Nine in ten schools in Romania, not certified by the fire authority

About 93% of the 19,000 schools in Romania don’t have authorizations from the fire department - ISU, according to interim Prime Minister and Education Minister Sorin Campeanu. Less than 1,200 schools have been certified by the fire authority. The reason for this low number is that to get the certification from ISU takes 7 to 12 months and requires investments that could amount to as much as EUR 15,000, which many schools can’t afford. Bucharest’s biggest football stadium National Arena has also been functioning without the ISU authorization, reports local Stirileprotv.ro. The stadium, which has a capacity of over 55,000 spectators, has hosted international football matches, as well as large concerts by Red Hot Chili Pepers and Depeche Mode. Cluj Arena is also not certified, and one of Bucharest’s biggest concert venues, the Palace Hall, may also have issues, as several revamping works done in the past years haven’t been verified by the fire department. Several public hospitals have also been fined for not having fire authorizations, according to state secretary Raed Arafat. editor@romania-insider.com