The Law of Ukraine ON FIRE SAFETY passed on December 17, 1993, ¹ 3745-XII ("Visnyk Verkhovnoyi Rady", 1994, ¹ 5, p.21 Fire safety is an unalienable part of the state activities aimed at protecting life and health of people, the national wealth and the natural environment. This Law defines the general legal, economic, and social foundations for fire safety at the territory of Ukraine, regulates relations between the state authorities, legal entities and private individuals in that sphere, regardless of their type of activities and form of ownership. Legal Foundation for Activities in the Fire Safety Sphere The legal foundation for activities in the sphere of fire safety shall be the Constitution, the present Law and other Laws of Ukraine, Resolutions by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, decrees and orders by the President of Ukraine; decrees, resolutions, and orders by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; decisions by bodies of the state executive power and local and regional self-government which they pass within the scope of their competence. Ensuring Fire Safety Ensuring fire safety shall be a component part in the production and other activities by executive employees and workers at enterprises, institutions, and organizations, as well as by entrepreneurs. This shall be recorded in the collective bargaining agreements (contracts) and Charters of enterprises, institutions, and organizations. Ensuring fire safety at enterprises, institutions, and organizations, shall be the responsibility of their managers and persons authorized by them, unless otherwise stipulated by the respective agreement. Providing for fire safety in the course of designing and development of cities and towns, at construction, expansion, rehabilitation and technical refurbishment of enterprises, buildings and structures, shall be the responsibility of architectural authorities, customers, developers, designing and construction organizations. Ensuring fire safety in residential houses of the state and public dwelling reserve, and of the dwelling construction cooperative reserve, shall remain the responsibility of the dwelling tenants and owners, and in the residential houses of the private dwelling reserve and in other structures and in dachas (summer houses) and at gardening land plots - of their owners or lessees, in case it is so provided by rent agreements. Division of Competence in the Sphere of Fire Safety The following shall remain within the competence of the central bodies of the state executive power: conducting of a single policy in the sphere of fire safety; definition of principal directions of science and technology development, coordination of the national and interregional events and scientific research in the sphere of fire safety, management of the respective scientific research institutions; development and approval of the national standards, norms, and rules for fire safety; establishment of a uniform fire accounting system; organization of studies of specialists in the fire protection sphere, management of fire-fighting technology education institutions; direct management of personnel and technical means engaged in extinguishing conflagrations; coordination of activities aimed at development and manufacture of fire-fighting machinery and fire-protection devices; definition of the state order for their manufacture and supply; cooperation with fire safety authorities in other countries. Decisions on other issues, which this Law does not transfer under the jurisdiction of central bodies of the state executive power, shall be within the competence of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, local bodies of the state executive power, and bodies of the local and regional self-government. Responsibilities of the State Authorities Concerning Fire Safety Central bodies of the state executive power, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, local bodies of the state executive power, bodies of the local and regional self-government, within the respective scope of their authority, shall organize development and implementation, in the respective industries and regions, of organizational and scientific and technological measures concerning fire prevention and extinguishing, and ensuring fire safety in cities and towns and at separate objects. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine shall: exercise the state fire-safety supervision, fire protection of cities and towns and at separate objects; coordinate activities by ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power, concerning improvement of fire protection; obtain, free of charge, from Ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power and bodies of local and regional self-government, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, information necessary for implementation of tasks assigned to it; engage institutes of higher education and other institutions, as well as individual scientists and qualified experts, for study of topical issues of fire protection, and for providing consultations and conducting expert studies. Decisions by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine pertaining to the fire safety issues, passed within the scope of its competence, shall be binding on bodies of the state executive power, as well as enterprises, institutions, organizations, and citizens. Ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power shall: conduct a uniform scientific and technological policy on issues of fire safety; develop and implement comprehensive measures aimed at upgrading fire safety at facilities; provide methodological supervision and control over activities by their subordinated facilities in the sphere of fire safety. In order to coordinate and improve work in connection with ensuring fire safety and with control over its performance, central staffs at Ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power shall establish fire safety departments. Bodies of the state executive power in charge of procurement of material and technical resources for manufacture of the primary types of products, shall envisage meeting the necessities of fire protection system and of the national economy facilities in fire-fighting machinery, equipment, fire protection devices. Manufacture of those machinery, equipment and devices shall be included into the state order. Responsibilities of Enterprises, Institutions, and Organizations, Concerning Fire Safety Owners of enterprises, institutions, and organizations, or bodies authorized by them (hereinafter referred to as "the Owners"), as well as lessees, shall: develop comprehensive measures to ensure fire safety; implement achievements of science and technology and up-to-date experience; in compliance with normative documents on fire safety, develop and approve provisions, instructions, other regulatory documents to be effective within an enterprise, an institution, or an organization; exercise constant supervision over their fulfillment; ensure observance of fire precaution standards, norms, and rules, as well as compliance with the requirements specified in prescriptions and resolutions by the state fire safety authorities; organize personnel training in fire precautions, and promulgate measures to enforce those; in case normative documents do not specify the requirements necessary to ensure fire safety, apply respective measures, securing their approval with the state fire safety authorities; maintain fire-fighting and communication devices, fire-fighting machinery, equipment and gear in operable condition, preventing their utilization for strange purposes; in case of necessity, establish , following the approved procedures, fire safety units and create material and technical support basis, necessary for their functioning; upon request by the state fire safety authorities, provide data and documents about fire safety status of enterprises and products they manufacture; carry out measures to implement automated fire detection and extinguishing devices, and to use industrial automation devices for those purposes; notify, in timely manner, fire safety units about faults with fire-fighting machinery, fire protection devices, water supply system, as well as about blocking of roads and passageways at their territory; and investigate events connected with fires. Responsibilities of parties concerning fire safety of leased property shall be defined in the respective lease agreement. Enterprises, institutions, and organizations, regardless of their ownership form, which are engaged in manufacturing products for fire-fighting purposes and in rendering services, connected with fire prevention and extinguishing, shall be made exempt from payment of profit tax within the scope of work performed. Enterprises, institutions, and organizations, which maintain or support fire brigades with mobile fire-fighting machinery, shall be made partially exempt from payment of profit tax (50 percent of funds used for maintaining those brigades). Enterprises, institutions, and organizations with the number of employees exceeding 50 persons, by decision of the working collective may establish a fire technical committee. As an exception, its functions may be performed by the labor safety committee. The typical provisions on the fire technical committee shall be approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The authority in the sphere of fire safety at associations, corporations, concerns, and other production unions, shall be defined by their Charters or agreements between enterprises that established those unions. In order to perform the functions delegated to a union, a fire safety department shall be established with its central staff. Citizens' Fire Safety Responsibilities Citizens of Ukraine, foreign citizens, and persons without citizenship residing in the territory of Ukraine shall be obligated: to observe fire safety rules, provide buildings they own as their private property with the primary fire extinguishing devices and fire-fighting gear, inculcate in their children cautious attitude towards fire; and to notify fire protection bodies about fires breaking out, and use measures to extinguish them and to rescue people and salvage property. State Fire Safety Supervision The state supervision over the fire safety status of cities and towns and of separate facilities, regardless of their ownership, shall be exercised in accordance with the effective legislation by the state fire safety bodies in accordance with the procedures stipulated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The state fire safety bodies shall be independent of any economic entities, public associations, political groups, bodies of the state executive power, and bodies of the local and regional self-government. Control over compliance with the fire safety rules at designing, technical refurbishment, construction, rehabilitation, and operation of facilities of foreign companies and joint ventures shall be regulated by the effective legislation, or by the terms specified in agreements between parties, provided doing so is not contradictory to the effective legislation. At private-owned facilities, the state fire safety bodies shall only control safety conditions for people in case of fire, and also fire safety issues touching upon rights and interests of other legal entities and citizens. In compliance with the tasks assigned to them, bodies of the state fire safety control shall: develop, jointly with the interested Ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power, and approve the national fire safety rules, which shall be binding on all enterprises, institutions, organizations, and