The Mykolaiv Executive Committee has approved a three-year programme to co-fund the refurbishment of fire safety systems in high-rise buildings

The Executive Committee has approved a programme to repair fire safety systems in high-rise buildings in Mykolaiv. Photo: State Emergency Service of Mykolaiv Oblast

The Executive Committee of Mykolaiv City Council has approved a draft three-year programme to improve fire safety in high-rise buildings. It provides for the co-funding of repairs to fire-extinguishing and smoke-extraction systems with residents on a 50-50 basis. The programme’s total projected budget is over 83 million hryvnias.

The decision was adopted at a meeting of the Executive Committee today, 22 July, according to NikVesti.

As explained by Ihor Nabatov, Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services at Mykolaiv City Council, the programme was developed in accordance with the recommendations of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Mykolaiv Oblast.

«This issue stems from the fact that we have received a recommendation from the regional State Emergency Service to adopt a programme that will enable the funding of fire safety measures in high-rise buildings. This does not apply to all apartment blocks, but specifically to high-rise buildings, of which there are 51 in Mykolaiv,» he said.

According to the official, the programme will only come into effect from 2027. If the co-owners of a building pass the relevant resolution, the city will be able to co-fund the work to upgrade fire-extinguishing and smoke-extraction systems.

«It is envisaged that, provided the co-owners of a block of flats pass the relevant resolution, funding may be provided on a 50-50 basis to carry out the necessary measures,» noted Ihor Nabatov.

He added that the adoption of the programme is also necessary to comply with the requirements of the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine and the recommendations of the State Emergency Service.

According to the programme, 52 high-rise buildings in Mykolaiv are equipped with fire-extinguishing and smoke-extraction systems. However, these systems are in working order in only nine of them. In the rest, they are not working due to their long period of use, the wear and tear of the equipment and a lack of adequate funding.

The city council notes that the malfunctioning of such systems makes it impossible to evacuate residents in a timely manner and to extinguish fires at an early stage, thereby increasing the risks to people’s lives and health.

The total estimated cost of the programme is 83.27 million hryvnias. Of this, 37.68 million hryvnias are to be funded from the budget of the Mykolaiv City Territorial Community, with a further 45.6 million hryvnias to be provided from other sources.

Programme funding breakdown. Screenshot from the document

At the same time, the programme itself states that these figures are provisional. The specific funding amounts will be determined annually during the approval of the city budget, based on its financial capacity. In particular, in 2027, it is tentatively planned to allocate up to 6.9 million hryvnias from the budget; however, the final decision will be taken by councillors when the budget is approved.

If the programme is implemented in full, the plan is to renovate the fire-extinguishing and smoke-extraction systems in 22 high-rise buildings over three years — five in 2027, seven in 2028 and ten in 2029.

Work will only be carried out in those blocks of flats where the premises are owned by the Mykolaiv City Territorial Community, and provided that the co-owners agree to contribute to the cost of the repairs.

It should be noted that since the start of 2026, 1,700 fires have been recorded in the Mykolaiv region. Most fires were caused by careless handling of fire, breaches of fire safety regulations and military operations.