LawCriminal Law
National Fire and Rescue Authority Law, 5772-2012
חוק הרשות הארצית לכבאות והצלה, תשע"ב-2012
Published: 2012-08-08Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-06-21 · Last amended 2026-03-31✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Section E: Dissolution of Municipal Associations for Fire Services
Dissolution of Municipal Associations§
120.
On the date of establishment of the Authority, the municipal associations shall be dissolved and shall cease to be legal persons.
Accompanying Accountant§
121.
(a)The Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance may, in coordination with the Director and for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of this Law, appoint an accompanying accountant to a municipal association and appoint a representative on his behalf (in this Section – representative of the Accountant General) to a local authority that has a fire services department, for the transitional period.
(b)Notice of the appointment of an accompanying accountant or a representative of the Accountant General shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette) and on the website of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Internal Security.
(c)The fact of the appointment of the accompanying accountant or the representative of the Accountant General, as the case may be, shall be stated in every document of the municipal association and in every document of a local authority that has a fire services department in any matter connected to the fields of activity of fire and rescue services that has financial or budgetary significance.
(d)Without prejudice to the provisions of sections 116 and 117, where an accompanying accountant has been appointed to a municipal association, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)The council of the municipal association, as defined in the Municipal Associations Law, 5715-1955 (in this Section – the association council), the chairperson of the association council, a person to whom the powers of the chairperson of the association council have been delegated, and an employee of the association, shall not carry out a real property transaction and shall not undertake any financial commitment on behalf of the association, including in respect of terms of employment as defined in section 33a(d) of the Budget Foundations Law, unless that commitment has been given the prior written approval of the accompanying accountant, if one has been appointed; in this Section, "financial commitment" – including under a contract, a letter of undertaking, payment documents, the granting of a discount on compulsory payments due to the association, a compromise arrangement submitted to a court or tribunal for the purpose of obtaining the force of a judgment, or another certificate;
(2)A financial commitment on behalf of the association shall not bind the association unless it has been signed, in addition to the signatures required under any law, also by the accompanying accountant; every financial commitment shall state in writing that an accompanying accountant has been appointed to the association and that it shall bind the association only if signed by him as aforesaid; a financial commitment that has not been signed as aforesaid – is void;
(3)No person shall be appointed as an employee of the association unless the accompanying accountant has approved, in advance and in writing, his employment and the terms of his employment; where a person has been appointed without the accountant's approval as aforesaid – the appointment is void; however, that person shall be entitled to reasonable remuneration for the period of his employment, unless it has been proved that he knew that his employment required the approval of the accompanying accountant as referred to in this paragraph and that no such approval was given;
(4)The provisions of this Section shall also apply to financial commitments and real property transactions of a local authority in connection with fire and rescue services or in respect of a matter pertaining to a fire services department and its assets, and also to the appointment of a person by a local authority to the fire services department, all with the necessary modifications and with the following modification: instead of "accompanying accountant" read "representative of the Accountant General".
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Contact Us →Chapter X: General Provisions
Annual Budget§
122.
The budget of the Fire and Rescue Authority shall be determined in a separate activity area, under the budget item of the Ministry for Internal Security in the annual budget law; for this purpose, "activity area" and "budget item" – as defined in the Annual Budget Law, as defined in the Budget Foundations Law.
Fees and Discounts Committee§
123.
(a)For the purpose of financing the activities of the Authority, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Knesset National Security Committee, prescribe fees for the activities of the Authority under this Law, including a safety fee for the purposes of section 48(c), and may, inter alia, prescribe the rates of the fees, the manner of their payment, the time of their payment and their linkage, as well as provisions concerning the granting of exemptions from their payment.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a payment for the activity of the Authority at a fire and rescue incident resulting from a hostile act or an attack shall be transferred to the Authority from the Compensation Fund as defined in section 2a of the Property Tax and Compensation Fund Law, 5721-1961; in this subsection –
"attack" – as defined in the Civil Defence Law, 5711-1951;
"hostile act" – as defined in the Victims of Hostile Action Compensation Law, 5730-1970.
