Fire protection (OPP): a complete guide to company obligations (2026)

Fire protection and occupational health and safety are often combined in practice into a single service package, but legally they are two separate areas, each with its own legislation, supervisory authority and professional qualifications. Confusing them leads to misunderstandings, especially regarding the level of fines and who actually carries out checks.

OPP is governed by Act No. 314/2001 Coll. and compliance is supervised by the Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ) through state fire supervision. The expert is a fire protection technician or fire protection specialist. BOZP (occupational health and safety), by contrast, is governed by Act No. 124/2006 Coll., compliance is supervised by the labour inspectorates, and the expert is a safety technician. The fine ceilings differ significantly between the two areas, which is a frequent source of error: the maximum fine in OPP is different from that in BOZP.

Although they are two separate agendas, they naturally complement each other in a company, and most employers address them concurrently. A detailed explanation of obligations in the area of occupational safety can be found in our BOZP guide; the separate agenda of health surveillance is covered by the occupational health service. For a quick overview, the main differences are set out in the table below.

Fire protection does not rest on a single instrument but on a system of interrelated acts and implementing decrees. The cornerstone is Act No. 314/2001 Coll. on fire protection, which sets out companies' obligations, the position of the fire protection technician and specialist, state fire supervision and sanctions. This Act has been in its current version since 1 April 2025 (following the latest amendment) and its principal implementing Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. on fire prevention is fully in force as of 2026.

Around this core there are technical decrees governing individual fire safety devices: fire extinguishers (Decree No. 347/2022 Coll.), fire water mains and hydrants (Decree No. 699/2004 Coll.), fire barriers (Decree No. 478/2008 Coll.) and chimneys and flues (Decree No. 401/2007 Coll.). The key instruments are summarised in the table.

For a YMYL topic such as fire safety, accuracy is critical. We therefore always work from the current consolidated text of the regulations on slov-lex.sk rather than from unverified secondary sources. A common error on competitors' websites is, for example, referencing the revoked Decree No. 719/2002 Coll. for fire extinguishers, even though Decree No. 347/2022 Coll. has been in force since 1 January 2023.

Act No. 314/2001 Coll. divides a company's obligations into two main provisions. § 4 governs obligations relating to preventing fires from breaking out (prevention) and § 5 the obligations relating to ensuring the conditions for effectively combating fires (readiness). These two paragraphs together form the skeleton of the entire OPP agenda, which we fulfil in practice for the company in eight steps.

OPP documentation is written evidence that the company is fulfilling its obligations in the area of fire protection. During a state fire inspection it is the first thing the HaZZ inspector requests. The types of documentation are exhaustively listed by § 24 ods. 1 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. — thirteen items in total, designated by letters a) to m).

• a) Fire identification card — the basic identification document for the building (§ 25).
• b) Workplace fire safety rules — for workplaces with locations with elevated hazard (§ 26).
• c) Fire alarm procedure — the procedure when fire breaks out and for reporting it (§ 27).
• d) Fire evacuation plan — for buildings without straightforward evacuation conditions (§ 28).
• e) Fire register — records of inspections, deficiencies, alarms and checks (§ 29).
• f) Fire hazard analysis — assessment of risks in the building.
• g) Records of fire-safety device inspections — inspection reports for fire extinguishers, hydrants and other devices.
• h) Data on fires, their causes and analyses — records of events that have occurred.
• i) Documentation on employee OPP training with signatures.
• j) Documentation on the professional training of fire safety patrols.
• k) Documentation on the activities of the fire brigade unit (if one has been established).
• l) Fire safety solution for the building in the project documentation.
• m) Further documents under special legislation.

Each document has its own paragraph in the Decree with details of its content: fire identification card § 25, workplace fire safety rules § 26, fire alarm procedure § 27, fire evacuation plan § 28, fire register § 29, documentation on professional training and instruction § 30, and finally approval and review of documentation § 31. Documentation is approved by the statutory body, the natural person — entrepreneur, or a person authorised by them (§ 31 ods. 1).

A preventive fire inspection is a regular check of the building in which the fire protection technician (TPO) verifies that OPP regulations are being complied with, that fire-safety devices are in operational readiness and that escape routes are not blocked. The inspection deadlines are precisely set by § 14 ods. 1 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. according to the type of building or space.