citizens; sanction draft state and industrial standards, norms and rules, technical terms and other documents on technical norms, pertaining to fire safety, as well as design decisions outside the norms and rules; establish the procedures for elaboration and approval of provisions, instructions, and other regulatory acts on the issues of fire safety, effective at enterprises, institutions, and organizations; prepare standard documents on those issues; exercise control over compliance with the requirements, specified in legislative acts on fire safety, by executive personnel of the central bodies of the state executive power, structural units of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, local bodies of the state executive power, bodies of local and regional self-government, by managers and other executive personnel at enterprises, institutions, and organizations, and also by citizens; conduct, in accordance with the effective legislation, inspections and investigations on information and applications about crimes, connected with fires and violations of fire safety rules. Executive personnel of the bodies of the state fire safety control shall be the state fire safety supervision inspectors. The state fire safety supervision inspectors shall have the right to: conduct, at any time in presence of the owner or a his/her/its representative, fire safety inspections and examinations of enterprises, institutions, and organizations, buildings, structures, new edifices, and other objects under subject to supervision, regardless of their ownership, and also to obtain from the owner any necessary explanations, materials, and information; provide (convey) compulsory orders (prescriptions) concerning elimination of faults and drawbacks in respect to fire safety, to executive personnel at the central bodies of the state executive power, structural units of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, local bodies of the state executive power, bodies of local and regional self-government, managers and other executive personnel at enterprises, institutions, and organizations, and also to citizens. In the event of fire safety violation that threatens to cause a fire or hampers with extinguishing a fire or evacuating people, as well as in case of manufacture of inflammable items with deviations from standards and technical terms, or in their absence, suspend or prohibit operations by enterprises, separate industrial links and production units; usage of buildings, structures, separate rooms; heating devices, electric circuits, fire-hazardous work; manufacture and distribution of inflammable products, fire protection systems and devices; cancel permits for the operations; exercise supervision over compliance with fire safety requirements specified in standards, norms and rules, during designing (randomly), construction, expansion or technical refurbishment, capital repairs of enterprises, buildings, structures, and other facilities. In case deviation are found, prohibit, until they have been eliminated, manufacture and use of the designs; suspend construction and assembly operations; submit proposals concerning termination of financing for those operations; bring to administrative responsibility executive personnel and other staffs at enterprises, institutions, and organizations, and citizens guilty of violation of the law-required fire safety rules, failure to comply with the prescriptions and orders by the state fire safety supervision authorities, use of fire machinery and fire-fighting devices for strange purposes; apply penalty sanctions to enterprises, institutions, and organizations, for violation of the law-required fire safety rules, and failure to comply with the prescriptions and orders by the state fire safety supervision authorities. Executive personnel at the state fire safety supervision authorities shall assume responsibility for inadequate fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them. For damage inflicted to legal entities, private individuals, and citizens as a result of sanctions stipulated in clauses 2) and 3) herein, the state fire safety supervision authorities and their executive personnel shall bear no responsibility. Study of Fire Safety Rules Schools of secondary and professional education, institutes of higher learning, personnel qualifications upgrading and retraining institutions shall organize studies of fire safety rules at work and at home, as well as practicing actions in case of fire. Preschool institutions shall provide education aimed at prevention of fires from children's frolicking with fire, and inculcation of practical attitude to the national resources. Local bodies of the state executive power, bodies of the local and regional self-government, and housing authorities in residential areas, shall be obligated to organize studies of fire safety rules in everyday activities and in public places. All employees, at the moment when they are hired and later on, at the place of their work, shall attend annual briefings on fire safety, in accordance with the Standard Provisions, approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Persons employed for jobs connected with increased risk of fires shall attend special training by the fire safety techniques minimum. Employees engaged in operations with increased risk of fires shall take annual examinations of knowledge of the respective normative acts on fire safety, and executive personnel, prior to fulfillment of their job responsibilities and later, one time every three years, shall attend studies and take examinations of knowledge of the fire safety issues. The list of positions and the procedures for organizing the studies shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Admission to work of persons who did not pass the studies, briefing, and examination of knowledge