Chapter 146

Section 1. The following words as used in this chapter, unless a contrary meaning is specifically prescribed or the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings: ''Board'', the board of boiler rules appointed under section ten of chapter twenty-two. ''Boiler'', A…

Section 10. Whoever owns, or uses or causes to be used, any such boiler, unless the same is under the periodically guaranteed inspection of an insurance company authorized to insure boilers in the commonwealth, shall report in writing to the chief the location of such boiler, bef…

Section 11. All such boilers shall be inspected externally at least once each year when in operation, and the inspector shall observe the pressure of steam carried and the general condition of each boiler, and ascertain if the safety valve and the appliances for indicating the pr…

Section 12. No person shall remove or tamper with any safety appliance prescribed by the board nor load the safety valve to a greater pressure than that allowed by the certificate of inspection.

Section 13. The inspection of boilers and appurtenances shall be made by the division, under the supervision of the chief, or by inspectors of insurance companies authorized to insure steam boilers in the commonwealth; or, in the case of shop inspections in a boiler shop outside …

Section 14. Every insurance company, or a reinsurer, authorized to insure boilers and pressure vessels in the commonwealth and making inspections of such boilers and pressure vessels, shall have in its employ at least one inspector who holds a certificate of competency under sect…

Section 15. No person shall act as an inspector of boilers for an insurance company unless he holds a certificate of competency under section sixty-two.

Section 16. If any insurance company issues a certificate of inspection signed by an inspector who does not hold a certificate of competency, the state fire marshal may, if it is a domestic company, proceed against it under section six of chapter one hundred and seventy-five or m…

Section 17. The inspectors of the division shall make reports of all inspections and shall make such recommendations to the chief as they may deem expedient.

Section 18. Every insurance company shall forward to the chief, within fourteen days after each inspection, reports of all boilers inspected by it. Such reports shall be made in a standard format that has been authorized and approved by the department, and shall contain all order…

Section 19. Every insurance company shall report immediately to the chief the name of the owner or user and the location of every boiler required by this chapter to be inspected, upon which they have cancelled or refused insurance, giving the reasons therefor.

Section 1A. Inspectors; appointment; powers and duties; appointment as special state police; oath of office (a) The state fire marshal shall appoint a chief of inspections, who shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 31, who may be removed for cause, and the position of…

Section 2. The board shall formulate rules or adopt rules formulated by a recognized engineering organization, for the construction, installation and inspection of steam boilers and power reactor vessels and piping as used in atomic energy installations and for ascertaining the s…

Section 20. Boilers and their appurtenances used exclusively for heating purposes, which are not required by this chapter to be inspected, shall be provided with such safety appliances as shall be prescribed by the board, and the division shall inspect such boilers upon applicati…

Section 21. The owner or user of a boiler required by this chapter to be inspected shall prepare the boiler for inspection as directed by the inspector. The inspector shall, if requested, give the owner or user at least fourteen days' notice to prepare a boiler for inspection; pr…

Section 22. The owner or user of a boiler inspected by the division shall pay to the state fire marshal, a fee, the amount of which shall be determined according to the provisions referred to hereunder, for each boiler internally and externally inspected and for each visit for ex…

Section 23. If upon inspection the district engineering inspector finds the boiler to be in safe working order with the fittings necessary to safely and properly set up the boiler and its appurtenances conform to the rules of the board, the department shall issue to the owner or …

Section 24. Every boiler which has been inspected by the division shall be numbered either by stamping the number upon the boiler or by attaching a numbered metal tag by a seal or otherwise to the boiler or its fittings. No person except an inspector of the division shall deface …

Section 25. Insurance companies shall, after each internal and external inspection, if the boiler and its appurtenances conform to the rules of the board and if they deem the boiler to be in safe working condition otherwise, submit such information to the department. The departme…

Section 26. If a boiler is insured which has not previously been inspected externally and internally and a certificate of inspection issued, the company so insuring shall forthwith notify the chief to that effect, and shall inspect such boiler internally and externally within one…

Section 27. The certificate of inspection issued by the division, or by an insurance company, shall state the name of the owner or user, the location, size and number of the boiler, the date of inspection and the maximum pressure at which it may be operated, with the signature of…

Section 29. The owner or user of any boiler required by this chapter to be inspected shall immediately notify the division or the insurance company, if the boiler is insured, if a defect affecting the safety of the boiler is discovered.

