Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

In the event any town or fire district does not have an assistant deputy state fire marshal appointed by the state fire marshal pursuant to § 23-28.2-9 to perform fire prevention, protection, inspection, and other duties under chapters 28.1 through 28.39 of this title, the applic…

The state fire marshal, as the authority having jurisdiction, shall have the authority to enforce and perform the duties required by the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act, chapter 28.01 of this title, by the Fire Safety Code, chapters 28.1 — 28.39 of this title, and all codes referen…

(a) Within the office of the state fire marshal, there shall be a bomb disposal unit (bomb squad), accredited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a bomb squad, whose duties it will be to handle and dispose of all hazardous devices suspect to be explosive or incendiary…

In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the state fire marshal is authorized and directed: (1) To procure in his or her discretion as many deputy state fire marshals and assistant deputy state fire marshals as needed, and the temporary or intermittent services of experts or…

The state fire marshal shall be provided adequate offices through the department of business regulation.

The state fire marshal may incur such expenses for deputy state fire marshals, clerical assistance, and office supplies as may be necessary.

(a) The fire marshal may appoint as many nonsalaried assistant deputy state fire marshals as he or she may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of chapters 28.1 — 28.39 of this title; the assistant deputy fire marshals shall serve at the pleasure of the state fire marshal. Pr…

When used in this chapter: (1) “Amendment” means any modification or change in the code that shall be formulated, adopted, and issued by the board; (2) “Blanket variance” means generalized relief from any provision of the fire safety code, including, but not limited to, time dead…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to repeal or limit or restrict in any way any present state law, statute, regulation, or order governing the reasonable minimum requirements for fire safety in new and existing buildings and facilities, except where the state law, statut…

The commissioners and employees of the Fire Safety Code board of appeal and review shall not render themselves liable personally, and they are hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or perm…

(a) There is hereby created a fire safety code board of appeal and review, consisting of eleven (11) members who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Of the members of the board of appeal and review, one shall be a representative of the pe…

(a) The state fire safety code board has the power to promulgate, amend, and repeal rules and regulations to safeguard life and property from the hazards of fire and explosives consistent with the provisions of the Fire Safety Code, chapters 28.1 through 28.39 of this title, and …

The state fire safety code board has the power to adopt, promulgate, amend, and repeal the fire safety code elements of the rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures, which shall be administered as a sub-code of the fire safety code. Any existing…

(a) The members of the board shall not be compensated for their service on the board, but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses. (b) In no event shall the fire safety code board expend more than fifty-seven thousand five hundred dollars ($57,500) for expenses of board…

(a) Any building owner, and/or the operator of any regulated process or hazardous activity, may consult with the authority having jurisdiction for advice and assistance in complying with the provisions of the fire safety code adopted pursuant to chapters 28.1 — 28.39 and chapter …

Any building owner aggrieved by any decision of the board refusing to grant a variation pursuant to the provisions of § 23-28.3-5 may, within thirty (30) days after the decision, commence an action in the sixth division of the district court against the state fire marshal for a r…

Any person aggrieved by the enforcement against him or her of the Fire Safety Code, chapters 28.1 — 28.39 of this title, any safety code adopted under this chapter, or any amendments thereof may, after its effective date, commence an action in the district court for the county in…

In any proceedings under §§ 23-28.3-6 and 23-28.3-7, the court shall order notice to be given to the board and to the state fire marshal in such manner as it shall determine. The proceeding and the pleadings therein shall be governed by the laws and rules of practice applicable t…

Unless otherwise specifically specified in this code, any building owner or lessee who violates or fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this chapter, the Fire Safety Code, chapters 28.1 — 28.39 of this title, or any code adopted by the board, or any lawful order of t…

The following terms when used in this chapter shall have the meanings herein ascribed: (1) Employee means a person involved in performing the duties and responsibilities of a fire department, under the auspices of the organization. A fire department employee may be a full-time, o…

This chapter establishes minimum requirements for a safety and health program for a fire department or any type of organization providing similar services. This chapter is not intended to supersede any more stringent requirements in effect at any fire department in the state. Fir…

The requirements of this chapter apply to public fire departments, private, or contractual type fire departments primarily performing duties normally performed by public fire departments.

It is the intent of this chapter to ensure that NFPA 1500: Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program is adopted and adhered to by all applicable fire departments in the state.