on fire safety issues shall be prohibited. The curricula on fire safety issues shall be agreed to by the state fire safety supervision bodies. Agreement of Regulatory Documents, Documents on Technical Norms, and Designing Documents Standards, technical conditions, other documents on technical norms for fire-hazardous technological processes and products shall specify fire safety requirements and be approved by the state fire safety supervision bodies. Design decisions outside norms and rules shall also be subject to approval. Fire safety requirements contained in internal industrial regulatory acts shall not be in contradiction with the national standards, norms and rules. Observance of Fire Safety Requirements at Designing, Construction, and Rehabilitation of Industrial and Other Facilities Industrial, residential and other buildings and structures, equipment, vehicles, that are put into operation after completion of construction or rehabilitation or technical refurbishment, as well as technological processes and products must comply with the requirements stipulated by regulatory acts on fire safety. Construction, rehabilitation, technical refurbishment of industrial and other facilities, implementation of new technologies, manufacture of inflammable products without prior expert examination of designing and other documents for compliance with fire safety requirements, shall be prohibited. Financing for those operations may only be provided upon receipt of positive results of such expert examination. Commissioning of new and rehabilitated industrial, residential, and other objects, implementation of new technologies, launching of mass production of new fire-hazardous machinery, mechanisms, equipment and products, lease of any premises without permission of the state fire safety supervision authorities, shall be prohibited. Design organizations shall be obligated to exercise the developer supervision over compliance with the design decisions on fire safety at construction, rehabilitation, technical refurbishment, and operation of the facilities they have designed. Machines, mechanisms, equipment, vehicles, technological processes to be commissioned, as well as products the standards for which specify fire safety requirements, must have a certificate attesting to safety of their utilization, to be issued by the approved standard procedure. Newly established enterprises shall begin their activities upon receipt of a permit from the state fire safety supervision authorities. Expert examination of designs for fire safety, and issuance of permits for start of operation by an enterprise, shall be done by the state fire safety supervision authorities, following the procedures approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Those authorities shall also participate in commissioning of the facilities. Machinery, mechanisms, equipment, vehicles, technological equipment, shall be put into operation only provided they meet the fire safety requirements specified in the regulatory acts effective in Ukraine. Materials and substances that do not have data on their fire safety may not be used in construction and production of materials. Designing, rehabilitation, technical refurbishment and construction of objects, performed by foreign companies, shall be in compliance with the effective regulatory acts in effect in Ukraine. Manufacture of Fire-Fighting Machinery and Fire Prevention Devices Manufacture of fire-fighting machinery and fire prevention devices, rendering of services and performance of work of fire-fighting purposes, shall be executed by enterprises, institutions, organizations, and private individuals which/who acquired the special permit (license), issued following the procedures approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. All types of fire-fighting machinery and fire prevention devices that are applied for fire prevention and extinguishing, must have the state quality certificate. The procedures for obtaining those quality certificates and their term of validity shall be defined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Organization of Scientific Research on Issues of Fire Safety Fundamental and applied scientific research on the issues of fire safety shall be conducted by the Ukrainian Research Institute of Fire Safety under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as well as by other scientific research and engineering design institutions and educational institutes in Ukraine. Accounting of Fires In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On the State Statistics", a single register of fires and their consequences shall be maintained in Ukraine. Ministries and other central bodies of the state executive power, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, shall be obligated to maintain the record of fires breaking out at facilities that they own or manage, to analyze their reasons and use preventive measures. Goals and Objectives of Fire Protection Forces Fire protection forces shall be established for the purpose of protecting life and health of citizens, and of private, collective, and state property from fires, and for maintaining due level of fire safety and objects and in cities and towns. The principal goals of fire protection forces shall be as follows: exercising control over observance of fire prevention requirements; preventing fires and casualties at those; extinguishing fires, rescuing people and rendering assistance in elimination of consequences of accidents, catastrophes, and natural calamities. Engagement of fire protection forces for fulfilling tasks that are not specified in the present Law shall be prohibited. Types of Fire Protection Forces Fire protection forces are subdivided into the national, departmental, rural, and voluntary. The State Fire Protection Force The state fire protection