Statute Details
- Title: Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2020
- Act Code: FSA1993-S768-2020
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Fire Safety Act (Cap. 109A), specifically s 22(1)
- Enacting Minister: Minister for Home Affairs
- Date made: 24 August 2020
- Commencement: 14 September 2020
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key provisions in the extract: Sections 1–3 and the Schedule (Part 2)
- Cancellation: Cancels Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2013 (G.N. No. S 537/2013)
- Latest amendments shown in the timeline: S 699/2025, S 609/2025, S 486/2025, S 401/2025, S 509/2023, S 496/2023
What Is This Legislation About?
The Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2020 is a subsidiary legislative instrument made under the Fire Safety Act (Cap. 109A). In practical terms, it identifies which buildings and premises are treated as “premises subject to section 38” of the Fire Safety Act. Those premises then become subject to the statutory fire safety management and emergency response obligations that flow from section 38.
In plain language, the Notification is about ensuring that certain types of buildings have (i) a Fire Safety Manager and (ii) a Company Emergency Response Team (often abbreviated in practice as CERT). These roles are intended to strengthen on-site fire safety governance and improve readiness for emergency response, including coordination, training, and operational preparedness.
Although the Notification itself is relatively short in its enacting provisions, its legal effect is significant because it “switches on” the section 38 regime for the premises listed in the Schedule. The Schedule is therefore the operational heart of the instrument: it determines the categories of buildings that must comply.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) provides the formal identity of the Notification and confirms that it comes into operation on 14 September 2020. This matters for compliance planning, because obligations under the Fire Safety Act may depend on when the premises become specified.
Section 2 (Application) is the core provision. Under section 2(1), every building in Part 2 of the Schedule is specified to be “premises subject to section 38 of the Act”. The specification is not necessarily immediate upon the Notification’s commencement date; instead, it is tied to a building’s development milestone. The Notification states that the specification applies with effect from the date a certificate of statutory completion or temporary occupation permit is issued for the building, whichever is earlier.
This “earlier of” formulation is legally important. It means that the compliance clock starts when the building is permitted for occupation or is deemed complete for statutory purposes—whichever happens first. For practitioners, this affects when to advise clients to put in place the Fire Safety Manager and CERT arrangements, and when to expect regulatory scrutiny.
Section 2(2) clarifies interpretive points by importing definitions from the Building Control Act 1989. Specifically, it provides that “certificate of statutory completion” and “temporary occupation permit” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Building Control Act. This cross-referencing reduces ambiguity and ensures consistent use of building control terminology across regulatory regimes.
Section 3 (Cancellation) cancels the earlier Notification made in 2013: Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2013 (G.N. No. S 537/2013). Cancellation is not merely administrative. It indicates that the 2020 Notification is the updated legal instrument governing which premises are subject to section 38, and it prevents reliance on the superseded 2013 categories.
The Schedule (Part 2) is referenced but not reproduced in the extract you provided. However, the Schedule is where the legal categories of buildings are listed. Since section 2(1) applies to “every building in Part 2 of the Schedule”, the Schedule effectively determines the scope of the Notification. In practice, counsel and compliance teams must consult the Schedule to confirm whether a particular building type, use, or classification falls within Part 2.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Notification is structured in a conventional subsidiary-legislation format:
(1) Enacting formula and short title establish the instrument and its legal basis under the Fire Safety Act.
(2) Sections 1–3 cover citation/commencement, application, and cancellation of the earlier 2013 Notification.
(3) The Schedule contains the substantive listing of buildings. The extract indicates that the relevant scope is “Part 2 of the Schedule”. Therefore, the Schedule is the key compliance reference point.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the Notification should be read together with section 38 of the Fire Safety Act, because the Notification does not itself describe the Fire Safety Manager and CERT duties. Instead, it designates the premises to which those duties apply.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Notification applies to buildings that fall within Part 2 of the Schedule. It is not framed as a general obligation on “all occupiers” or “all companies” in Singapore; rather, it targets specific premises categories. Once a building is within the Schedule, the Notification specifies that it is a premises subject to section 38 of the Fire Safety Act.
In terms of real-world compliance, the obligations triggered by section 38 typically affect building owners, occupiers, and/or responsible persons who must ensure that the required fire safety management and emergency response arrangements are in place. The Notification’s “trigger date” (certificate of statutory completion or temporary occupation permit, whichever is earlier) means that the relevant parties must be ready to comply from the point the building becomes legally occupiable or complete for statutory purposes.
Because the Notification is amended multiple times (as shown by the timeline entries), practitioners should also verify the current version as at the relevant compliance date for their building. A building’s classification may change if the Schedule is amended.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Notification is important because it operationalises a key part of Singapore’s fire safety regulatory framework: it designates which premises must comply with the section 38 regime. Even though the Notification itself is short, its effect is to impose concrete organisational and preparedness requirements on specified buildings.
For lawyers advising building owners, developers, facility managers, and corporate occupiers, the Notification is a compliance “gatekeeper”. It determines when the section 38 obligations begin (based on statutory completion/temporary occupation permit) and which buildings are caught by the regime (based on the Schedule’s Part 2 categories). This affects contractual arrangements (e.g., who bears the cost of appointing a Fire Safety Manager, who is responsible for CERT staffing and training, and how responsibilities are allocated between developers, owners, and tenants).
From an enforcement perspective, the Notification helps regulators identify the premises that should have the required fire safety governance structures. If a building is within Part 2 of the Schedule but the required roles and emergency response arrangements are not in place from the trigger date, that may expose the responsible parties to regulatory action under the Fire Safety Act framework.
Finally, the cancellation of the 2013 Notification and the subsequent amendments underscore that the regulatory scope can evolve. Practitioners should treat the Schedule as a living compliance document and routinely check for amendments relevant to the building’s category and timeline.
Related Legislation
- Fire Safety Act (Cap. 109A) — in particular s 22(1) (power to make the Notification) and s 38 (the substantive regime for premises specified by the Notification)
- Building Control Act 1989 — s 2(1) definitions of “certificate of statutory completion” and “temporary occupation permit”
- Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2013 — cancelled by this Notification
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Fire Safety (Premises Requiring Fire Safety Manager and Company Emergency Response Team) Notification 2020 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.