Outline of Measures for Fire
Prevention and Safety under the Laws
and Regulations of Fire Fighting

Materials created by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency were translated by the International Fire Service Information Center1

Fire in Japan
Total number of buildings for businesspurposes and apartment houses:
Of these, buildings that are required
to install a sprinkler system :about 4 million
about 67,000

Annual number of fires: about 48,000 cases 1,625 fatalities
Of these, building fires: about 25,000 cases
Of these, residential fires: about 14,000 cases

1,254 fatalities
1,100 fatalities

Leading cause of death from building fires(1) CO poisoning/suffocation (38.2%) (2) Burns (37.6%)
Leading causes for building fires(1) Cooking utensils (14.6%) (2) Cigarettes (10.0%)(3) Arson (9.0%)(4) Heating devices (5.7%)(5) Suspicion of arson (5.3%)

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Trend in the Number of Fires and Fatalities
CasePeople

Number of fires

03

04

Number of deaths

05

06

07

08

09

1011

1213 (Year)3

Number of Building Fires by Purpose of theBuilding Where the Fire Originated
Others4,290 cases (17.1%)
Shops for thesale of goods
374 cases (1.5%)

Year 2013

Warehouses
558 cases (2.2%)
Restaurants
588 cases (2.3%)

Business offices
814 cases (3.2%)

Conventional homes
8,892 cases (35.5%)

Number ofbuilding
fires 25,053
cases

Factories andworkshops
1,750 cases (7.0%)

Residences
13,621 cases(54.4%)

Multipurpose buildings
3,058 cases (12.2%)
Dwelling houses
combined withother uses
626 cases (2.5%)

Apartment houses
4,103 cases (16.4%)

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Division of National Government Roles regarding
Measures for Fire Prevention and Building Safety
Building structure(Fire prevention section, making interior decoration
non-combustible, stairs, and others)

Fire fighting equipment (including fire hydrantsand sprinklers)
Fire control (including fire management, maintenanceof equipment, and training)

Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure,
Transport andTourism(BuildingStandards Act)

Fire and Disaster
Management
Agency of the
Ministry of Internal
Affairs andCommunications(Fire Services Act)

5Measures for Fire Prevention and Safety under the Laws
and Regulations of Fire Fighting (Overview）
Prevention of fires♦Appointment of a fire prevention management chief♦Implementation of fire fighting and evacuation drills♦Fire management♦Compilation of fire prevention plans♦Implementation of inspection of facilities to be protected from fire
♦Utilization of fire prevention goods

Sensing/detecting/notifying

Fire fighting in the initial stage♦Automatic fire detection system(Automatically notify the outbreak of a fire to inside thebuilding)♦Fire alarms for a short circuit(Notify a short circuit via alarms)♦Fire extinguisher♦Indoor fire hydrants♦Sprinkler system♦Other automatic fire fightingequipment

Fire brigade operations

Evacuation guidance♦Water for fire prevention♦Emergency outlet equipment♦Wireless communication auxiliary devices♦Evacuation tools♦Exit route lighting /evacuation signage⇒ Technology criteria and procedures are established by government ordinances and municipal
ordinances based on the Fire Services Act.
Also, necessary measures for fire prevention and safety are required in accordance with the purpose of thebuilding, scale, and number of people.
In addition, the fire fighting laws and regulations are applied to existing buildings as well (excluding some firefighting equipment).