force shall be formed on the basis of the existing paramilitary and professional fire protection forces within the bodies of internal affairs of Ukraine, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and shall be in charge of the state fire safety supervision. The state fire protection force shall be formed in cities and towns, at industrial and other facilities regardless of their ownership form, following the procedures approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The state fire protection force shall be formed of units, administrative staffs, and auxiliary services, as well as fire-fighting techniques training facilities and scientific research institutions under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The state fire protection force shall simultaneously be an independent fire-fighting service within the civil defense system, as well as a service in charge of mobilization activities, within the scope of its competence. Personnel of the State fire protection force Personnel of the state fire protection force shall consist of officers and men. Personnel are provided with uniforms, the standard of which shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for personnel of the internal service units. Respective insignia shall also be extended to personnel. Personnel of the units on duty for active engagement at fires shall be provided with the special outfits, tackle and gear, and means of individual protection. Men and officers shall be conferred, in accordance with the effective legislation, internal service ranks. Usage of the special ranks, insignia, and uniforms of the fire protection forces by persons who are not employed there, shall entail responsibility in accordance with the effective legislation Rights and Responsibilities of Personnel of the State fire protection force The commanding personnel of the state fire protection force represent bodies of executive power, and their legitimate demands shall be obligatory for fulfillment by all officials and citizens. Personnel (men and officers, as well as employees) of the state fire protection force shall in line of duty be governed by the effective legislation of Ukraine, and shall only be subordinate to their direct superiors. Nobody except authorized officials may interfere into legitimate actions by am employee of the state fire protection force. Executive personnel of the state fire protection force shall be obligated: within the scope of their competence, to use powers vested in them in order to prevent and terminate case of law infringements in the fire safety sphere, and apply resources and means for extinguishing fires and rescuing people; to take part in the implementation of policy regarding improvement and introduction of equipment, systems and means of fire protection as well as forms and methods of fire prevention; to promote public awareness and initiative on matters of fire fighting and improvement of fire safety legislation; and to keep confidential all government and commercial information that becomes available to them in line of duty. In locating a fire off duty, men and officers of the state fire protection force shall be obligated to inform the fire fighting service about it and take upon them, until the arrival of fire fighters, leadership in the extinguishing of the fire and rescuing of people as well as administering first medical aid to the injured. In carrying out their duties connected with fire prevention and fire fighting, personnel of the state fire protection force shall be entitled to free use of all types of public transport (urban, suburban and local), except taxi cabs. For improper carrying out of their duties, personnel of the state fire protection force shall be accountable according to procedure established by legislation in force. Taking into Service with the State Fire Protection Force All citizens aged eighteen or more and capable of carrying out their duties according to their ability, education and health may be taken into service with the state fire protection force on a contractual basis. Citizens eligible for draft into the armed forces shall not be taken into service with the state fire protection force except for fire-fighting training centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which enrolls young people under draft age. Men and officers of the state fire protection force shall take an oath of allegiance as employees of the bodies of internal affairs. Persons previously sentenced for committing a crime may not be taken into said service. Service with the State Fire Protection Force Procedure and conditions of service with the state fire protection force shall be governed by the Provisions on Service in Bodies in Charge of Internal Affairs as approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. For the time of their service, persons taken into service with the state fire protection force and students and cadets of fire fighting training centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine shall be taken off the personnel records of the armed forces and put on the personnel records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Training at fire fighting training centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine shall be regarded as service in the armed forces. Personnel of the state fire protection service shall be entitled to creating their trade unions according to established procedure. Men and officers, as well as other employees of the state fire protection service shall be prohibited from taking membership with any political parties or movements and organizing and/or taking part in strikes. Labor relations of employees who have entered into a work agreement with the state fire protection force shall be governed by labor legislation. Remuneration of Personnel of the State Fire Protection