Navigating the Turbulent Waters of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code, 0613 RIBJ, 61 RI Bar J., No. 6, Pg. 23

Navigating the Turbulent Waters of the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code

Vol. 61 No. 6 Pg. 23

Rhode Island Bar Journal

June 2013

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0May/June 2013

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0 W. Keith Burlingame, Esq. President, Damage Control, Wakefield

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0As Rhode Island approached the 10-year anni -versary of the tragic Station nightclub fire, ¹ on June 20, 2012 Governor Lincoln Chafee signed into law 2012 – H 7959 Substitute A² and 2012 – S 2564 Substitute B, ³ putting in motion the first significant changes to the state’s fire safety codes since the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act of 2003.⁴ These two bills mandated the State Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal & Review (Board) review, revise and update the current code to include the following National Fire Protection Association⁵ (NFPA) codes:

NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2012 edition.

NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, 2010 edition.

NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 2012 edition.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0While this may appear to be straightforward, it is far from it, and a brief historical review of the codes might help to put it all into perspective. The first fire safety code in the state was enacted in 1966 and codified into the General Laws at Chapters 28.1 through 28.28 of Title 23.⁶ As a practical matter, this newly adopted code was, in fact, a joint building and fire code until 1976, at which time the Rhode Island State Building Code was established, ^[7]adopting the 1975 edition of the Building Officials Code Administrators International (BOCA) standards. While hot off the presses, requirements were minimal and applied only to new structures or those existing structures where there was a change of use or type of occupancy. While in today’s codes the requirements for fire alarm systems are a primary component of any life safety plan, at the time the only requirement for a fire alarm system was that, “…it shall consist of a fire alarm box within the building or within fifty feet (50’) of the main exit of said building and provided, however, that such fire alarm box shall be connected directly from said box to the local fire department alarm system.”^[8]

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0At the same time, the building fire safety code commission was created, authorized to issue variations from particular provisions of the fire safety code.⁹ This commission has evolved into today’s State Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal & Review.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Existing structures not in conformity with the provisions of the code were given five years after the code’s February 1, 1996 effective date to comply.^[10]Two years later, following the Ree -nactment of 1968, ¹¹ compliance was extended to February 1, 1973 and later again to February 1, 1974.¹² During this period, the code remained relatively stable with both building owners and code enforcement officials having the luxury of one-stop shopping, having the entire code available in a single document, affectionately coming to be known as the “red book.” Although over the course of travel many different colors emerged. Then, in 1976, ¹³ the mounting reluctance by many to fully comply made its way back to the state house resulting in the birth of the so-called grandfather clause providing that “[a]ll existing building which are deemed to be in compliance with specific provisions of the code prior to any 1976 amendment shall be exempt from such amendment unless there is a change of occupancy or more than 50% of the total valuation of the building is to be changed within a one-year period. Those requirements not met prior to 1976 shall be subject to the latest amendment.”^[14]

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Then tragedy struck the State. In the early morning hours of December 13, 1977, fire broke out on the fourth floor of Providence College’s Aquinas Hall dormitory resulting in the death of ten young women, seven from the effects of the fire itself and another three who jumped to their peril to escape the deadly blaze. Several months later, the Board adopted another edition of NFPA 1 and 101, again for new construction only, while reserving any requirements for fire alarms and maintaining the current statutory provisions for existing buildings. This provision was reaffirmed in 1978, ¹⁵ remain ing the law of the land¹⁶ for many years to come, and a thorn in the side of all those promoting safety from fire. It wasn’t until 1996 that any further changes were made to the code, at which time the Board, through its rulemaking procedures, adopted the 1992 editions of NFPA 1 (Fire Protection Code) and 101 (Life Safety Code) for new construction only while reserving any requirements for fire alarms and maintaining the current statutory provisions for existing buildings.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0This was the status quo for the next several years until mid-2002 when chapter 8 of NFPA 1 was amended to incorporate all local fire alarm amendments and, at the same time, the Rehabilitation Build -ing and Fire Code for Existing Buildings and Structures^[17]was adopted. Many at the time thought, between these two modifications to the code, an acceptable degree of life safety could be attained at a...