(c)The collection of fees under this Law shall be subject to the Tax Ordinance (Collection).
(d)The Minister shall appoint in each district a discounts committee, whose function shall be to consider applications for a discount in the payment of fees for the activities of the Authority at a fire and rescue incident or for the granting of an exemption from the payment of fees as aforesaid.
(e)The members of the discounts committee are:
(1)the district commander or his representative;
(2)the legal adviser of the district;
(3)the district director at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services or his representative.
(f)The Minister, with the approval of the Knesset National Security Committee, shall prescribe criteria for granting a discount or exemption as referred to in subsection (d), including, inter alia, in respect of the financial situation of the applicant, the damage caused to his property in a fire and rescue incident and his use thereof.
Timelines for the Grant of Approval by the Fire and Rescue Authority§
124.
(a)Subject to the provisions of any law, where the approval of an employee of the Authority is required for the purpose of obtaining a licence, permit or approval under any law, the employee of the Authority shall notify the approval applicant, within 21 days, of the documents and information required for the purpose of reaching his decision in the matter.
(b)An employee of the Authority shall deliver his decision within thirty days of the date on which all the documents and information required under subsection (a) were delivered to him; where the employee's decision has not been delivered within the said period, the Commissioner shall decide on the application within a further thirty days.
Website of the Authority§
125.
The Fire and Rescue Authority shall have a website on which, inter alia, information pertaining to the public, as well as instructions, guidance and warnings pertaining to the public, shall be published.
Advisory Committee§
126.
(a)The Minister shall appoint an advisory committee whose function shall be to advise the Commissioner on matters connected to the Fire and Rescue Authority and its functions under this Law.
(b)The Commissioner shall determine the composition of the advisory committee, provided that persons with knowledge and experience in the field of fire and rescue shall be appointed as members of the committee.
(c)A person who is liable to find himself, directly or indirectly, in a position of conflict of interest between his said function and a personal interest of his or another function of his, shall not be appointed to or serve as a member of the advisory committee.
(d)A member of the advisory committee shall refrain from participating in meetings where the subject matter is liable to cause him to find himself, directly or indirectly, in a position of conflict of interest between his function and a personal interest of his or another function of his; a member of the advisory committee shall not deal in the framework of his function with a subject that is liable to cause him to find himself in such a position, even outside of meetings.
(e)Where it becomes apparent to a member of the advisory committee that a subject being deliberated at a meeting or being handled by him is liable to cause him to find himself in a position of conflict of interest as referred to in subsection (c), he shall notify the Commissioner and the chairperson of the committee accordingly.
(f)In this Section –
"personal interest" – including a personal interest or another function of an interested party as defined in the Securities Law, 5728-1968, and also of a relative of such an interested party;
"relative" – any of the following:
(1)a spouse, a parent of a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a descendant, a descendant of a spouse, a brother or sister, a sibling-in-law, and a descendant or spouse of any of the foregoing, an agent or partner;
(2)a corporation of which a person who is a candidate to be a member of the advisory committee or any of those listed in paragraph (1) is a director or office holder, or in which his share in the share capital or in the voting rights or in both, or the share of any of those listed in paragraph (1) therein, exceeds 5%.
Advisory Committee for Regulation§
126a.
(a)An advisory committee for regulation shall be established (in this Section – the Committee), whose function is to advise the Minister and the Commissioner on matters relating to regulation in the field of fire safety, under this Law or under the Business Licensing Law, and to propose to them proposals for the amendment of professional directives as defined in section 126b, Regulations under section 126e, or Regulations under section 9 of the Business Licensing Law, as the case may be.
