Title 68, Health, Safety and Environmental Protection

(a) The commissioner shall appoint a director of fire prevention and such stenographic and clerical help as is necessary to enforce this chapter. (b) These employees shall be clothed with all the powers of deputy marshals.

The commissioner shall fix the salaries of the director and the stenographic and clerical help with the approval of the commissioner of human resources.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any person who is certified by the state to conduct fire safety inspections and/or to enforce building codes within a local government jurisdiction may perform those activities, within the limits of s…

(a) The commissioner shall be aided in the performance of the commissioner's duties under this chapter by assistants designated in this section. Such assistants shall be subject to the duties and obligations imposed by this chapter, and shall be subject to the directions of the c…

(a) If there is no officer as provided for in § 68-102-108 in any city or place, or in case such officer declines to serve, the commissioner may appoint an assistant instead. (b) All subordinate officers working under the commissioner, including the commissioner's deputies and as…

The commissioner of commerce and insurance shall prepare instructions to the assistants designated in this chapter and forms for their use in the reports required by this chapter and cause them to be printed and sent, together with a copy of this chapter, to each such officer loc…

(a) The assistants to the commissioner, as provided in §§ 68-102-101 — 68-102-110, shall investigate the cause, origin, and circumstance of every fire occurring in any city or place in this state by which property has been destroyed or damaged, and so far as it is possible, deter…

The commissioner of commerce and insurance, as the state fire marshal, shall supervise and direct the activities of the fire prevention division through the director of the fire prevention division.

(a) The state fire marshal shall make regulations consistent with statutory provisions for safeguarding to a reasonable degree of life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, an…

Every fire insurance company transacting business in this state is required to report to the commissioner, through the secretary or other representative of the insurance company, all fire losses on all property insured by such companies within the state, showing the owner and occ…

(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Authorized agency” means the state fire marshal, or any person acting on the state fire marshal's behalf, or any prosecuting attorney responsible for prosecutions in the county where the fire occurred, or any…

The commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies or assistants, shall, subject to availability and efficient utilization of time, personnel and resources, inspect buildings or premises within their jurisdiction upon the written complaint of any citizen, or whenever the commission…

(a) (1) When any officer referenced in § 68-102-116 finds any building or other structure that for want of repairs, lack of sufficient fire escapes, automatic or other fire alarm apparatus or fire-extinguishing equipment, or by reason of age or dilapidated condition, or from any …

If an order pursuant to § 68-102-117 is made by a deputy or assistant to the commissioner, the owner or occupant may, within twenty-four (24) hours, appeal to the commissioner, who shall, within ten (10) days, review the order and file the commissioner's decision on the appeal, a…

Any owner or occupant who feels aggrieved by the order or affirmed order may, within five (5) days after the making or affirming of the order by the commissioner, file a petition for certiorari and supersedeas with the circuit court of the county in which the property is located,…

Parties that file a petition for certiorari and supersedeas in the circuit court to review an order shall file with the court a bond in an amount to be fixed by the court, in no case to be less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250), with at least two (2) sufficient sureties, to b…

If any party fails to comply with the order as modified on appeal by the court or the commissioner, and within the time fixed by either of them, then the officer is empowered to cause the building or premises to be repaired, torn down, demolished, materials removed and all danger…

If a party fails, neglects, or refuses to repay the officer the expense incurred by the officer within thirty (30) days after the occurrence, the officer may immediately place a lien upon the property for the expenses incurred pursuant to § 68-102-121, together with a twenty-five…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Mobile food unit” means a food service establishment designed to be readily moveable;(2) “NFPA 10” means the National Fire Protection Association publication entitled “Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers,” 2022 edition or a subsequent edition…

The officer is authorized to institute legal proceedings to enforce the lien in any court of record or any general sessions court.

(a) In order to make the lien against the property valid and binding, the officer, officer's assistant, or other person entitled to assert the lien shall immediately upon serving the order provided in § 68-102-117, upon any party or parties, including any lienholders of record, f…

(a) Any owner or occupant failing to comply with an order pursuant to § 68-102-117 within thirty (30) days after the order has been made final commits a Class C misdemeanor for each day's neglect thereafter. An action may be brought in any court having jurisdiction, including the…

(a) The commissioner of commerce and insurance and the commissioner's deputies have police powers and have the right to make arrests when necessary to preserve the law in this department, and may, in addition to investigations made by any of the commissioner's assistants, at any …

The commissioner, the commissioner's deputies and assistants, including full-time arson investigators, have the power to summon witnesses and to compel them to attend before them, or either of them, and to testify under oath in relation to any matter that is by this chapter a sub…

If, after examination of witnesses or any investigation, the commissioner, or any of the commissioner's deputies or assistants, is of the opinion that the facts in relation to a fire indicate that a crime has been committed, the commissioner shall present the testimony taken on e…

The commissioner, the commissioner's deputies or any of the commissioner's assistants may at all hours enter any building or premises for the purpose of making an inspection or investigation that under this chapter, the person may deem necessary to be made.

