Could you please provide me with the following information:
1. Since when has it been legally mandatory to have a fire extinguisher in personal vehicles in your country?
The obligation to have a fire extinguisher in vehicles is at least from the 90s, but it can also be from an earlier time. It is in appendices 1 and 2 of the Ministry of Interior Regulation https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/105072023278:
Code 108. Fire extinguisher
1. M1 and N1 category vehicle with a gross weight of no more than 3.5 t must have one at least 1 kg fire extinguisher with mass of fire extinguishing agent.
2. M1 category with gross weight over 3.5 t, with driver no more than 17 seats M2 and M3 categories and category N2 and N3 vehicles must have one fire extinguishing agent with a mass of at least 2 kg fire extinguisher.
3. In a vehicle with more than 17 seats including the driver, category M2 and M3, there must be one at least 6 kg a fire extinguisher with a weight of fire extinguishing agent or two with a weight of at least 2 kg of fire extinguishing agent fire extinguisher, one must be near the driver. For an articulated vehicle, one must a fire extinguisher with a mass of at least 2 kg of fire extinguishing agent must be in each articulated part and in the trailer one fire extinguisher with a mass of at least 2 kg fire extinguishing agent must be in the trailer.
4. The requirements for M and N category vehicle fire extinguishers are established in the Fire Safety Act § 32 (5) established by the regulation of the Minister of the Interior and the requirements for their location labeling is established on the basis of § 4 subsection 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act established by the regulation of the Minister of Social Affairs. Fire extinguisher locations must be marked M2 and M3, in category vehicles.
5. The fire extinguisher must be in working order and located in an accessible place and accessible secured in such a way that the fastenings can be opened without assistance.
Verification: by observation.
2. How many personal vehicles are there in your country?
As of 01.08.2024, there are 663,114 M1 and M1G category passenger cars registered in the register
3. How many car fires have occurred in personal vehicles from 2013 to 2023?
We have data only from 2014. In the period 01.04.2014-31.12.2023, there were 3,468 land vehicle fires (an average of 350 per year). The distribution of events by year is as follows (NB! 2014 is from 01.04 to 31.12):
Year
Land vehicle fires
2014
302
2015
371
2016
410
2017
370
2018
395
2019
383
2020
301
2021
328
2022
293
2023
315
TOTAL
3468
4. How many people have died or been injured in these car fires?
As our method to collect such data is complex and therefore, every injured or dead person related to the event may not be reflected in the Rescue Board's statistics, and the data may differ from the data collected by other agencies. But according to the data of the Rescue Board, in the period 01.04.2014-31.12.2023, 1 person was killed and 21 people were injured in land vehicle fires. However, the statistics of those killed and injured in fire are available for the entire desired period (2013-2023), which is as follows by year:
Year
died
injured
2013
0
2
2014
0
0
2016
0
1
2017
0
3
2018
0
3
2019
0
6
2020
1
2
2021
0
4
2022
0
1
2023
0
1
Total
1
23
5. According to your data, how much has mortality and injury rates in car fires decreased since fire extinguishers became mandatory?
It's probably impossible to judge that because the mandatory eraser has such a long history. An analysis of fire events over the past few years has shown that in some situations, trying to fight a fire can be the actual cause of an injury (a person can put out a fire while trying to put out a fire).
6. How much has material damage decreased since fire extinguishers became mandatory?
It's probably impossible to judge that because the mandatory eraser has such a long history.
7. Are there any statistical data on the use of fire extinguishers in personal vehicles between 2013 and 2023? How many times have they been used to extinguish fires?
In the period 01.04.2014-31.12.2023, according to the data of the rescue service, a fire extinguisher was used to extinguish land vehicle fires in 1,208 out of 3,468 cases (approx. 35% of cases). The statistics of the use of fire extinguishers by year are as follows:
Land vehicle fires
Year
Not used of fire extinguishers
Use of the fire extinguishers
Total
2014
217
85
302
2015
268
103
371
2016
277
133
410
2017
251
119
370
2018
285
110
395
2019
259
124
383
2020
199
102
301
2021
199
129
328
2022
138
155
293
2023
167
148
315
Total
2260
1208
3468
8. Do you have data on how many vehicle owners regularly inspect and maintain their fire extinguishers?
The inspection of the fire extinguisher must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of § 10 of Regulation No. 44 of the Minister of the Interior, and it follows from that that the vehicle extinguisher must be inspected every year (section 1 p. 1). Whether the inspection obligation has been fulfilled is monitored during the technical inspection of the vehicle. A car must undergo technical inspection after 48 months from its first registration, every 24 months thereafter until the car is 10 years old, and every 12 months for a car over 10 years old. So, it is mandatory for every vehicle.
9. Have any awareness or training programs been implemented for drivers regarding the use of fire extinguishers in personal vehicles?
No.
10. What were the costs of implementing the law on mandatory fire extinguishers (e.g., costs for the government, individuals)?
It's probably impossible to judge that because the mandatory eraser has such a long history.
11. Are there any comparative data from other countries that have implemented similar legislation, and what are the results in those countries?
No.
12. What were the initial public responses to the introduction of the mandatory fire extinguisher law? Has public opinion changed over time?
It's probably impossible to judge that because the mandatory eraser has such a long history.
13. Does the legislation specify specific types of fire extinguishers that vehicle owners must have, and if so, why were those types chosen?
The requirements for the type come from the above-mentioned SIM Regulation No. 44, in general, extinguishers intended for use in passenger cars are manufactured as ABC class extinguishers.
14. Have there been any problems or challenges in implementing this legislation?
As this regulation has been for so long, we do not remember 😊
15. What are the penalties if drivers do not have a fire extinguisher in their personal vehicles?
In theory, it is possible to punish a person based on § 242 of the Criminal Code, i.e. as another violation and it is maximum 80 euros, but there is no direct punishment for the absence of an extinguisher.