2005 -- S 0374

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LC01861

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2005

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A N A C T

RELATING TO THE FIRE SAFETY CODE

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Breene, Blais, and Bates

     Date Introduced: February 10, 2005

     Referred To: Senate Commerce, Housing & Municipal Government

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 23-28.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-28.1 entitled "Fire

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Safety Code-General Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     23-28.1-5. Definitions. -- The terms used in NFPA 1 (Uniform Fire Code), in NFPA 101

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(Life Safety Code) and in such other national codes as are authorized for adoption by the Fire

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Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review shall be given the definitions established in those codes

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unless another meaning is provided for in this title and is essential to implementing the purposes

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of this title, and the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review shall have authority to resolve

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any conflicts among definitions in order to achieve the purposes of this title and/or provide for the

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efficient administration of codes:

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      (1) Abatement or to abate a condition. - Abatement, or to abate a condition, is the

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reduction, decrease, or diminution of a hazardous condition that presents immediate danger to

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life. The term "immediate" denotes that action is or must be taken either instantly or without any

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considerable loss of time. The condition may be singular or may be a set of conditions that in

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combination present an immediate danger to life. Such conditions shall include improper

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management or use of flammable and combustible materials, liquids and gasses, pyrotechnics,

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fireworks or explosives, malfunctioning automatic sprinklers, fire alarms and emergency lighting,

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malfunctioning heating and electrical systems, blocked or inadequate exits or means of egress,

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and such other conditions as may be established by the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and

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Review.

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      (2) Authority having jurisdiction. - Unless specifically defined to the contrary in this

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code, the authority having jurisdiction for the enforcement of this code shall be the state fire

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marshal, the deputy fire marshals, and assistant deputies.

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      (3) Code. - The term "code" means this Fire Safety Code established under the

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provisions of section 23-28.1-1.

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      (4) Compliance order. - For the purposes of this Code, a compliance order is defined as a

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command or direction authoritatively given to a building owner or occupant to provide

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conformance with the Fire Safety Code. A compliance order takes effect when a building owner

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or occupant, after proper notice, has exhausted his/her administrative appeals or has failed to avail

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himself/herself of appropriate administrative appeals within a reasonable period of time after

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receiving proper notice.

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      (5) Family day care home. - The term "family day care home" means any home other

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than the child's home in which child day care in lieu of parental care and/or supervision is offered

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at the same time to at least four (4) but not more than eight (8) children who are not relatives of

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the care giver, and which is licensed by the state department of children, youth, and families and

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subject to the department's regulations.

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      (6) Nightclub. - A place of public accommodation, which in general is characterized by

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all of the following:

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      (i) Provides entertainment by a live band or recorded music generating above normal

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sound levels.

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      (ii) Has as its primary source of revenue, in general, the sale of beverages of any kind for

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consumption on the premises and/or cover charges. Food, if served, is considered a secondary

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attraction.

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      (iii) Has an occupant load in total or in any single area or room of at least 100 patrons.

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      Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include any place of public

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accommodation or any event within a place of public accommodation, which is in its nature

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distinctly private.

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     (7) Barn. A barn shall be described as any structure used in a commercial enterprise

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which has as its primary purpose horticulture, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, forestry,

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stabling of horses, dairy farming, or aquaculture, or the raising of livestock, furbearing animals,

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poultry, or bees, and all such other operations, uses, and activities as the chief of the division of

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agriculture, in consultation with the farmer, may determine to be agriculture, or an agricultural

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activity, use or operation.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 23-28.1 of the General Laws entitled "Fire Safety Code-General

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Provisions" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     23-28.1-10. Exemptions. – Barns, as defined in Rhode Island general laws subsection

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23-28.1-5(7), shall be exempt from the Rhode Island fire safety code as follows:

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     All structures meeting the definition of barns, as define in subsection 23-28.1-5(7), shall

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be exempt from the "interior finish" requirements of the Rhode Island fire safety code.

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     All barns, as defined in subsection 23-28.1-5(7), comprising a total area of fifty thousand

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(50,000) square feet or less shall be exempt from the provisions of the Rhode Island fire safety

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code which requires installation of automatic detecting devices, sprinkler (systems), fire doors,

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and exit lighting.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01861

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO THE FIRE SAFETY CODE

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     This act would add barns to the fire safety code, and would exempt barns comprising a

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total area of less than fifty thousand (50,000) square feet from the provisions.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01861

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