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Examples of Fire Fighting Equipment

Fire alarms for a short circuit
Automatic fire detection system

Indoor fire hydrants

Fire extinguisherSprinkler heads

Exit route light
Escape ladder7

Reference

Confirmation System before Starting to Use Facilities to Be Protected from Fire

Clients or their agents/people who are
involved with the facilities to be protectedfrom fire or management officials
Building officer ordesignated confirmationand inspection body

Confirmation

Facilities to be protected from fire:
schools, hospitals, factories, department
stores, office buildings, and condominiums.
Agreement

Fire prevention
management chief

Fire protection
equipment engineers

Interiminspection

Inspection oncompletion

Issuance ofcertificate ofinspection

Notification of commencement ofconstruction works
Notification of installation of fire fighting
equipment or others
Notification of starting to use facilities
to be protected from fire
Notification of the appointed fire
prevention management chief

Fire chief or fire station chief

Commencement ofconstruction works

Inspection

Issuance ofcertificate ofinspection

Submission of fire prevention plans
8Reference

Confirmation System before Starting to Use Facilities to Be Protected from Fire
Commission of design

Registeredarchitect
Certificate ofconfirmation

Certificate ofconfirmation

Request for fire fighting
agreement

Application for confirmation

Commission of construction works

Agreement

Fire protection
equipment
engineers

Document that notifies the commencement ofconstruction works(Commission of interim inspection)(Interim inspection)

Report of examination results

Fire protection
equipment
engineers
Notification of installation of fire fighting equipment or others

Commission of inspection on completion
Inspection on completion

Fire chief or fire station chief(People who are involved in)facilities to be protected from fire(Commission of interim inspection)

Building officer or designatedconfirmation and inspection bodyIssuance of certificate of inspection
Notification of starting to use facilities to be protected from fire 1
Notification of the appointed fire prevention management chief

Fire prevention
management chiefs

Submission of fire prevention plans* Facilities to be protected from fire include schools, hospital, factories, department stores, office buildings, and condominiums.

9Reference

Confirmation System after Starting to Use Facilities to Be Protected from Fire
On-site inspection

Implementation of fire prevention
management operations
Fire prevention
management chiefs

Inspection of fire fighting equipment and others
Qualified inspector offire protection
equipment

Inspection results report of firefighting equipment and othersFire chief or fire station chief

Fire protection
equipment engineers

・Drawing up and revising fire preventionplans
・Fire fighting and evacuation training
・Inspection of fire fighting equipment
・Supervision of fire use
・Evacuation equipment management
・Capacity control

Inspection rules / regulation for handling violations

People who are involved in facilities
to be protected from fire ormanagement officials

Regular inspections of facilities to be protected from fire
Qualified inspector offacilities to beprotected from fire
Application for special cases

Inspection results report offacilities to be protected from fire
Application form for special cases is in theinspection results report of facilities to beprotected from fire10

<Examples of Fire Fighting Equipment Installation Standards (1)>Sprinkler System Installation Standards
Sprinkler head standards (extract)•••

To operate within the prescribed time at an air current
temp. of 135°C, and an air current speed of 1.8 m/s
To uniformly gain a water sprinkling distribution of 0.2
L/min/cm2
Other standards include strength, corrosion, oscillation,
and water hammer resistanceSprinkler system installation standards (extract)•••Certification of sprinkler heads

Sampling test of individual
products
Applying a seal of approval toan accepted product

Shipping

Execution of installation
Inspection by fire headquarters after installation

To inspect the sprinkler system every year for
proper functionality, and to report the result of
the inspection to fire headquarters
To have an on-site inspection by fire
headquarters and to receive instructions on any
defects and correction orders

In useJapan Fire Equipment Inspection InstitutePreliminary examination by fire headquarters

Planning andconstruction

Certified by the Minister

Obligation to use
conforming products

Model standard conformance test

Sprinkler heads in a fireproof building must be installed
within a horizontal distance of 2.3 m or less in eachpart of the ceiling
Sprinkler systems must be capable of a water
discharge pressure of 0.1MPa or more, and a water
discharge amount of 80 L or more at the top of eachhead when multiple heads operate simultaneously
Other standards include installation height, emergency
power sources, pumps, pipe laying, and water source
standards

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<Examples of Fire Fighting Equipment Installation Standards (2)>Automatic Fire Detection System Installation StandardsDetector standards (extract)•••

