5 10 (b) have attached to it a suitable safety valve A.D. 1926. which shall allow the air to escape as soon as the safe working pressure is exceeded; and (d) have attached to it a suitable drain-valve or (e) be provided with a suitable manhole, handhole, (f) be thoroughly cleaned and examined at least case of fire. 30.-(1) Every factory to which this section applies Means of 20 shall be certified by the district council as being provided escape in with such means of escape in case of fire for the persons employed therein as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of each case and if any person uses as a factory any premises which have not been so certified, he 25 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and to a further fine not exceeding five pounds for each day on which the offence continues after conviction thereof. It shall be the duty of the council to examine every 30 such factory and, on being satisfied that the factory is so provided, to give such a certificate as aforesaid. The certificate shall specify precisely and in detail the means of escape provided, and such particulars as to the nature of the processes carried on, maximum number of persons 35 employed or proposed to be employed, and other matters taken into account in granting the certificate, as the council may consider it desirable to record. The certificate shall be attached by the occupier to the general register, and a copy of it shall be sent by the council 40 to the inspector for the district. (2) If, after the grant of a certificate, the occupier proposes to make any extension or alteration in the factory A.D. 1926. premises or to increase materially the number of persons employed or to commence to store or use highly inflammable or explosive material, he shall give notice to the council of his intention. (3) If the council on receipt of the notice mentioned 5 in the preceding subsection are of opinion that the conditions in regard to escape in case of fire will be affected, or if at any time they are satisfied that by reason of altered conditions the existing means of escape have become insufficient, they may cancel the certificate, and 10 thereupon a new certificate shall be obtained from the council. (4) A factory which has been furnished with a certificate in pursuance of subsection (1) of section fourteen of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, and a factory 15 in respect of which a notice issued in pursuance of subsection (2) of that section has been complied with, or in respect of which an award has been made under subsection (3) of that section and has been complied with, shall be entitled to receive a certificate from the 20 district council without further examination unless since the certificate was furnished or the notice or award was complied with any action has been taken of which notice would have been required under subsection (2) of this section if that subsection had been in force. 25 (5) If it appears to an inspector that dangerous conditions in regard to escape in case of fire exist in any factory to which this section applies he may give notice to the district council, and it shall be the duty of the council forthwith to examine the factory, and they shall have 30 power to require such alterations as they may deem necessary. The occupier shall forthwith carry out any such alterations, and upon their being carried out the council shall inform the inspector of the action which has been taken and may amend their certificate or issue a 35 fresh certificate. Where notice is so given as aforesaid and action is not taken by the district council within one month for remedying the dangerous conditions, the inspector may take the like action as the council might have taken 40 and shall be entitled to recover from the district council summarily as a civil debt all such expenses as the inspector may incur in so doing, and as are not recovered from any other person, and are not expenses incurred in or about any unsuccessful legal proceedings. 45 (6) If the occupier of any factory erected before the A.D. 1926. passing of this Act is aggrieved by the refusal of a district council to grant a certificate under this section or by being required by a district council or by an inspector 5 under this section to carry out any alterations at the factory, he may appeal to a court of summary jurisdiction, and the decision of the court shall be binding on the occupier and the council or inspector. 10 15 20. 25 30 35 (7) This section applies to every factory (a) in which more than twenty persons are (b) of which the construction has been completed, (c) of which the construction has been completed (d) in which explosive or highly inflammable (8) This section shall in its application to the administrative county of London have effect as if references to the London County Council were therein substituted for references to the district council. 31.-(1) The Secretary of State may make regula- Regulations, tions as to the means of escape in case of fire to be pro- &c. as to vided in factories or any class or description of factories, and the provisions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to any such regulations. It shall be the duty of the district council to see that the requirements of any such regulations are complied with, and if a certificate has already been issued in respect of a factory which is not in conformity with the regulations, the certificate shall be cancelled and a new 40 certificate shall be obtained from the district council, means of escape in case of fire. A.D. 1926. Safety provisions in case of fire. (2) Every district council shall, in addition to any powers which they possess with reference to the prevention of fire, have power to make byelaws providing for means of escape from fire in the case of factories or any class or description of factories, and sections one 5 hundred and eighty-two to one hundred and eighty-six of the Public Health Act, 1875, shall apply to any byelaws so made; but such byelaws shall not contain any provisions inconsistent with any regulations made by the Secretary of State under the preceding subsection. (3) This section shall in its application to the administrative county of London have effect as if references to the London County Council were therein substituted for references to the district council. 10 32.-(1) While any person is within a factory for 15 the purpose of employment or meals, the doors of the factory, and of any room therein in which such person is, shall not be locked or fastened in such manner that they cannot be easily and immediately opened from the inside. 20 (2) Any doors opening on to any staircase or corridor in any factory from any room in which more than ten persons are employed, and in the case of any factory constructed or converted for use as a factory after the passing of this Act, all other doors at the factory also, 25 shall, except in the case of sliding doors, be constructed to open outwards. (3) In any factory constructed or converted for use as a factory before the passing of this Act, in which more than ten persons are employed, any door, which is not 30 kept continuously open, at the foot of a staircase affording for workers a means of exit from the factory shall, except in the case of sliding doors, be constructed to open outwards. (4) Every window, door, or other exit in a factory 35 giving access to any means of escape in case of fire, other than the means of exit in ordinary use, shall be distinctively marked by a notice printed in red letters of an adequate size. (5) In every factory or part of a factory where more 40 than twenty persons are employed above the ground floor, or where any explosive or highly inflammable material 5 is handled or stored, there shall be provided for giving A.D. 1926. warning in case of fire an alarm signal system, the signals of which shall be clearly audible throughout the factory or building. (6) In every factory all means of escape in case of fire shall be maintained in good condition and free from obstruction. (7) In every factory the contents of any room shall not be so arranged or disposed that there is not a free 10 passageway for all persons employed in the room to a door or other exit. to fire drills in certain factories. 33. In every factory or part of a factory, not being Provision as a factory licensed under the Explosives Act, 1875, or a factory for the manufacture of explosives under the 15 control of a Government Department, where more than twenty women or young persons are employed above the first floor or more than twenty feet above the ground level, or where highly inflammable or dangerous material is handled or stored, there shall be conducted in the 20 prescribed manner at least once in every three months a fire drill in which all the occupants of the factory or part thereof shall take part. in cases of special dan 34. Where it appears to the Secretary of State that, Power to in view of the number and nature of accidents occurring make orders 25 in any factory or class or description of factories, special provision ought to be made at that factory or at factories ger. of that class or description to secure the safety of persons employed therein, he may by order require the occupier to make such reasonable provision by arrangements for 30 special supervision in regard to safety, investigation of the circumstances and causes of accidents, and otherwise as may be specified in the order. 35 40 35.-(1) If on complaint by an inspector a court of Power of summary jurisdiction is satisfied either court to make orders (a) that any part of the ways, works, machinery, or as to or (b) that any process or work is carried on or anything |