The term "occasional workplaces" in letter a) must be understood literally: these are spaces where an employee is not regularly present and is there only occasionally, typically at intervals of several days (for example for inspection, maintenance or repair of equipment). For an ordinary workshop, warehouse or production facility where work is done daily, the three-month interval under letter c) generally applies. A record is drawn up after each inspection and filed in the fire register.

OPP training is one of the basic obligations of a company under § 4 písm. e) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. The content, scope and deadlines for training are governed by Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. in § 20 to § 22. The most frequent error on websites is stating the wrong deadline or confusing paragraph numbers, so we set out the precise wording.

The deadlines stated are maximum intervals — the employer may set shorter intervals by internal regulation. Exempt from training under § 22 ods. 3 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. are the fire protection technician and specialist, members of workplace fire safety patrols and members of fire brigade units, who undergo their own professional training. Effective training rests on three pillars: regularity, clarity and — above all — demonstrability. At a HaZZ inspection what matters is a written, signed record of who was trained, when and with what content.

The OPP agenda cannot be handled by just anyone — Act No. 314/2001 Coll. distinguishes two main professional qualifications that are frequently confused. The fire protection technician (TPO) handles operational OPP, while the fire protection specialist deals with the design fire safety of buildings. For most companies the fire protection technician is the key person who manages their day-to-day agenda.

The activities of the fire protection technician are defined by § 9 ods. 2 písm. a) to f) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. They include in particular preventive fire inspections, training, drawing up and maintaining OPP documentation, identifying locations with elevated hazard and organising fire drills. The activities of the fire protection specialist are governed by § 9 ods. 3 písm. a) to e) and cover the fire safety solution for a building in the project documentation, assessing product requirements and analysing fire hazards. These roles are not interchangeable.

The professional competence certificate is valid for five years under § 11 ods. 6 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. On expiry, the standard certificate is renewed by a new verification of professional competence (professional preparation and examination) — it is not periodically re-verified every five years. An exception is the certificate with no time limit, which can be obtained after the third successful verification and ten years of practice (§ 11 ods. 7); however, its holder must complete refresher professional training once every five years (§ 11 ods. 11), otherwise the certificate loses its validity.

Fire-safety devices must not only be installed but also kept in operational readiness and regularly inspected. Inspection deadlines are governed by separate technical decrees according to the type of device. Inspection of fire-safety devices is carried out by persons with the relevant professional competence, and a record is drawn up after each inspection.

The latest figures show why prevention makes sense. According to the Presidium of the Fire and Rescue Corps of the Slovak Republic (Report on operational activities for 2024, published 26 January 2025), the number of fires rose sharply year-on-year, although direct losses fell.

The ranking of causes of fires is telling: the most frequent cause is negligence and carelessness of adults (44.8%), followed by operational and technical failures (15.8%), deliberate arson (9.1%) and faults in heating appliances, flues and chimneys (6.7%). Almost half of fires therefore result from human failure — and that is precisely what can be prevented through training, preventive inspections and chimney checks, which is the core of the OPP agenda.

Compliance with OPP regulations is checked by the Fire and Rescue Corps through state fire supervision. This is not a single anonymous authority — supervision is exercised through a three-tier structure: district directorate of HaZZ (§ 28), regional directorate of HaZZ (§ 27) and the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (§ 26 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.). Part of the supervision is the fire safety check, whose powers and procedure are governed by § 25.

Under § 25 ods. 1 písm. a) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll., fire safety checks are not carried out in family houses and residential buildings up to eight above-ground storeys. During a check, the inspector is authorised under § 25 ods. 2 to enter buildings accompanied by an authorised person, to require cooperation, to make photographic and audio-visual records and copies of documentation, and must produce their authorisation. An official record of the outcome is drawn up (§ 25 ods. 3), which contains the identification of the entity, place and time, findings, measures imposed and their deadlines for remedy, and the signature of the statutory body.

Fire risk and therefore the scope of the OPP agenda differs by industry and type of operation. The hazard assessment under § 4 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. must therefore be based on the specific activities, not on a general template.

