This article by Souveraineté Suisse is based on detailed information provided by sources inside the process of revising the fire regulations, acting as whistleblowers with direct knowledge of the work in progress.
Switzerland has long been the world's top performer in fire protection.
A recognised model, based on prevention, redundant systems, technical expertise and collective responsibility.
Today, this model is being methodically dismantled.
Under the guise of «modernisation», «simplification» and a ’risk-based approach«, the total revision of fire protection regulations is in fact preparing the way for discreet but profound alignment with European regulations, for the direct benefit of insurers, banks and pension funds, and to the detriment of personal safety.
A clear political will: build more cheaply, whatever the cost
The initial logic is clear:
Swiss security costs too much. We can afford to do less.
This reasoning is a absolute nonsense.
Yes, Switzerland has an excellent fire claims record.
But precisely because it sets high standards.
Using this success as a pretext to lower standards is tantamount to saying:
Since there are no accidents, let's do away with seatbelts.
The real objective is not safety, but reduced construction costs - maximising property returns.
Who's winning? Always the same guys.
The main property owners in Switzerland today are no longer families or SMEs, but :
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from insurers,
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from banks,
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from pension funds.
All have interest in buildings that are less expensive to construct, with :
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less fire detection,
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fewer sprinklers,
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less smoke extraction,
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less clear prescriptive requirements.
The risk?
It is transferred in full :
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individual owners,
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to operators,
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to tenants,
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to users.
Fewer prescriptions, fewer controls, more risks
In many so-called «simple» situations - homes, hotels, accommodation establishments, shops - the new requirements :
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eliminate or significantly reduce mandatory fire detection,
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reduce compartmentalisation requirements (fire doors),
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reduce smoke extraction systems,
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remove independent controls.
Responsibility is now placed «front and centre» on the owner, without necessarily having the technical skills, or the assistance of a fire specialist.
This is a taking risks, but supported by others.
A reform steered away from the people and against federalism
Let's look at the facts.
Le 20 September 2018, the authority established by the Intercantonal Agreement on the Elimination of Technical Barriers to Trade (AIET) has entrusted the Association of Cantonal Fire Insurance Institutions (AEAI) the complete overhaul prescriptions.
Initial objectives :
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a 200-page single document,
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a truly risk-based approach,
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to take effect on 1st January 2026,
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a budget of CHF 5 million.
Reality in 2026:
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548 pages,
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prescriptive requirements downgraded,
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clear alignment with European standards,
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a risk-based approach« inapplicable in most cases because of its complexity,
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budget exceeded at CHF 6 million,
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entry into force postponed to April 2027.
Worse still, these prescriptions - which are not not a law - are presented as supra-cantonal, with the idea that :
«This time, the cantons will have no choice.»
This is a direct attack on Swiss federalism, This is in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, the regulatory sovereignty of the cantons and the very principle of subsidiarity itself.
Copying those who do worse: total absurdity
Why should Switzerland align itself with :
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that count more deaths by fire,
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higher claims experience,
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lower standards?
The example of accommodation facilities for up to 15 people is edifying.
In France, where requirements are low, several fatal fires occurred in 2025 in this type of structure.
And it is precisely this model that we are being asked to import.
Authoritarian standardisation, with no room for expertise
Last but not least:
the declared determination of prevent any professional interpretation.
During training sessions, the message is clear:
«You have to say everything the way we do.»
The expert becomes a narrator.
The trainer becomes a relay.
Technical intelligence is replaced by a fixed doctrine.
That's not safety.
This is bureaucratic standardisation.
The last line of defence: political consultation
It remains a safeguard:
the political consultation planned for autumn.
But the concern is immense.
Because if our elected representatives only look at :
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short-term savings,
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pressure from financial players,
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administrative simplification,
then Switzerland will have deliberately chose to sacrifice human safety on the altar of property returns.
Safety is not an adjustment variable
Fire protection is not a luxury,
nor an economic brake,
nor a holdover from the past.
It is group insurance, It saves lives precisely because we don't wait for disaster to strike before taking action.
To abandon this model is not to modernise Switzerland.
It means impoverishing it, exposing it and trivialising it.
And this, no amount of concrete saving will ever justify it.
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