549.This section defines “fire safety authority”, which will generally be the fire and rescue authority in whose area the regulated building or relevant HMO is wholly or mainly situated.
550.There are three fire and rescue authorities in Wales, with areas comprising combinations of local authority areas.
551.However, if a regulated building or relevant HMO consists entirely of Crown premises, section 126(2)(b) provides that the fire safety authority is a “fire inspector” i.e. an inspector or assistant inspector appointed under section 28 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. “Crown premises” is defined in section 136 as premises owned, or occupied for any purpose, by the Crown; in practice this is likely to mean premises owned or occupied by the Welsh or UK Governments. This broadly reflects the current position under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (“the FSO”).
552.Almost all Crown premises in Wales are not in scope of the Act, either because they do not contain two or more residential units or because they are expressly excluded by Schedule 1 (e.g. prisons) and remain entirely in scope of the FSO.
553.Section 126(3) and (4) provide, for regulated buildings and relevant HMOs (respectively), that ancillary areas such as gardens (as defined in sections 7 and 78) are disregarded in determining which fire and rescue authority area the building falls within. For example, if a building is in the area of South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority but has a large garden extending across the boundary into Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority, it would be taken as being in the former.
Commentary on Sections Fire safety authorities Section 126 - Fire safety authorities