Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 and shall come into operation on 6^th November 2017.

Amendment of regulation 42 (fire extinguishing apparatus) and Schedule 4 (fire extinguishing apparatus)

2.-(1) The Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(4) are amended in accordance with paragraphs and .

(2) In regulation 42-

(a)in paragraph (1) for "one or more of the types" substitute "the type";

(b)in paragraph (3) for "21B" substitute "34B"; and

(c)in paragraph (4) after the term "EEA State" in each place that it occurs insert "or the Republic of Turkey".

(3) For Schedule 4 substitute-

Regulation 42(1)

"SCHEDULE 4Fire Extinguishing Apparatus

A fire extinguisher which complies in all respects with the specification for portable fire extinguishers issued by the British Standards Institution numbered BS EN 3-7:2004+A1:2007 and which-

(a)has a minimum test fire rating of 8A or 34B;

(b)contains water or foam; and

(c)has a minimum capacity of two litres.".

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Infrastructure on 4^th July 2017

Elizabeth Loughran

A senior officer of the

Department for Infrastructure

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 so as to update requirements for fire extinguishers fitted to public service vehicles, including the requirement that a fire extinguisher has a minimum capacity of two litres.

The requirement to remove halon gas from fire extinguishers is contained within Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 and Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2009 (OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p.1-24) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 (OJ L 286, 31.10.2009, p.1-30).

These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission pursuant to European Parliament and Council Directive 98/34/EC.

An Explanatory Memorandum has been produced and is available from the Safe and Sustainable Travel Division, Department for Infrastructure, Department for Infrastructure, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 8GB or online at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.