(b)The composition of the Committee shall be:
(1)the chairperson of the Authority as defined in the Regulation Principles Law, 5782-2021, or an employee of that Authority appointed by the chairperson, and that person shall be the chairperson;
(2)an employee of the Authority appointed by the Commissioner, who has knowledge and experience in the field of fire safety;
(3)an employee of the Ministry of Internal Security appointed by the Minister, who has knowledge and experience in regulatory impact assessment or who has knowledge in the field of fire safety;
(4)an employee of the Ministry of Economy and Industry appointed by the Minister of Economy and Industry, who has knowledge in the field of standardisation;
(5)an employee of the Ministry of Finance appointed by the Minister of Finance, who is an economist;
(6)a public representative appointed by the Minister of the Interior, who has experience as a head of a local authority or as a director-general of a local authority.
(c)A person empowered to appoint a member of the Committee shall appoint one or more permanent alternates for that member; the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office shall publish a notice in Reshumot (Official Gazette) of the appointment of the members of the Committee and their alternates.
(d)The quorum for meetings of the Committee is three members including the chairperson.
(e)The Committee shall adopt its decisions by a majority of those present at the meeting; if the opinions of the members of the Committee are divided, the chairperson shall have the casting vote.
(f)The existence of the Committee, its powers, the validity of its decisions and its actions shall not be affected by the termination of the tenure of a member of the Committee or by reason of a defect in the appointment or in the continuation of the tenure of a member, provided that the composition of members required for the quorum at its meetings under subsection (d) is serving on it.
(g)The provisions of section 126(c) to (f) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to a member of the Committee who is a public representative.
(h)The Committee may avail itself of advisers and experts who are capable of assisting it, at its discretion, in formulating its position, and it may summon to the deliberations of the Committee any person who, in its opinion, is capable of assisting it in formulating its position.
(i)For the purpose of formulating its opinion under this Law or under the Business Licensing Law, the Minister or the Commissioner, as the case may be, shall submit to the Committee the documents that served them for the purpose of formulating the Regulations or the professional directives, as the case may be, including a professional analysis of the manner in which the proposed regulation will contribute to fire safety, an international comparison regarding the regulation prevailing among developed countries in the world, and a report examining the cost of the proposed regulation against the benefit of the proposed regulation, inter alia in accordance with a Regulatory Impact Assessment report.
(j)The Committee shall convene no later than two weeks from the day on which it was required to give its opinion under this Law or under the Business Licensing Law, and shall decide on the matter within 60 days from the day on which it received the documents referred to in subsection (i).
(k)The Committee shall determine its rules of procedure insofar as they have not been determined in this Law.
Examination of the Implementation Cost of Professional Directives§
126b.
(a)In this Section and in sections 126c and 126d –
"professional directives" – non-individual professional directives of the Commissioner that are capable of affecting regulation relating to fire safety in assets of various types;
"economic impact" – (Repealed)
(b)Before issuing professional directives whose implementation has or may have a cost entailing an increase in expenditure, the Commissioner shall examine the implementation cost (in this Section – cost examination).
(c)If the Commissioner finds that the professional directives have an economic impact, the provisions of section 126c shall apply.
(d)If the Commissioner finds that the professional directives have no economic impact, the Commissioner shall refer the matter to an employee of the Prime Minister's Office authorised for this purpose by the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office (in this Section – employee of the Prime Minister's Office) for the purpose of conducting a cost examination; the employee of the Prime Minister's Office shall notify the Commissioner of that employee's position on the cost examination within 14 days from the day on which it was referred to that employee.
(e)
(1)If the employee of the Ministry notified the Commissioner that the professional directives have an economic impact, the provisions of section 126c shall apply;
(2)If the employee of the Prime Minister's Office notified the Commissioner that the professional directives have no economic impact, or did not notify the Commissioner of that employee's position as referred to in subsection (d) within 14 days, the Commissioner may issue the directives.
Provisions Regarding Professional Directives that Have an Economic Impact§
126c.