Industrial manufacturing and warehousing are among the operations with the highest damage potential. They concentrate flammable materials, process equipment and often flammable liquids, so they accumulate more locations with elevated hazard, fire safety patrols and the shortest (three-month) preventive inspection intervals under § 14 ods. 1 písm. c) of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll.

Administration and offices have lower risk and, where conditions are met, may be subject to the reduced regime under § 14 ods. 1 písm. b) (inspections once every 6 months). The obligation to train, maintain documentation and inspect fire extinguishers still applies here, however.

Catering and HoReCa face risks from heat appliances, fats and gas installations, so chimney and flue inspection under Decree No. 401/2007 Coll. is key. Accommodation facilities, healthcare and schools with a larger number of persons require a thorough fire evacuation plan (§ 28), regular fire drills and, in specified cases, assistant patrols. Car workshops and operations using flammable liquids are additionally subject to special rules for their storage and use.

Regardless of sector, the Alpha Safety team takes over the OPP agenda comprehensively and tailors the scope to the specific operation. Related terms are explained in more detail in the glossary and practical training courses can be found in the courses section.

When taking over and auditing OPP agendas, the Alpha Safety team repeatedly encounters the same deficiencies. The most common are:

• Out-of-date OPP documentation. Companies have documentation from the time of the occupancy inspection and have not updated it since. Yet § 31 ods. 3 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. requires its review at least once every 12 months, after every change and after every fire.
• Overdue inspections of fire extinguishers and fire-safety devices. Failure to comply with the deadlines under Decrees 347/2022, 699/2004 and 478/2008 is among the most frequent findings; a non-functional fire safety device falls into the stricter fine band (§ 59 ods. 2).
• Blocked or narrowed escape routes. Storing materials on escape routes is a serious breach of § 5 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. and leads to immediate action at a HaZZ inspection.
• Missed or token training. Missing signatures and failure to comply with the deadline under § 21 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. (24 months) are a typical deficiency; what counts is demonstrability.
• Missing fire protection technician or outdated terminology. Some companies do not have a fire protection technician (TPO) in place, or use in their documentation the non-existent term "fire statute" instead of the fire identification card (§ 24 ods. 1 písm. a).

The price of fire protection services is not fixed. It depends on the actual complexity required to fulfil statutory obligations at a specific company. An indicative price is therefore always determined only after an assessment of the specific operation. The following factors most heavily influence the scope of work.

The type and size of the operation determines the preventive inspection interval under § 14 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. (3, 6 or 12 months) and thus the frequency of visits by the fire protection technician. The degree of hazard determines whether locations with elevated hazard arise, which require workplace fire safety rules, fire safety patrols and their professional training.

The number and distribution of buildings increases the scope of site surveys, documentation and on-site checks. The number and type of fire-safety devices (fire extinguishers, hydrants, fire barriers, chimneys) determines the scope of regular inspections under the relevant decrees. The number of employees in turn affects the scope of training and records. A role is also played by the choice between a one-off preparation and a flat-rate service that keeps the agenda permanently up to date.

The most accurate overview of scope and cost is provided by a no-obligation consultation. We take over the OPP agenda for you throughout the Slovak Republic — more on the service page fire protection.

Fire protection is not a one-off task at the occupancy inspection but an ongoing system of obligations. Under § 4 and § 5 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll. a company must prevent fires from breaking out, ensure the conditions for combating them, maintain documentation under § 24 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll., train employees and ensure regular inspections of fire-safety devices and chimneys. These tasks cannot be postponed: neglecting them increases the risk of fire and exposes the company to HaZZ fines of up to €16,596 (with the possibility of doubling on recurrence).

Professional handling of OPP delivers two benefits at once. It prevents damage to life, health and property, and at the same time keeps the company ready for state fire supervision, so deficiencies are identified before a HaZZ inspector does so. Given that almost half of fires result from human failure, prevention is the single most effective protection tool.

If you are unsure whether your OPP agenda is set up correctly, arrange a no-obligation consultation with the experienced Alpha Safety s.r.o. team. We take over the fire protection agenda for you throughout the Slovak Republic — we will assess your situation and propose the next steps.