The Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984

Fire certificates under Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 or Office and Shop Premises Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 N.I.

3.  In paragraphs 4 and 5—

• “Factories Act certificate” means a certificate under section 41 of the Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 (means of escape in case of fire-certification by the Authority);

• “Offices Act certificate” means a fire certificate under section 29 of the Office and Shop Premises Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.

4.—(1) Where by virtue of an order under Article 22 a fire certificate becomes required in respect of any premises at a time when there is in force in respect of those premises a Factories Act certificate or an Offices Act certificate ( “the existing certificate”), the following provisions of this paragraph shall apply.

(2) The existing certificate shall continue in force (irrespective of whether the section under which it was issued remains in force) and—

(a) shall as from the said time be deemed to be a fire certificate validly issued under Part III with respect to the premises with respect to which it was issued and to cover the use or uses to which those premises were being put at that time; and

(b) may (in particular) be amended, replaced or revoked in accordance with Part III accordingly.

(3) Without prejudice to sub-paragraph (2) (b), the existing certificate, as it has effect by virtue of sub-paragraph (2), shall as from the said time be treated as imposing in relation to the premises the like requirements as were previously imposed in relation thereto by the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) if the existing certificate is a Factories Act certificate, the following provisions of the Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965, namely sections 42 (1), 48 (except subsections (5), (8) and (9)). 49 (1), 51 (1) and 52 (1) and (4) and, so far as it relates to a proposed increase in the number of persons employed in any premises, section 42 (3);

(b) if the existing certificate is an Offices Act certificate, the following provisions of the Office and Shop Premises Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, namely sections 30 (1), 33, 34 (1) and (2), 36 (1) and 38 (1) and, so far as it relates to a proposed increase in the number of persons employed to work in any premises at any one time, section 30 (3).

5.  Any application for a Factories Act certificate or an Offices Act certificate with respect to any premises which is pending at the time when by virtue of an order under Article 22 a fire certificate under Part III becomes required in respect of those premises shall be deemed to be an application for a fire certificate in respect of them duly made in accordance with that Part and may be proceeded with accordingly; but (without prejudice to Article 26 (2)) the Authority may, as a condition of proceeding with such an application, require the applicant to specify any matter or give it any information which would ordinarily have been required by that Article.

6.  Paragraphs 3 to 5 shall have effect, with such modification as may be necessary, in relation to certificates issued under section 85 of the Londonderry Corporation Act (Northern Ireland) 1931F1 or section 19 of the Belfast Corporation (General Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1948F2 .

F1 1931 c. iv (N.I.).

F2 1948 c. i (N.I.).