Notice of Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and Beijing Fire and Rescue Corps on Issuing the “Implementation Plan on Reforming the Review and Acceptance of Fire Protection Design for Existing Buildings in Beijing during Urban Renewal”
JJF [2021] No. 386
To whom this may concern,
In order to streamline administrative services and optimize the business environment, refine the review and acceptance of fire safety design for existing buildings, bring convenient services to the public, stimulate market vitality and advance Beijing’s urban renewal, the Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps have jointly formulated the “Implementation Plan on Reforming the Review and Acceptance of Fire Protection Design for Existing Buildings in Beijing during Urban Renewal”(the “Implementation Plan”). The implementation plan has been deliberated and adopted by the 22nd meeting of the Beijing Municipal Committee on Comprehensively Deepening Reform and the 130th executive meeting of the municipal government. Now the Implementation Plan is printed and circulated for your compliance.
Implementation Plan on Reforming the Review and Acceptance of Fire Protection Design for Existing Buildings in Beijing during Urban Renewal
In order to streamline administrative services and optimize the business environment, refine the review and acceptance of fire safety design for existing buildings in the city, bring convenient services to the public, stimulate market vitality and advance Beijing’s urban renewal, this Implementation Plan is formulated according to the Interim Provisions on the Management of Fire Protection Design Review and Acceptance of Construction Projects, the Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Piloting Fire Protection Design Review and Acceptance for Renovation of Existing Buildings (JBKH [2021] No. 164), the Guiding Opinions of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government on the Implementation of Urban Renewal Actions (JZF [2021] No. 10) and relevant policy documents and provisions while taking into consideration the actual situation of the city.
I. General Requirements
This Implementation Plan follows the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era and the spirit of the Second through Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 19th CPC National Congress itself. It aims to balance development and safety by following a problem-oriented approach, highlighting the best standards and strengthening the bottom-line thinking. Leveraging on the pilot opportunity of the city in reforming review and acceptance of fire protection design for renovation of existing buildings, this Implementation Plan will focus on the concerns of market entities, improve the standards system, refine the approval process for renovation projects, put in practice category-based regulation while enhancing fire protection, effectively advance the reform of fire protection design review and acceptance for renovated buildings, and build a review and acceptance mechanism in line with Beijing’s urban renewal actions.
II. Improve Fire Design Standards System
(i) Improve fire safety design standards for the renovation of existing buildings. Establish a tracking and evaluation mechanism that supports dynamic adjustment, and optimize the “Fire Protection Design Guidelines for Renovation of Existing Buildings in Beijing (trial version)”. Formulate case-based fire safety design guidelines for different types of renovation needs such as old buildings, commercial facilities, industrial buildings (structures) and equipment facilities, and bungalows (courtyards) in the core area of the capital city, improve scenario-based services and provide technical reference and guidelines for market entities carrying out renovation projects (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(ii) Practice category-based fire safety design reviews. Encourage construction units to carry out comprehensive fire safety assessment before the renovation while considering building safety, technical feasibility and engineering economy, and ensure that the renovation is technically feasible. Establish the expert evaluation mechanism, for renovation projects with changes in use functions or increased fire hazards where it’s difficult to comply with existing fire safety standards, a performance-based fire safety design can be adopted after evaluated and verified by experts, in which case the evaluation result shall be used as the reference for fire safety design reviews. Practice the architect-centered accountability system, for renovation projects that do not change the use function or increase the fire risk, the overall improvement of fire safety is encouraged; where it’s difficult to upgrade fire safety design, the design shall be no less than the existing technical standard of fire prevention at the time of completion, and the registered architect shall sign the project and be held accountable in the case of fire incidents. (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
III. Optimize Fire Design Review and Approval
(iii) Clearly define the confirmation procedures for changes in use function. Put planning in the first place and optimize the positive/negative lists for changes in use function of existing buildings. Strengthen the coordination between administrative approval and engineering design approval for fire safety. Establish a fast and simple fire safety design review and approval mechanism for renovation projects well aligned with the positive list and the city’s urban planning positions. (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(iv) Simplify fire safety review and approval for small and micro-renovation projects. Notify small and micro-renovation projects of fire safety inspections and request them to make safety commitment (the “notification + commitment” mechanism). Apart from venues accommodating inflammable and explosive dangerous goods, renovation projects with a construction area less than 300 square meters and renovation projects where an advance construction permit is not legally required will no longer be subject to fire safety reviews or approvals, and will transition to inspections during and after the renovation project. Develop methods for the “notification + commitment” mechanism for small and micro-renovation projects, the implementation unit of the project shall be held accountable for fire safety-related incidents. Enhance the accountability of all stakeholders of the renovation project, and strengthen regulation during and after the project. Establish an accountability system centering on professionals for small and micro-renovation projects and align such system to the overall reform direction of fire safety review and approval. (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(v) Pilot the “notification + commitment” mechanism for fire safety review and acceptance of renovation project for shopping malls with an area of less than 5,000 square meters. The fire safety acceptance system featuring “filings, notification, commitment and inspections” shall be piloted. Apart from venues with high fire risks such as Category-I high rises and buildings with indoor facilities for public entertainment, children and senior citizens, renovation projects of shopping malls with a decoration area less than 5,000 square meters must comply with relevant requirements and submit due materials. Formulate methods for during- and post-renovation regulations, and ensure that regulatory responsibilities are fulfilled. Encourage pilot programs, and scale up best practices once they are proven feasible. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(vi) Practice phased inspection and acceptance of fire safety designs. For renovation projects under one planning permit and consisting of multiple single buildings (subject to the requirements stipulated by the Uniform Quality Acceptance Standards for Engineering Projects (GB50300)), the construction unit can apply for phased inspection and acceptance for the design scheme and fire control functions of public fire-fighting facilities such as fire-fighting driveways, operation site for fire-fighting vehicles, elevated fire-control water tanks, fire-fighting pools, fire-fighting pump rooms, fire-fighting control rooms, outdoor fire hydrant systems, power substation and distribution rooms, etc. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(vii) Implement the “design drawing-based acceptance” system. Design documents will no longer be reviewed during the acceptance stage. Fire safety acceptance and filing for renovation projects shall be conducted according to the reviewed-as-qualified fire safety design document, the fire safety review opinion and the construction drawing review opinion. Establish an expert evaluation system for fire-safety inspections of renovation projects on existing buildings with fire-control designs, and those categorized as key projects of the city or those representative projects. (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
IV. Integrate Regulation over Fire Safety and Engineering Quality
(viii) Move fire-safety regulations to the front. Include the sub-parts and sub-projects of fire protection into the routine inspection over engineering quality, and incorporate fire protection supervision into the existing system for engineering quality guarantee. Enhance the accountability of all parties involved in the construction, leverage intelligent regulatory tools such as the “Internet +” technology, adopt safety quality assessment, and ensure that all problems are identified and rectified in a timely manner. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(ix) Practice differentiated spot checks for on-site assessment. Improve the on-site assessment criteria for fire safety acceptance of existing buildings, specify the on-site assessment sampling items and inspection methods; make a distinction between key items, major items and general items, and conduct differentiated sampling checks. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(x) Ensure that the acceptance work can be completed with only one visit. Conduct on-site inspection for renovation projects which covers the form of organization, acceptance procedures, fire inspection and acceptance, and make sure that the overall acceptance work can be completed with only one visit to the site of the renovation project. (Responsible units: Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and relevant divisions at the district level)
V. Improve the Regulatory Management System
(xi) Establish a “risk alert” management mechanism. Standardize the practice of agencies undertaking inspections over fire protection facilities. Where such agencies produce false reports, contract illegal projects or fail to comply with mandatory technical standards of fire protection in the process of inspection and acceptance, the agencies shall be subject to the penalties of fire-control and rescue authorities. In the meantime, the illegitimate behaviors of the agency shall be filed on the credibility information regulatory platform of Beijing’s construction market, and the agency shall also receive a risk warning. (Responsible units: Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(xii) Establish a mechanism for operational collaboration between fire prevention and fire control. Experts reviews for fire-control functional design shall be participated by representatives from the Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, who shall make comments and suggestions related to engineering acceptance and fire safety. For the on-site assessment of fire acceptance efforts of special construction projects, key projects, large chemical projects and representative renovation projects, the local fire rescue departments can get involved in testing fire lanes, fire truck ascent operation sites, fire hydrant systems, safe evacuation and other fire-fighting and rescue functions. (Responsible units: Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, and relevant divisions at the district level)
(xiii) Strengthen fire safety supervision during the use phase. Fire rescue departments shall strengthen the daily fire safety supervision and inspection of renovation project after it is put into use; establish a graded management system, conduct regular inspections, and eliminate fire hazards in a timely manner. Where a fire rescue department identifies illegitimate or substandard designs by engineering, design or construction agencies, the violation shall be transferred to the Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources and Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for punishment. (Responsible units: Municipal Fire and Rescue Corps, Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and relevant divisions at the district level)
VI. Strengthen Implementation
(xiv) Strengthen departmental linkage. Enhance departmental synergy and cooperation, improve joint consultation, information sharing, problem feedback, joint punishment and other working mechanisms. Conduct joint meetings on a regular basis to study countermeasures and form regulatory synergy.
(xv) Strengthen technical support. Give full play to the role of third-party technical tools and encourage the districts to hire third-party technical service agencies or experts to participate in the review and acceptance of fire protection design for renovation of existing buildings, so as to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of quality supervision.
(xvi) Enhance publicity and guidance. All districts and departments should summarize the reform practices and experiences in a timely manner, take the initiative to release and interpret the reform policies, respond to social concerns in a timely manner, take the initiative to engage in policy consultation and technical guidance, and enable enterprises and the public to properly interpret these policies.
