Chapter 07-291

Chapter 291

2007 -- H 5557 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

Enacted 07/06/07

A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- FIRE SAFETY CODE -- GENERAL

PROVISIONS

Introduced By: Representative William San Bento

Date Introduced: February 28, 2007

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 23-28.1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-28.1 entitled

"Comprehensive Fire Safety Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

23-28.1-2. Purposes. -- (a) Effective January 1, 2004, the Uniform Fire Code (NFPA 1)

and the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) of the National Fire Protection Association, Inc., 2003

editions, with annexes, except as updated, amended, altered or deleted and by the addition of

certain provisions, as indicated in the rules and regulations adopted by the fire safety code board,

is hereby adopted as the "Rhode Island Fire Safety Code". This code shall be liberally construed

and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.

(b) The underlying purposes and policies of these chapters are:

(1) To simplify, clarify and modernize the law governing fires and fire prevention;

(2)(i) To specify reasonable minimum requirements for fire safety in new and existing

buildings and facilities, except in private dwellings occupied by one (1), two (2) or three (3)

families, in the various cities or towns in this state; provided, however, this code shall provide

reasonable standards for the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in private

dwellings occupied by one (1), two (2), and three (3) families; provided, further, that after July 1,

2008, three (3) family dwellings shall be equipped with hard wired or supervised interconnected

UL approved wireless smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, in accordance with standards

established by the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review ~~and~~ ;provided further that

(ii) The local fire authority that performs smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector

plan review and inspection for the installation of smoke detector and/or carbon monoxide

detection in any new and existing private dwelling occupied by one, two (2) and three (3) families

shall charge no more than a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fee for a one family unit, a one hundred

twenty-five dollar ($125) fee for a two (2) family unit and a one hundred seventy-five dollar

($175) fee for a three (3) family unit for the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector plan

review together with any subsequent detection inspections.

(3) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(5) of this section, to permit the cities and towns

to enact ordinances and orders relating to fire safety provided those ordinances and orders impose

requirements equal to, additional to, or more stringent than those contained in this code which

ordinances and orders shall be effective only upon the approval by rule of the Fire Safety Code

Board of Appeal and Review. Any ordinance or order relating to fire safety enacted by any city or

town shall be prospective in its application and shall be enacted after public hearing. The city or

town shall cause printed notices of the time, place, and subject matter of the hearing to be posted

in three (3) public places in the city or town, for three (3) weeks next preceding the time of the

hearing, and shall advertise in a newspaper circulated in the city or town, if any there be, at least

once a week for the same period of time;

(4) Jurisdiction for the interpretation of any city or town ordinance or order relating to

fire safety shall be vested in the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review; provided,

however, that the responsibility for the enforcement of the ordinance or order shall be with the

local authorities and petitions for variations from the ordinance or order shall be heard by the

state fire safety board of appeal and review in the manner prescribed in chapter 28.3 of this title;

and

(5) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no city or town may enact

any ordinance or order relating to the requirement for the handling of explosives pursuant to

chapter 28.28 of this title or for the installation of, or specifications for, the fire alarm sections of

this code, the fire protection systems as prescribed by chapter 28.25 of this title, or for the

possession and display of commercial fireworks or pyrotechnics pursuant to chapter 28.11 of this

title, which chapter shall exclusively govern the requirements for the installation of, and

specification for, fire protection systems, the handling of explosives and possession and display

of commercial fireworks or pyrotechnics. All such ordinances or orders relating to the

requirements for the installation of and specifications for such fire protection systems, the

handling of explosives, or possession and display of commercial fireworks or pyrotechnics

heretofore enacted by any city or town are of no force and effect.

(1) Words in the singular number include the plural, and in the plural include the

singular; and

(2) Words of the masculine gender include the feminine and the neuter and, when the

sense so indicates words of the neuter gender may refer to any gender.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC02133/SUB A/2

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