Towards Greater Harmonization in Swiss Fire Safety?

The new regulations are expected to come into force in autumn 2027. The focus is on a more consistent application of the rules across Switzerland, greater flexibility through risk-based assessments, and a more balanced relationship between safety, cost-effectiveness, and proportionality.

To provide guidance during this transition, Gruner invited experts from planning, development, and public authorities to a specialist presentation followed by a panel discussion.

More Consistent Rules Across Switzerland

A key objective of the revision is the harmonization of fire safety regulations. Today, differing cantonal interpretations sometimes lead to uncertainty, additional effort, and delays—particularly for projects that span cantonal borders.

In the future, the regulations are intended to be applied more consistently throughout Switzerland. The often-quoted phrase, “Every canton burns differently,” may therefore lose its relevance. For clients, investors, and planners, this would mean greater transparency, more efficient processes, and increased planning reliability. Stefan Gabriel, CEO of Fortimo AG, emphasized the benefits from an investor’s perspective: “Uniform requirements across cantonal borders would simplify projects and improve comparability.”

Risk-Based Fire Safety Gains Importance

Alongside harmonization, the transition from prescriptive requirements to a more risk-based approach is a central element of the revision. In the future, project-specific risks may be assessed in a more differentiated manner, allowing protective measures to be tailored more precisely to the respective context. In this regard, the ALARP principle (“As Low As Reasonably Practicable”) is gaining importance. Risks should be reduced as far as is reasonably achievable with proportionate effort and practical measures. For Sebastian El Khouli, Partner at BGP Architekten, the significance of the revision lies less in individual regulations and more in a changing understanding of fire safety: “In the future, the focus will increasingly be on identifying the actual risk and determining how it can be reduced appropriately.”

Participants agreed that this approach offers the opportunity to implement safety requirements in a more targeted way. In certain cases, this could enable more flexible and cost-effective solutions without lowering safety standards. This may affect not only planning, but also project execution and construction costs. At the same time, it became clear that the new freedoms also raise questions. Representatives of public-sector clients in particular highlighted the increasing responsibility associated with risk-based decisions. Whereas clear requirements often provide guidance today, transparent risk assessments and comprehensive documentation will become even more important in the future.

Greater Flexibility While Maintaining Safety

Despite greater flexibility, fundamental safety requirements will remain unchanged. Escape routes, occupancy limits, and other key protective measures cannot simply be replaced by alternative solutions. Ivan Beterra, Head of Building and Fire Safety at Gossweiler, emphasized this point: “Greater flexibility does not mean less safety. Certain requirements, such as those relating to escape routes or occupancy levels, remain indispensable. The challenge is to assess risks transparently while ensuring a high level of safety.”

Greater Responsibility Requires Greater Expertise

The risk-based approach also increases the demands placed on all stakeholders. Planners, fire safety specialists, clients, and operators will be expected to assess risks professionally and justify decisions transparently. For Bojan Stevanovic, Head of Fire Safety Zurich at Gruner, this is one of the most significant changes: “Greater flexibility in fire safety can only work with sound expertise. If risks are increasingly assessed on a project-specific basis, professionals are needed who are willing to take responsibility and develop robust solutions.”

A Potential Cultural Shift in Fire Safety

The planned revision is far more than a technical update of existing regulations. It has the potential to trigger a cultural shift—from simply complying with prescriptive rules to adopting a more risk-based planning approach.

Whether the revision will actually lead to a more consistent practice across Switzerland will only become apparent during implementation. One thing was clear at the specialist event, however: the discussion about the future of fire safety has begun. The key challenge remains finding the right balance between a high level of safety, greater flexibility, and increased individual responsibility.