Section 3. The board shall hold public hearings annually on the first Thursday in May and November, and at such other times as it may determine, on petitions for changes in the rules formulated by it. If, after any such hearing, it shall deem it advisable to make changes in said …

Section 30. If the insurance on any boiler required by this chapter to be inspected expires, or is cancelled because the insurers deem it unsafe to continue the operation thereof, the owner or user shall cease to operate it until it has been put in a safe condition, satisfactory …

Section 31. If, in the judgment of the inspector of the division or of the insurance company, it is advisable to apply a hydrostatic pressure test to a boiler, the owner or user shall prepare the boiler for such test, as directed by the inspector of the division or by the insuran…

Section 32. No person shall prevent or attempt to prevent the chief or any inspector of the division from entering any premises on which a boiler is situated.

Section 33. Whoever violates any provision of sections five to thirty-two, inclusive, or of the rules of the board shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

Section 34. No person shall install or use, or cause to be installed or used, any tank or other receptacle for the storing of compressed air at any pressure exceeding 50 pounds per square inch, except when attached to locomotives or street or railway cars or trackless trolley veh…

Section 35. The board shall prescribe regulations, conforming to recognized standards of engineering practice, for the size, shape, construction, gauges, operation, maximum pressure, safety devices, use of oil, and other appurtenances necessary for the safe operation of such tank…

Section 36. The division shall inspect at least once in two years all such tanks or other receptacles, except such as are covered by a policy of insurance and inspected by insurance inspectors as specified in section thirty-four.

Section 37. Owners of such tanks or other receptacles shall notify the state fire marshal of the location thereof.

Section 38. Every insurance company authorized to insure air tanks within the commonwealth shall forward to the state fire marshal, within fourteen days after each inspection of an air tank or other such receptacle, a report of such inspection. The reports shall be made on blanks…

Section 39. The air tank or other receptacle shall be prepared for internal inspection by the owner or user. The inspection plugs, handhole plates and manhole plates if provided shall be removed. The interior shall be cleaned of rust, scale, oil sludge and any other deleterious m…

Section 4. Changes in the rules which affect the construction of new boilers shall take effect six months after their filing as provided in section two; provided, that the board may, upon request, permit the application of such change in rules to boilers manufactured or installed…

Section 40. A fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven shall be paid to the state fire marshal by the owner, agent or user of any such tank or other receptacle for every inspection thereof. Said fe…

Section 41. Whoever violates any provision of sections thirty-four to thirty-nine, inclusive, or any regulation made under authority thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one month, or both.

Section 42. No person shall use an ammonia compressor unless it is equipped with a safety valve.

Section 43. The board shall formulate rules for the size, design, location and piping of safety valves on ammonia compressors.

Section 44. The rules so formulated shall have the force of law and shall be printed and furnished to those requesting them by the division.

Section 45. Any changes in the rules as formulated by the board shall be made in accordance with sections three and four.

Section 45A. No person shall operate or cause to be operated a refrigeration or air conditioning system, or any appurtenance thereof, excepting refrigeration or air conditioning systems in railway trains, motor vehicles, private residences, apartment houses of less than five apar…

Section 46. No person shall have charge of or operate a steam boiler or engine or its appurtenances, except boilers and engines upon locomotives, turbines on test stands being operated solely for the purpose of testing such turbines by qualified testing personnel approved by the …

Section 46A. The state fire marshal shall develop a log book which shall include a checklist for the proper daily steam boiler maintenance that shall be required to be completed daily by the operator of a steam boiler exceeding nine horsepower. Such checklist shall include, but n…

Section 47. If such steam engine or boiler or an appurtenance thereof is found to be in charge of, or operated by, a person not duly licensed as an engineer or fireman, and, after a lapse of one week from such time, it is again found to be so operated by an unlicensed person, it …

Section 48. When liquid or gaseous fuel, electric or atomic energy or any other source of heat is used, the horsepower of a boiler shall be determined by either the manufacturer's factory tag affixed to the boiler or burner denoting horsepower, or calculated by one of the followi…

Section 49. Licenses shall be granted according to the competence of the applicant and shall be classified as follows: Engineer's licenses: First class, to have charge of and operate any steam plant. Second class, to have charge of and operate a boiler or boilers, and to have cha…

Section 5. The division shall enforce this chapter and the rules of the board except when otherwise provided. All inspectors of the division may enter any premises in the pursuance of their duty.

Section 50. To be eligible for examination for a second class fireman's license, a person must furnish evidence as to his previous training, and, except students attending all day state aided vocational high schools in the steam engineering course or students performing the dutie…

Section 50A. To be eligible for examination for a license as an assistant nuclear power plant operator, a person shall have been employed in a steam power plant as a fireman, water tender, control room assistant, or as a designated assistant to the engineer in charge of an eight …

Section 50B. Licenses to have charge of and to operate a nuclear steam power plant, in which plant steam is generated by the release of heat energy as a result of neutron activity, shall be classified as follows: 1. Nuclear Power Plant Senior Supervising Engineer, to be the respo…