Force Conditions of remuneration of labor of the personnel of the state fire protection force shall be in keeping with those of men and officers of bodies in charge of internal affairs as established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, provide a sufficient material basis for manning the state fire protection force with adequate personnel, distinguish the nature and conditions of various types of work, stimulate achievement in service activity, and compensate for its physical and intellectual expenses. Local bodies of the government and bodies of local and regional self-government may provide additional payments to personnel of the state fire protection force over and above those instituted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Social Protection of Personnel of the State Fire Protection Force The State guarantees social protection to personnel of the state fire protection force. Personnel of the state fire protection force shall be entitled to privileges in the distribution of housing, installation of home telephones and placement of children in preschool day-care centers. Housing shall be provided to men and officers of the state fire protection force on a priority basis by local bodies of the government, bodies of local and regional self-government and relevant ministries and agencies. Service housing may be provided to such executives of the state fire protection force as are listed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Personnel of the state fire protection force involved in fire protection of industrial and other facilities shall be entitled to labor and social privileges instituted for personnel of those facilities. Personnel of the state fire protection force and their dependents shall be entitled to a 50-percent reduction in payments for housing, communal services and heating fuel. Men and officers of the state fire protection service discharged because of old age, illness or expiry of tenure, shall be entitled to keeping their privileges under this law. Men and officers of the state fire protection force shall be entitled to receiving loans for individual and cooperative housing construction to be paid back in installments during 20 years, 50 percent of the loan being paid from relevant funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the budgets of local and regional self-governments. Local bodies of the government may sell housing to men and officers of the state fire protection force on a privileged basis at an up to 50 percent cost reduction. A 40-hour work week shall be established for employees of the state fire protection force. If required, men and officers shall fulfill their service duties after hours as well as on days-off and holidays. Remuneration for after hours and night work as well as work on days-off and holidays shall be in keeping with legislation in force. Local bodies of the government and bodies of local and regional self-government may also institute other social protection guarantees than provided for herein, for employees of the state fire protection force. Social protection of employees working for the state fire protection force on a contractual basis shall be provided on a general basis in accordance with labor legislation. State Insurance and Damage Compensation in Case of Death or Maim of Personnel of the State Fire Protection Force Men and officers of the state fire protection force shall be subject to mandatory personal insurance by the state against death or wound (concussion, injury or maim), or illness incurred during their term of service for the sum of ten years' remuneration at the last position they occupied. All other employees of the state fire protection force who due to conditions of their labor are immediately involved in fire fighting shall also be subject to mandatory personal insurance by the state. Positions in question are determined according to procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Procedure and terms of mandatory personal insurance by the state of men and officers of the state fire protection force shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The family of an insured dead employee of the state fire protection force shall be entitled to receive housing in due order. The family of the dead shall be given housing in its private ownership on a priority basis within three months from the death of the state fire protection force employee. Until they come of age, children of the dead, as well as his/her disabled dependents shall keep their privileges regarding payments for housing, communal services and heating fuel. In case of death or maim of persons who took part in fire fighting, they or their family members shall be given financial assistance in amounts established for employees of bodies of internal affairs. Such payments shall be made at the expense of the enterprise, establishment or organization where that person worked or works, or at the expense of the budget of bodies of local or regional self-government. Financial and Material/Technical Base of the State Fire Protection Force Financial and material/technical base of the state fire protection force as well as construction of its facilities and installations shall be provided at the expense of the state budget and those of local and regional self-governments, funds transferred by industrial and other facilities on the basis of agreements, deductions from payments for property insurance to finance preventive measures, and donations by legal entities and individuals. The state fire protection force shall be provided with specialized machinery, equipment, clothes, means of communication and individual protection suits according to procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Control over the Activity of the State Fire Protection Force Control over the activity of the state