Each applicable fire department in the state shall formulate a written plan to implement the requirements of NFPA 1500 not more than one hundred twenty days (120) after July 10, 1990 which shall be updated annually and a copy shall be given to the director of labor and training t…

(a) There is hereby created a NFPA 1500 Implementation Plan Review Committee consisting of three (3) members: one of whom shall be appointed by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, one of whom shall be appointed by the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters, and …

(a) This chapter shall not apply to volunteer fire departments. (b) The following NFPA 1500 chapters and sections shall not apply to this chapter: (1) Chapter 3, training and educational standards; (2) Chapter 8-4, fire department physicians; (3) Chapter 8-5, physical fitness pro…

(a) Every state or local municipal agency and every licensed asbestos contractor under chapter 24.5 of this title, and certified commercial applicator or licensed commercial applicator under chapter 25 of this title, shall notify the local fire fighting authorities of any asbesto…

The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the director of labor and training.

The authority having jurisdiction is hereby authorized and empowered to inspect at any reasonable hour all buildings, structures, or other places, except buildings used wholly as dwelling houses, where any combustible material, that is or may become dangerous as a fire menace to …

If the authority having jurisdiction, after any inspection made under the authority of § 23-28.5-1, shall in its discretion deem that the accumulation of a combustible nature increases the danger of fire to the premises where the accumulation has been permitted, or to the propert…

Any person refusing to allow inspections or hindering or obstructing the authority having jurisdiction to make an inspection, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100), or imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) days for e…

The authority having jurisdiction is hereby authorized and empowered to inspect from time to time, at any reasonable hour, all places, except dwelling houses and the portion of any building as is occupied for dwelling purposes, where they have reason to believe that articles or s…

Any person refusing to allow inspections, or hindering or obstructing the authority having jurisdiction authorized to make an inspection, in the making of the same, shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for th…

(a) Any person, firm, or corporation aggrieved by the decision or order of any fire official may appeal therefrom to the district court, by filing within thirty (30) days of the order or decision, a sworn petition in the court, which shall set forth the grounds upon which the app…

(a) Any person aggrieved by the final decree in the district court may appeal to the supreme court on any question of law or equity decided adversely to the appellant. The appeal shall follow the general procedure prescribed by the Workers’ Compensation Act, chapters 29 — 37 of t…

Admissions to all indoor places of assembly seating over two thousand (2000) persons wherein musical concerts are to be performed shall be by reserved seating only. No proprietor of any place of assembly, and no managers or other person or persons in charge thereof shall sell or …

(a) All new and existing places of assembly shall be completely protected by an approved system of automatic sprinklers installed and maintained in accordance with N.F.P.A. Standard 13, 2002 Edition and its related standards pursuant to the schedule outlined in subsection (d) of …

Every special amusement building concentrated occupancy place of assembly nightclub as defined in § 23-28.1-5 shall comply with the following requirements, consistent with requirements related thereto established by the Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review and the state fi…

(a) Pyrotechnics. The storage, handling, use of display of pyrotechnics is prohibited in all places of assembly, except as may be authorized below. Pyrotechnics may be permitted only in places of assembly with an occupancy load of greater than one thousand (1000) people that are …

(a) The Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review shall establish and maintain a subcategory of assembly occupancies for places of worship and shall, consistent with the provisions of this section, specify code requirements applicable to the subcategory. Every place of worship …

(a) Admissions to all places of assembly shall be supervised by the responsible management or by the person or persons delegated with the responsibility by the management, and the responsible person shall not allow admissions in excess of the maximum occupancy as provided in § 23…

The general assembly finds and declares: (1) That there are throughout Rhode Island existing buildings and structures that are vacant or partially vacant and/or underutilized because rehabilitation of such buildings and structures to conform to the requirements for new structures…

(a) Creation and membership. There is created a joint committee on the rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures consisting of eleven (11) members: five (5) of whom shall be the chairperson of the building code standards committee established by …

(a) Content. The rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures shall have a building code element and a fire safety code element and shall make provisions for the repair, renovation, alteration, reconstruction, and change of use of and additions to e…

(a) Variances. (1) The joint committee on the rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures shall serve as the board of standards and variances for the rehabilitation building and fire code. Any building owner may consult the authority having jurisdi…

The building code commissioner shall provide staff support and assistance to the joint committee on the building code element of the rehabilitation building and fire code and the state fire marshal shall provide staff support and assistance to the joint committee on the fire safe…