(a)If the Commissioner found, or the employee of the Prime Minister's Office notified the Commissioner, that the professional directives have an economic impact as referred to in section 126b(c) or (e)(1), as the case may be, the Commissioner shall refer the directives for examination by the Advisory Committee for Regulation, which shall submit to the Commissioner its opinion regarding the professional directives within 60 days from the day on which they were referred to it; if the Commissioner found, or the Committee notified the Commissioner, that the directives have a significant economic impact, the provisions of subsections (b) to (g) shall apply.
(b)
(1)If the Commissioner accepted the position of the Advisory Committee for Regulation, the Commissioner may issue the professional directives, and if the Advisory Committee for Regulation proposed amendments in its opinion, the Commissioner may issue the directives with those amendments;
(2)If the Commissioner rejected amendments proposed by the Advisory Committee for Regulation in its opinion, or if the Advisory Committee for Regulation did not submit its opinion to the Commissioner within 60 days from the day on which the professional directives were referred to it for examination, the Commissioner shall notify the Minister thereof as soon as possible.
(c)If the Advisory Committee for Regulation found that the directives have a significant economic impact, and the Commissioner notified the Minister that the Commissioner rejected the amendments proposed by the Committee, and the Minister found that the directives should be issued, the Minister shall, as soon as possible, refer the professional directives and the opinion of the Advisory Committee for Regulation, if given, for examination by the Minister of Finance; the Minister of Finance shall notify the Minister and the Commissioner within 60 days from the day on which the Minister of Finance received the professional directives whether the Minister of Finance consents to the issuance of the professional directives.
(d)The Minister of Finance shall not refuse consent to the issuance of the professional directives unless the Minister of Finance is satisfied, having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee for Regulation, that all of the following conditions have been met:
(1)the economic cost arising from the issuance of the directives is significantly higher than the benefit arising from them;
(2)the directives do not conform to the American standard under section 126g.
(e)
(1)If the Minister of Finance consented to the professional directives or did not notify the Minister and the Commissioner of that Minister's position within the period referred to in subsection (c), the Commissioner may issue the professional directives;
(2)If the Minister of Finance refused consent to the professional directives, the Minister may, after having weighed the position of the Commissioner and the position of the Minister of Finance, bring the directives, as soon as possible, before the Prime Minister for decision.
(f)
(1)If the Prime Minister notified that the Prime Minister accepts the position of the Minister and the Commissioner regarding the directives, or did not notify of a decision within 60 days from the day on which the professional directives were brought before the Prime Minister for decision, the Commissioner may issue the directives;
(2)If the Prime Minister notified, within the period referred to in paragraph (1), that the Prime Minister accepts the position of the Minister of Finance, the Commissioner shall not issue the professional directives, and the Prime Minister may also, within the said period, decide on a change to the content of the directives.
(g)If the Commissioner issued professional directives after the Minister of Finance did not notify of that Minister's position on them within the period referred to in subsection (e)(1), or after the Prime Minister did not notify of a decision on them within the period referred to in subsection (f)(1), the Prime Minister may decide on their cancellation.
Provisions Regarding Professional Directives the Issuance of Which Is Urgent§
126d.
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 126b and 126c, the Commissioner may, by a reasoned decision, issue professional directives even if they have an economic impact, if the Commissioner is of the opinion that there is urgency in issuing them; if the Commissioner issued professional directives as aforesaid, the provisions of those sections shall apply, with the necessary modifications, but the professional directives shall remain in force for a period of 180 days; the Minister may, by Order, extend the validity of the directives for additional periods that shall not together exceed 180 days.
Examination of the Implementation Cost of Regulations that Have an Economic Impact§
126e.
(a)Before making Regulations under this Law on the subject of fire safety in assets of various types, whose implementation has or may have a cost entailing an increase in expenditure, the Commissioner shall examine the implementation cost.