fire protection force shall be exercised by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and, to the extent of its competence, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, local bodies of the government, bodies of local and regional self-government and, at enterprises protected by the state fire protection force, additionally by the management of those enterprises. Departmental Fire Protection Forces At facilities under the jurisdiction of such ministries and other central government bodies as may be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, departmental fire protection (fire protection/guard) units shall be organized. They shall pursue their activity in accordance with statutes agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Departmental fire protection units having their own fire fighting vehicles shall be called to take part in fire fighting according to procedure established by the state fire protection force. In matters of personnel training and organization of fire fighting, these units shall guide themselves by the normative acts effective for the state fire protection force. Rural Fire Protection Units In those rural populated localities where there are no units of the state fire protection force, local state administration bodies shall organize fire brigades in accordance with the relevant provision approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Financial and material/technical base of rural fire brigades shall be provided at the expense of local budget funds, funds transferred by enterprises, establishments and organizations located in the relevant district, in amount of 0.1 percent of principal and turnover funds and 3 percent of the funds allocated for new construction, deductions from payments for property insurance to finance preventive measures, and donations by legal entities and individuals. Voluntary Fire Protection For the purpose of preventing fires and organizing fire fighting at enterprises, establishments and organizations, employees and other citizens may create voluntary fire brigades (teams), provisions on which shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. In schools and children's summer camps, young firefighters teams may be created. They shall act in accordance with the relevant provisions approved by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine as agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Remuneration of Labor of Departmental and Rural Fire Protection Forces and Members of Voluntary Fire Brigades (Teams) The size of remuneration of employees of departmental and rural fire protection forces shall be established by relevant ministries and other bodies of the government and bodies of local and regional self-government in such amount as to compensate their physical and intellectual expenses and ensure required readiness of those units to extinguish fires. Work of members of voluntary fire brigades (teams) during their participation in the liquidation of a fire or consequences of an accident, the carrying out of fire prevention measures as well as training and being on duty shall be paid on the basis of their average monthly wages at the work place. Members of voluntary fire brigades (teams) may be given additional paid leave of up to 10 work days per year, as well as bonuses and valuable gifts. Mandatory Personal insurance of Employees of Departmental and Rural Fire Protection Forces and Members of Voluntary Fire Brigades (Teams) Employees of departmental and rural fire protection forces and members of voluntary fire brigades (teams) shall be subject to mandatory personal insurance by the state against death or wound (concussion, injury or maim), or illness incurred during their term of service for the sum of ten years' remuneration at the last position they occupied (occupy). Employees of departmental fire protection forces and members of voluntary fire brigades (teams) shall be insured at the expense of enterprises, establishments and organizations in which they have been created, and employees of rural fire protection force - at the expense of legal entities maintaining relevant unit(s) of that fire protection force or at the expense of the local budget. Procedure and terms of insurance shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The family of the dead shall be entitled to privileges which he or she enjoyed at their work place. Control over the Activity of Departmental, Rural and Voluntary Fire Protection Forces Control over the activity of departmental, rural and voluntary fire protection forces shall be exercised by relevant ministries and other central government bodies, the management of enterprises, establishments and organizations, state fire protection force bodies, local bodies of the government and bodies of local and regional self-government. Citizens' Associations for Fire Protection In order to unite the efforts of work collectives, fire protection researchers and experts and individual citizens to ensure fire safety, amalgamations, unions, foundations and other voluntary public associations may be created to pursue their activity in accordance with Ukrainian legislation in force. Participation of Insurance Companies in Ensuring Fire Safety Organizations which insure against fires shall be obligated to make deductions from payments for property kinds of insurance for the benefit of governing bodies of the fire protection force for the purpose of preventive fire protection measures. They should envisage providing privileges to insurers in the form of insurance payment reductions for compliance with fire safety requirements as well as reducing the insured sum or refusing to pay such if noncompliance with fire safety requirements was a factor in the emergence of the fire and its consequences. Reductions in insurance payments should also be