoline, and gas generators with a rated power of up to 20 kW and a fuel tank (cylinder) volume of up to 100 liters (hereinafter referred to as power generating equipment) must comply with the requirements of the PUE and the manufacturer's instructions for the operation of the relevant power generating equipment.
Installation and operation of diesel, gasoline, and gas generators with a rated power of more than 20 kW must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of building codes and the manufacturer's operating instructions for the respective generator.
5.2. The power generating equipment must be installed outdoors, on a territory cleared of debris and any flammable materials, with a flat area made of non-flammable materials. The terrain of the territory must ensure that flooding and displacement (rolling) of the power generating equipment are impossible.
5.3. If the manufacturer's operating instructions provide for the placement of power generating equipment inside structures designed to protect it from environmental climatic influences, these structures must be made of non-combustible materials and provide the necessary ventilation and cooling conditions for the power generating equipment.
The placement of electricity-generating equipment that runs on liquefied hydrocarbon gas inside structures is carried out taking into account the requirements of Section 12 of DBN V.2.5-20.2018 "Gas supply. Engineering equipment of buildings and structures" and the recommendations of the manufacturer of such equipment.
5.4. Fire-fighting distances from installed power generating equipment to adjacent facilities are given in Appendix 1 to these Rules.
5.5. The use of power generating equipment inside residential, industrial, public buildings and structures (including on roofs, balconies, in extensions), warehouses and on routes to evacuation exits is not allowed.
5.6. The placement of power generating equipment between buildings and structures should not reduce accessibility to fire hydrants, fire hydrants of the external fire extinguishing water supply network, external fire ladders, fire shields, building evacuation exits, and should not create an obstacle on roads and driveways for fire engines.
5.7. Refueling of the power generating equipment (connection of the gas cylinder) must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the manufacturer's instructions. When refueling the power generating equipment, it is necessary to use means that prevent fuel from spilling, including onto the body of the power generating equipment. Smoking is prohibited when refueling the power generating equipment. There must be no sources of open fire, spark-generating devices, or explosive objects near the power generating equipment.
5.8. Connection of power generating equipment to the electrical network of a public and administrative facility must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the PUE by specialists who have the right to perform work related to the operation of electrical installations, including in such a way as to provide for the possibility of safe remote disconnection of power supply in the event of an emergency or fire.
5.9. Before starting the operation of the power generating equipment, it is necessary to provide for the placement of primary fire extinguishing agents nearby, as well as other means for collecting soaked sand (in the event of a fuel spill at the refueling site).
5.10. Operation of power generating equipment is not allowed if damage to the insulation of power wires, their breakage, twisting, or other structural damage to the power generating equipment is detected, including if fuel leaks are detected.
Before starting the power generating equipment, it is necessary to make sure that the fuel line connections are tight.
5.11. Heating of power generating equipment, gas cylinder devices, power supply systems, and removal of frozen ice using open fire and burners is not allowed.
5.12. It is prohibited to turn over (tilt) the power generating equipment to transfer fuel residues in the tank.
5.13. It is prohibited to connect electricity generating equipment to an electrical outlet.
5.14. The total power of connected electrical appliances that the power generating equipment will power must not exceed the rated load specified by the manufacturer of the specified equipment.
5.15. At the point where the power generating equipment is connected to the building's power panel, instructions must be posted on the procedure for connecting and disconnecting it.
5.16. Connection of power generating equipment to the consumer's power grid must be carried out manually only if there are blockages between switching devices that prevent simultaneous supply of voltage to the consumer's network and the power transmission organization's network.
5.17. Liquid fuel for power generating equipment must be stored in containers designed for storing the appropriate type of fuel, with a total volume of no more than 40 liters of fuel and 10 kg of lubricant in a separate utility building (structure) of the enterprise, in individual garages, in a separately located utility house on the household plot. The distance from the place of storage of fuel and lubricant to the houses must be at least 7 m.
5.18. It is not allowed to store fuel for electricity generating equipment in markets and fairs, in small architectural forms for carrying out business activities and inside buildings.
It is prohibited to store containers with flammable, especially dangerous or explosive substances inside residential, public and administrative buildings.
5.19. In the event of impossibility of complying with the requirements for storing fuel for power generating equipment exclusively for the period of the legal regime of martial law or emergency, it is allowed to store fuel in the premises of the enterprise, which:
- are located on the first floor near the external walls with direct access to the outside and cannot be adjacent to rooms with more than 5 permanent workplaces and/or have connections to escape routes;
- separated from other premises by fire-resistant partitions and fire-resistant ceilings in accordance with the requirements of DBN V.1.1-7:2016 "Fire safety of construction sites. General requirements";
- decorated with non-combustible materials;
- equipped with fire protection systems with a fire alarm signal output to the fire monitoring console in accordance with the requirements of DBN V.2.5-56:2014 "Fire Protection Systems";
- additionally equipped with primary fire extinguishing means, namely at least two powder fire extinguishers with a charge weight of 5 kg;
- equipped with natural, supply and exhaust ventilation that meets the requirements of building codes;
- have a temperature regime of no more than 20° C.".
4. In paragraph six, item 1.1, chapter 1, section VII, the words «in the appendix to these Rules» shall be replaced by the words and number «in appendix 2 to these Rules».
5. Supplement these Rules with the attached Appendix 1.
In this regard, the appendix shall be considered appendix 2.
Head of the Department for Interaction with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yuriy KOREVA
Appendix 1
to the Fire Safety Rules in Ukraine
(clause 5.4 of chapter 5 of section IV)
Fire distances from installed power generating equipment to adjacent objects
| No. of the company | Nominal power of electric generating equipment, kW (fuel tank (cylinder) volume) | Minimum fire protection distance, m | |
| to solid walls of buildings made of non-combustible materials | to other walls of buildings | ||
| 1 | up to 1.0 kW inclusive (up to 5 l) | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | from 1.01 to 3.0 kW inclusive (up to 15 l) | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | from 3.01 to 6.0 kW inclusive (up to 20 l) | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | from 6.01 to 10 kW inclusive (up to 50 l) | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | from 10.01 to 20 kW inclusive (up to 100 l) | 10 | 12 |
Notes:
- In the case of using power generating equipment with a larger fuel tank (cylinder) volume than indicated in the table for a certain nominal power, the minimum fire protection distance must be taken as the distance for power generating equipment with a larger fuel tank (cylinder) volume of correspondingly higher power.
- The fire protection distance must be increased by 20 % to:
one- and two-story buildings of fire resistance level V;
houses with an attic roof, the top layer of which is made of combustible materials. - In the case of installing power generating equipment as a backup power source, the minimum fire-prevention distance from the place of its installation to modular, tent camps, and small architectural forms for conducting business activities must be at least 12 m.
Sources: BUDSTANDART, LEAGUE:LAW