(b)If the Commissioner finds that the Regulations have an economic impact, the provisions of section 126f shall apply.
(c)If the Commissioner finds that the Regulations have no economic impact, the Commissioner shall refer the matter to an employee of the Prime Minister's Office authorised for this purpose by the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office (in this Section and in section 126f – employee of the Prime Minister's Office) for the purpose of conducting an implementation cost examination; the employee of the Prime Minister's Office shall notify the Commissioner of that employee's position on the implementation cost examination, as referred to in subsection (a), within 14 days from the day on which it was referred to that employee.
(d)
(1)If the employee of the Prime Minister's Office notified the Commissioner that the Regulations have an economic impact, the provisions of section 126f shall apply;
(2)If the employee of the Prime Minister's Office notified the Commissioner that the Regulations have no economic impact, or did not notify the Commissioner of that employee's position as referred to in subsection (c) within 14 days, the Minister may make the Regulations.
Provisions Regarding Regulations that Have an Economic Impact§
126f.
(a)If the Commissioner found, or the employee of the Prime Minister's Office notified the Commissioner, that the Regulations have an economic impact as referred to in section 126e(b) or (d)(1), as the case may be, the Commissioner shall refer the Regulations for examination by the Advisory Committee for Regulation and shall notify the Minister of the referral; the Advisory Committee shall submit to the Commissioner its opinion regarding the Regulations within 60 days from the day on which they were referred to it, and the Commissioner shall forward it to the Minister.
(b)The opinion of the Advisory Committee for Regulation shall be attached to the Regulations when they are brought for approval by the National Security Committee of the Knesset as referred to in section 42.
Conformity with the American Standard§
126g.
(a)Regulations, Commissioner directives, procedures and guidelines under this Law (in this Section – Regulations and directives), which are capable of affecting regulation in the field of fire safety, shall generally be determined on the basis of the standard of the National Fire Protection Association NFPA (hereinafter – the American standard), with priority given to NFPA 101 (Life Safety).
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), in circumstances in which adaptations to conditions in the State of Israel are required, Regulations and directives as aforesaid shall be determined on the basis of other accepted international standards, insofar as possible, having regard to considerations relating, inter alia, to the organisational structure of the Authority, conformity with Israeli law, the security situation, climatic conditions and economic considerations.
Obligation to Comply with a Foreign Standard§
126g1.
(a)If an obligation imposed on a responsible party within the meaning of section 40(a), to comply with a foreign standard, has been set out in Regulations or in Commissioner directives, that party shall be regarded as complying with the said obligation if the party holds an approval as referred to in subsection (b).
(b)An approval of compliance with a foreign standard shall be granted by an approved laboratory within the meaning of section 12(a) of the Standards Law, 5713-1953, unless the Minister or the Commissioner, as the case may be, has determined that it shall be granted by one or more of the following:
(1)a laboratory accredited by the National Laboratory Accreditation Authority under the National Laboratory Accreditation Authority Law, 5757-1997;
(2)a registered engineer within the meaning of the Engineers and Architects Law, 5718-1958, in the engineering branch of special professions, in the fire safety and prevention section;
(3)a registered engineer as referred to in paragraph (2) registered in the general safety section.
(c)No offences or penalties shall be prescribed for the breach of an obligation to comply with a foreign standard set out as referred to in subsection (a), and no criminal liability shall be imposed on a person who breached such an obligation.
Non-Individual Professional Directives§
126h.
(a)Non-individual professional directives that alter the legal situation with respect to fire safety in assets of various types shall be set out in Regulations by the Minister; notwithstanding the foregoing, directives as aforesaid may be set out otherwise than in Regulations where one of the following conditions is met:
(1)if another law expressly confers power to set out directives as aforesaid otherwise than in Regulations;
(2)if the directive sets out aspects relating to the manner of applying to the Authority, including the manner of submitting applications or documents, provided that it is set out by the Commissioner.