envisaged for enterprises, establishments and organizations which have their own fire brigades (teams) with fire fighting vehicles. The amount and procedure of deductions from insurance payments to finance preventive fire protection measures shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Fire Fighting Fire protection forces shall extinguish fires free of charge. Units of the state fire protection force maintain an around-the-clock duty, the order of which is determined by the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine. The single telephone number, 01, is allocated by the automated telephony system to dial for the state fire protection force. Units of the state fire protection force shall go for fire fighting purposes to all facilities irrespective of their form of ownership, with the exception of underground installations (barring operating subway stations). At underground installations and in the State Forest Fund territories, fire fighting shall be organized according to the procedure established by the State Committee of Ukraine for Labor Protection and the Ministry of Forestry of Ukraine. In the process of fire fighting, a fire protection force employee shall be entitled to free and unhindered access to all residential, working and other areas and take any measures to rescue people and control and liquidate the fire. All units and services of fire protection forces that are engaged in the process shall be subject to the fire fighting leader. No one except duly authorized fire protection officers may interfere into his actions. At the demand of the fire fighting leader, local bodies of the government, enterprises, establishments and organizations shall provide him free of charge with fire control substances, equipment, fuel and lubricants, human resources, means of communication, etc., and in case of a fire that lasts more than three hours - food and premises for rest and rehabilitation of personnel and other persons engaged in the fire fighting. The fire protection force shall not compensate material losses resulting from damage to property in the process of fire fighting. Irrespective of their departmental jurisdiction, the procedure of fire fighting and engaging fire protection units shall be determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Liability for Violating Fire Safety Rules Executive officers and other employees of enterprises, establishments and organizations and individual citizens guilty of violating fire safety requirements laid down by law, hindering officers of the state fire protection or refusing to comply with their instructions shall be taken to account in accordance with legislation in force. For violation of fire safety requirements laid down by law or noncompliance with instructions of officers of the state fire protection and supervision bodies, enterprises, organizations and establishments may be made liable by executive officers of those bodies to pay a fine. The maximum size of such fine in cases stipulated by the second clause of this article may not exceed two percent of the monthly wages fund of the relevant enterprise, establishment or organization. The size and the procedure of imposing a fine shall be determined by Ukrainian legislation in force. Funds received as a result of fine collection shall be directed to the state budget and used for the development of fire protection and awareness building in regard to fire prevention measures. A decision to impose a fine may be appealed against in a court of law within a month. Failure to pay the fine within a month from the date of final settlement of the dispute shall entail accrual of a penalty in amount of two percent of the sum of the fine for each day of delay. Compensation of Losses Caused by Violation of Fire Safety Legislation In accordance with applicable law, enterprises, establishments, organizations and individuals shall compensate losses they have caused by violating fire safety requirements. Executive officers and other employees guilty of inflicting losses on an enterprise, establishment or organization in connection with the need to repay the damage, shall incur liability according to established procedure. Procedure for Dispute Resolution Disputes on fire safety matters shall be resolved by bodies of executive power, local and regional self-government bodies and bodies of the state fire protection force in keeping with their respective competence, or by a court of law or arbitration. Disputes on application of fire protection requirements, standards, norms and rules shall be resolved by the bodies which approved those standards, norms and rules together with bodies of the state fire protection force. Matters connected with the tearing down, relocating or re-designing of structures erected in violation of fire safety requirements shall be decided by local bodies of executive power, local and regional self-government bodies, or a court of law or arbitration. Public Control Over Compliance with Legislation on Fire Safety Within the scope of their competence, voluntary fire brigades (teams) and citizens' associations for fire protection shall exercise public control over compliance with legislation on fire safety. Oversight of Lawfulness in Activity of Fire Protection Forces Prosecutor General of Ukraine and prosecutors subordinate to him shall exercise oversight of lawfulness in the activity of fire protection forces. Representation The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine shall represent [the State] on fire safety matters in relevant international organizations, committees and association. International Agreements If an international agreement of Ukraine lays down other rules than those stipulated by this Law, the rules of the international agreement shall govern. Kravchuk President of Ukraine City of Kiev, December 17, 1993 #3745-XII