Every person, summoned and testifying before the commissioner, the commissioner's deputies or assistants, shall receive from the funds for the maintenance of the department, on the certificate of the commissioner, for witness fees and mileage, such sum or sums as provided for wit…

The commissioner shall keep in the commissioner's office a record of all fires occurring in this state and of all the facts concerning the fires occurring in the state, including statistics as to the extent of the fires and the damage caused by the fires, and whether such losses …

The commissioner shall, annually, on or before February 15, transmit to the governor a full report of the commissioner's proceedings under this chapter, and such statistics as the commissioner may wish to include in the report, for the year previous. The commissioner shall also r…

Any witness who refuses to obey a summons of the commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies or assistants, or who refuses to be sworn or testify, or who disobeys any lawful order of the commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies or assistants, in relation to any investigation…

The district attorney general of any county, upon request of the commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies or assistants, shall assist such officers, upon an investigation of any fire that, in their opinion, is of suspicious origin.

All local assistants not receiving a salary from the state shall investigate fires without compensation and no expenses shall be paid to them.

(a) It is the duty of the commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies and assistants, to require fire drills in educational and institutional occupancies. (b) (1) (A) (i) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(A)(ii), fire drills requiring full evacuation in educational occupa…

Any person, persons or corporation failing to comply with this chapter commits a Class C misdemeanor for each violation of this chapter.

Any officer, including assistants referred to in §§ 68-102-101 — 68-102-143, 68-102-147, and 68-102-148, who neglects, fails or refuses to comply with any of the requirements of those sections, commits a Class C misdemeanor.

All penalties, fees or forfeitures collected under §§ 68-102-101 — 68-102-143, § 68-102-147, or § 68-102-148, shall be placed by the commissioner of commerce and insurance to the credit of the fund for the maintenance of the division of fire prevention and shall be used as such.

It is declared that this chapter is necessary for the public safety, health, peace and welfare, is remedial in nature, and shall be construed liberally.

For the maintenance of the division of fire prevention and the payment of expenses incident thereto, and for the maintenance of the fire investigations section transferred to the Tennessee bureau of investigation pursuant to chapter 487 of the Public Acts of 2019, and the payment…

(a) (1) The commissioner of commerce and insurance may, in addition to the other provisions of this part, authorize and appoint any person, acting through a professional corporation pursuant to the Tennessee Professional Corporation Act, compiled in title 48, chapter 101, part 6,…

(a) It is the duty of various county sheriffs and the state highway patrol officers to use all effective methods in their power to prevent the spread of forest fires. Whenever the various sheriffs or any member of the state highway patrol becomes aware of the fact that there is a…

(a) No person shall set fire to any woods that are not the person's own property, nor to the person's own property, without giving at least two (2) days' notice to persons owning the adjacent lands, and also taking effectual care to extinguish the fire before it extends beyond su…

(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell or offer for sale, any manufactured home, travel trailer, modular building unit as defined in chapter 126, part 3 of this title, or any other prefabricated unit that is designed to be used as an industrial or commerc…

(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, association or corporation to sell, or offer for sale, for use in this state, any device, appliance, system or equipment designed to act as an alarm in the detection and prevention of fires, unless the device, appliance, system or equipmen…

(a) It is lawful for the state fire marshal provided for in § 68-102-112, and such deputies as the fire marshal may designate who are full-time salaried employees of this state, to carry a pistol or side arm while on active duty in order to protect their own lives and to effectua…

Every person, firm or corporation, or legal entity engaged in the business of installation of electrical wiring, heating, or any electrical devices that require inspection by this chapter and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall register with the division of fire p…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “One-family or two-family rental unit” means any rental building containing one (1) or two (2) living units with independent cooking and bathroom facilities, whether designated as a house, cottage, duplex, or condominium, or by any other name; and(…