(3)if the directives constitute an amendment or replacement of a Commissioner directive on a matter regulated by a Commissioner directive that was in force on the eve of the commencement of the Economic Programme Law (Legislative Amendments for the Implementation of the Economic Policy for the Budget Years 2021 and 2022), 5782-2021.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) –
(1)the Commissioner may set out a directive as referred to in the opening words of subsection (a), where one of the following conditions is met:
(a)the directive is required due to a need of a temporary nature;
(b)the directive is urgently required due to a significant concern for human life;
(c)the directive relates to the regulation of an innovative or experimental field;
(2)a directive as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be set out as a temporary directive for a period not exceeding one year;
(3)the Minister may, after consulting with the Advisory Committee for Regulation, extend the validity of a directive as referred to in paragraph (2) for additional periods that shall not together exceed one year.
(c)(Repealed)
(d)In addition to the provisions of subsection (b), the Commissioner shall not set out a directive as referred to in subsection (a) on a matter in respect of which Regulations have been made under the Planning and Building Law, unless, during the period from the date of making such Regulations, a significant change of circumstances has occurred that justifies doing so, and after consulting with the Director of the Planning Administration within the meaning of the Planning and Building Law, who shall submit that Director's position within 30 days from the day of the referral to that Director.
(e)Commissioner directives issued under subsection (a)(2) to (d) shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette), and shall also be published on the Authority's website in a prominent manner, at a location designated for Commissioner directives and in a manner that enables the tracking and documentation of changes over time; the Minister may prescribe additional means of publishing Commissioner directives.
Application of Laws§
127.
The provisions of this Law are intended to add to the provisions of any law and not to derogate from them, and nothing in them shall prevent any body from prescribing provisions additional to those of this Law within the scope of its lawful powers; however, if there is an inconsistency between provisions under this Law and provisions under another law, the provisions under this Law shall prevail.
Implementation and Regulations§
128.
(a)The Minister is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation.
(b)Where a duty to consult has been prescribed with respect to the making of Regulations or rules under this Law, and the position of the body with whom consultation is required has not been submitted within 21 days from the day on which a referral on the matter was transmitted to that body, it shall be deemed, upon the expiry of that period, as if the duty to consult has been fulfilled with that body.
Conformity with the American Standard with Respect to Assembly, Mercantile, Business and Industrial Occupancies§
128a.
(a)Without derogating from the provisions of section 126g(b), by the 3rd of Adar 5788 (1 March 2028) the Minister shall make Regulations under this Law and under the Business Licensing Law on the basis of Chapters 13 (Assembly), 37 (Mercantile), 39 (Business and Ambulatory Health Care) and 40 (Industrial), of NFPA 101 (Life Safety); the Minister, with the approval of the National Security Committee of the Knesset, may, by Order, postpone the said date, provided that the total of all postponement periods shall not exceed one year.
(b)If the Minister has not made Regulations by the date referred to in subsection (a), the Commissioner may prescribe directives on the matters listed in that paragraph, which shall remain in force until the Minister makes Regulations in their place.
Commencement§
129.
(a)This Law shall commence on the day of its publication.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the day of the establishment of the Authority is six months from the day of commencement of this Law, and the commencement of the following provisions is on the day of the establishment of the Authority:
(1)Chapters II and III;
(2)Sections A, B and E of Chapter IV;
(3)Chapter V, except for section 43(e)(2);
(4)Chapter VI;
(5)sections 75, 76(a)(2) to (5), 77, 79;
(6)Chapter VIII;
(7)sections 122 to 126;
(8)Chapter XI, except for sections 130(a)(2), 135(1), 142 and 145;
(9)section 146.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) –
(1)the commencement of sections 43(e)(2) and 145 is on the day of commencement of the Business Licensing Law (Amendment No. 27), 5771-2010;
(2)the commencement of section 130(2) is six months from the day of the establishment of the Authority.
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