To send a signal within the necessary operation time
when placed in a vertical air current at a speed of 1 m/s
at 125% of nominal operating temperature (example ofa fixed temperature detector)
Not to operate at a temperature 10°C lower than thenominal operating temperature
Other standards include strength, corrosion, oscillation,and heat-resistance•••

To have functions that automatically display thecautionary zone of a fire and sounds an alarm
when receiving a fire signal
To display the cautionary zone within five seconds
from starting receiving a fire signal
Other standards include strength, corrosion,oscillation, and heat-resistance•

Preliminary examination by fire headquarters

Execution of installation
Inspection by fire headquarters after installation

To inspect the sprinkler system every year for
proper functionality, and to report the result of
the inspection to fire headquarters
To have an on-site inspection by fire
headquarters and to receive instructions on any
defects and correction orders

In useCertification (same as sprinkler heads)•To install a detector in each guarded area (every 500 m2)To install the detector at least 0.6 m from walls or crossbeams
to prevent malfunction
When sounding a limited alarm on the floor that a fire breaks
out or on the floor above, to sound an alarm to the wholebuilding if the fire signal does not stop after a certain period oftime
Other standards include installation height, emergency powersources, pumps, pipe laying, standard of water source

Planning andconstruction

Standards of a receiver (abstract)••

Obligation to use
conforming products

Certification (same as sprinkler heads)

Automatic fire detection system installation standards(extract)

12Installation Rate of Sprinkler Systems andAutomatic Fire Detection Systems(As of March 31st, 2014)

Building

Sprinkler system

Automatic fire detection system

Standard

Requirednumber

Installed
number

Installation
rateStandard(Note 2)Requirednumber

Installed
number

Installationrate

In principle,
all31,534

31,41599.6%

All39,95639,822

99.7%

Retailer

3,000 m2
or above

7,317

7,265

99.3%

300 m2 orabove

87,70485,983

98.0%

Hotel

6,000 m2
or above

1,989

1,980

99.5%

All

45,82345,396

99.1%

Underground
shopping mall

1,000 m2
or above

5858100%

300 m2 orabove

62

62

100%

67,08566,792

99.6%

554,149

541,392

97.7%(Note 1)

Intensive carehome for theelderly, andothers

Total of allfacilities(Note 1) Article 12 of the enforcement ordinance of the Fire Services Act. Installation standards are as of April 1st, 2015.
(Note 2) Article 21 of the enforcement ordinance of the Fire Services Act. Installation standards are as of April 1st, 2015.

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On-site Inspections, Handling Violations• Number of facilities to be protected from fire:
about 4 million (as of March 31st, 2014)• Number of on-site inspections by fire-fighting personnel
・・・890,000 cases per year (FY2014)• Number of correction orders
・・・117 cases per year (FY2014)14

Mandatory Installation of Residential Fire Alarms
Trend in the number of fatalities due to residential fires○ The number of fatalities due to residential fires(excluding suicides) exceeded 1,000 in 2003, andreached 1,220 in 2005.
○ Approximately 60% of those fatalities involved
elderly persons aged 65 years or older, which willtend to increase reflecting the shift to an aging
society. (Approximately 60% of fatalities were due
to people who failed to escape from a fire.)* Non residential buildings werealready required to install firealarms, but detached houses
were not yet required to do so.

Installation rate：Approximately 80%(As of June, 2014)○ Locations to be installed

Residential
fire alarms

Livingroom
Residential
fire alarms

Bedroom

Residential
fire alarms

BedroomCorridor

There are concerns over further
increases with the shift to an aging society.

Revision of the Fire Services Act in 2004 required
the installation of residential fire alarms inbedrooms and other areas of all houses.

Living room

StairsWith the spread of residential fire alarms, thenumber of fatalities due to residential fires has
been decreasing. Homes with residential firealarms also received added benefits in terms of adecrease in fatalities, fire-damaged area, andamount of damage, compared with those without afire alarm.

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