TITLE 23

Health and Safety

CHAPTER 23-28.1

Fire Safety Code–General Provisions

SECTION 23-28.1-7



   § 23-28.1-7  Conformity required. –

(a) No building shall be constructed for, used for, or converted to, any

occupancy regulated by the code, and no addition shall be made to a building

except in accordance with the applicable provisions of the code or the

rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures, as

applicable.



   (b) Any existing structure that is not in conformity with the

provisions of this code is governed by the following:



   (1) The authority having jurisdiction is authorized to give

building owners a reasonable notice of fire safety code violations and

establish a timetable for compliance or, in cases of practical difficulty,

establish a time by which the owner must petition to the fire safety code board

for a variation.



   (2) The fire marshal, or his or her designee within the

division, or a nonsalaried deputy state fire marshal in accordance with

guidelines established by the fire marshal, has the authority to summarily

abate any condition which presents immediate danger to life, these conditions

shall include improper management or use of flammable and combustible

materials, liquids and gasses, pyrotechnics, fireworks or explosives,

malfunctioning automatic sprinklers, fire alarms and emergency lighting,

malfunctioning heating and electrical systems, and blocked or inadequate exits

or means of egress, and such other conditions as may be established by the Fire

Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review. A failure to abate a condition that

presents a clear and immediate danger to life shall be grounds for the person

issuing the order to abate, to require that the premises be vacated, this

action shall be either authorized by the fire marshal or a designee of the fire

marshal who has been given advanced written authority by the fire marshal to

approve such actions.



   (3) All new buildings and structures, for which a building

permit is issued on or after February 20, 2004, shall be subject to the

provisions of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code addressing the new occupancy.

All existing buildings and structures, and those buildings and structures for

which a building permit was issued prior to February 20, 2004, shall be subject

to the provisions of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code addressing the existing

occupancy. Any existing building or structure, subject to the provisions of the

Rehabilitation Building and Fire Code for Existing Buildings and Structures,

shall also comply with the existing occupancy provisions of the Rhode Island

Fire Safety Code addressing the current or proposed occupancy. All active fire

protection systems, including but not limited to sprinklers, fire alarms,

emergency lighting, smoke detectors and exit signs, previously required and

installed in existing buildings, shall continue to be properly maintained.



   (4) Any building and/or structure that is in compliance on

December 31, 2012 with the 2003 edition of the NFPA 1 and 101 as adopted and/or

amended under the 2003 Comprehensive Fire Safety Act shall be deemed compliant.

Such compliant building and/or structure shall not be required to comply with

the 2012 edition of the NFPA 1 and 101 as adopted and/or amended pursuant to

Rhode Island general laws § 23-28.01-4 that would require additional

expenditures until December 31, 2015. The aforementioned compliant buildings

and/or structures shall not be further required to comply with the 2010 edition

of the NFPA 72 until December 31, 2015.



History of Section.

(P.L. 1966, ch. 216, § 1; P.L. 1973, ch. 9, § 1; P.L. 1973, ch. 176,

§ 1; P.L. 1974, ch. 124, § 1; P.L. 1975, ch. 165, § 1; P.L.

1976, ch. 271, § 1B; P.L. 1978, ch. 43, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 185,

§ 3; P.L. 2000, ch. 290, § 3; P.L. 2003, ch. 106, § 3; P.L.

2003, ch. 107, § 3; P.L. 2004, ch. 220, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 225,

§ 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 294, § 2; P.L. 2012, ch. 337, § 2.)