In 2018, a group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) submitted a pilot project proposal on fire safety to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). This project, tabled as an amendment to the EU 2019 budget, aimed to mend the data gaps in fire statistics and pave the way for a pan-European fire safety awareness campaign. [1]

Led by Danish MEP, Bendt Bendtsen, from the European People’s Party (EPP) and supported by 23 other MEPs across various political groups (EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE and the Greens),[2] the proposal was adopted in September 2018 providing funding for an EU-wide analysis and assessment of available fire safety statistics.

In November 2019, the European Commission launched a public tender which read: ‘The aim of the contract is to map the terminology used and the data collected by the EU Member States regarding fire events and to propose a common terminology and a method to collect the necessary data in each EU Member State with a view to obtaining meaningful data sets (based on standardised terms and definitions). This, in turn, would allow for knowledge-based decisions regarding fire safety at MS and at EU level regarding buildings fires (i.e. houses, apartment blocks, office buildings, commercial buildings, hospitals, schools and kindergartens, elderly homes, etc.). The pilot project could lead to a potential subsequent preparatory action to launch EU-level actions and initiatives to support Member States' efforts for fire safety and fire prevention, including in their building renovation efforts, thereby supporting safety for Europeans as well as sustainable growth and job creation in Europe.’

This project and its results were intended to allow the EU and other national governments to better identify the most effective fire safety measures.

The Modern Building Alliance supported this work from inception to delivery

The work of the Modern Building Alliance has been instrumental in creating cross party support in the ITRE Committee and beyond, which led to the EU pilot project. A contract to complete the project was eventually awarded in early 2020 to a consortium composed of Efectis, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM), the Centre for Fire Statistics of CTIF (CFS-CTIF), the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations Europe (CFPA-Europe), the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI), Lund University, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the University of Edinburgh, The European Fire Safety Alliance (EuroFSA) and the Vereinigung zur Förderung des Deutschen Brandschutzes (VFDB).

The project, called EUFireStat, started during the summer of 2020 and lasted 17 months.

Our organisation fully supported the pilot project, which strengthens the EU’s commitment to fire safety, and was a member of its external advisory board. Additionally, the pilot project was complemented and supported by the Fire Information Exchange Platform (FIEP), to which the Modern Building Alliance also contributes.

The pilot project outcome and the need for a follow up

The EUFireStat project was completed, and the final report was published in October 2022. It identified data collection difficulties and interpretation differences.  But the most important outcome of the pilot project is a suggested data collection method for European fire statistics, together with common terminology.

It notably recommended that “there should be a structure that can act at a European level that collects national fire statistics on an annual basis, with the necessary resources to store, analyse and publish data from the various countries. Such a structure will still need to be created or identified in follow-up stages of this project”.

Secondly, it recommends that the definitions and methodologies proposed in the project undergo a standardisation process via an official standardisation body which would provide a recognised basis and facilitate its dissemination to all EU Members States or even internationally.

The Modern Building Alliance advocates building upon this project by including fire safety statistics within the mandatory Eurostat programme to help create a clear picture on fire fatalities, injuries and damage in EU countries.

Next step: a preparatory action

In 2023, the European Fire Safety Alliance and its supporters went back to the Parliament and called for a follow up under the Preparatory Action format. Led by MEP Sean Kelly and politically supported by MEPs Carlos Zorrinho, Ciarán Cuffe, Marisa Matias, Maria Da Graça Carvalho, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Morten Helveg Petersen, Tsvetelina Penkova and Jan Olbrycht, a budget of 1.5M€ for preparatory action was approved by the Parliament. It will aim to test the implementation of the methodology developed by the EUFirestat project.

A successful pilot project followed by a preparatory action are designed to prepare new EU policies, legislation, or programmes. This brings the fire safety statistics closer to automatic collection by Eurostat. The Preparatory Action should start in 2024 and last for 2 years, under the supervision of DG GROW.

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[1] https://www.europeanfiresafetyalliance.org/publications/fatal-residential-fires-in-europe/

[2] Access the full text of the amendment following this link (upload on website)

[3] Full list of supporting MEPs: Bendt Bendtsen (DK, EPP), Karl-Heinz Florenz (DE, EPP), Peter Liese (DE, EPP), Jiří Pospíšil (CZ, EPP), Ivo Belet (BE, EPP), Seán Kelly (IE, ALDE), Luděk, Niedermayer (CZ, EPP), Siegfried Mureşan (RO, EPP), Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (FI, S&D), Theresa Griffin (UK, S&D), Martina Werner (DE, S&D), Jude Kirton-Darling (UK, S&D), Clare Moody (UK, S&D), Pavel Poc (CZ, S&D), Anneleen Van Bossuyt (BE, ECR), Morten Helveg Petersen (DK, ALDE), Anneli Jäätteenmäki (FI, ALDE), Florent Marcellesi (ES, Greens/EFA), Jakop Dalunde (SE, Greens/EFA), Bart Staes (BE, Greens/EFA), Benedek Jávor (HU, Greens/EFA), Keith Taylor (UK, Greens/EFA), Jean Lambert (UK, Greens/EFA), Reinhard Bütikofer (DE, Greens/EFA) and Margrete Auken (DK, Greens/EFA).