HB114

ENGROSSED

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

To amend Sections 34-33-1, 34-33-2, 34-33-3, 34-33-4, 34-33-5, and 34-33-10 of the Code of Alabama 1975, relating to fire protection and fire protection sprinkler systems; to allow the State Fire Marshal to issue permits to certified potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractors; to require the plans for a residential fire protection sprinkler system be designed by a certified licensed engineer; to create the Fire Prevention, Protection, and Sprinkler System Advisory Board; to provide for membership and duties of the board; and to require the State Fire Marshal to collect and publish certain data and make the information available on the website of the State Fire Marshal.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 34-33-1, 34-33-2, 34-33-3, 34-33-4, and 34-33-5, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§34-33-1.

"For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed in this section:

"(3)(1) CERTIFICATE HOLDER. An individual who is listed on the State Fire Marshal's permit as the responsible managing owner, partner, officer or employee who is actively in charge of the work of the certified fire protection sprinkler contractor or the certified potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractor.

"(2) CERTIFIED FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER CONTRACTOR. A fire protection sprinkler contractor who has qualified and received a permit from the State Fire Marshal.

"(3) CERTIFIED POTABLE WATER SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER CONTRACTOR. A potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractor who has qualified and received a permit from the State Fire Marshal.

"(1)(4) FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER CONTRACTOR. An individual, partnership, corporation, association, or joint venture engaged in the business of installation, repair, alteration, addition, maintenance, or inspection of fire protection sprinkler systems. This does not include local building officials, fire inspectors, or insurance inspectors when acting in their official capacity.

"(5) FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SYSTEM. A An integrated system of underground and overhead piping designed in accordance with fire protection engineering standards. The system is supplied from a reliable, constant and sufficient water supply, such as a gravity tank, fire pump, reservoir or pressure tank, and/or connection by underground piping to a city main. The portion of the sprinkler system above ground is considered the fire protection sprinkler system for purposes of this chapter, and is a network of specially sized or hydraulically designed piping installed in a building, structure, or area, generally overhead, and to which sprinklers are connected in a systematic pattern. The system includes a controlling valve and device for actuating an alarm when the system is in operation. The installation includes a minimum of one automatic water supply which supplies one or more systems. The portion of the sprinkler system above ground is a network of specially sized or hydraulically designed piping installed in a building, structure, or area, generally overhead, and to which sprinklers are attached in a systematic pattern. Each system has a control valve located in the system riser or its supply piping. Each sprinkler system includes a device for actuating an alarm when the system is in operation. The system is usually activated by heat from a fire and discharges water over the fire area. Fire protection sprinkler systems shall include the following types: Wet-pipe systems, dry-pipe systems, pre-action systems, deluge systems, combined dry-pipe and pre-action systems, antifreeze systems, and circulating closed loop systems, all as defined in National Fire Protection Association Pamphlet Code 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, latest edition,; National Fire Protection Code 13R, Standard for Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies up to and including Four Stories in Height, latest edition; or National Fire Protection Association Pamphlet Code 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One and Two Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes, latest edition.

"(6) POTABLE WATER SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER CONTRACTOR. An individual, partnership, corporation, association, or joint venture engaged in the business of installation, repair, alteration, addition, maintenance, or inspection of a fire protection sprinkler system in a single family dwelling using potable water and installed in accordance with the provisions of NFPA 13D, latest edition.

"(7) SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING. Any dwelling covered in the scope of the International Residential Code, latest edition.

"(4)(8) STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S PERMIT. The form issued by the State Fire Marshal to a fire protection sprinkler contractor or potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractor upon application being approved and fee paid. The permit shall be issued in the name of the fire protection sprinkler contractor, with the name of the certificate holder noted thereon.

§34-33-2.

"The administration of this chapter is vested in the State Fire Marshal who shall have the power to make rules in relation to potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractor training and for weekly fire pump testing, and to set or make changes in the amount of the fee fees charged as necessary for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

§34-33-3.

"It shall be unlawful for any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or joint venture to engage in the business of installation, repair, alteration, addition, maintenance, or inspection of a fire protection sprinkler system or a potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler system in this state except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter, however, shall be construed to apply to fire protection sprinkler system owners who employ registered professional fire protection engineers, and skilled workers who regularly and routinely design, install, repair, alter, add to, maintain, and inspect sprinkler systems on and within the premises of their employer, provided such systems are for the owners' use only.

§34-33-4.

"(a) Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or joint venture desiring to engage in the business of fire protection sprinkler contractor shall submit to the State Fire Marshal on standard forms provided by the State Fire Marshal a completed application. The applicant shall include a fee of $100.00 when making the application. The applicant shall designate in the application the name of the proposed certificate holder and provide written proof that such individual has passed a competency test administered by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technology (NICET) as a Fire Protection Layout Technician - Level III. A copy of the NICET letter of notification that the proposed certificate holder has passed the competency test shall be sufficient written proof. The State Fire Marshal, shall issue, upon receipt of the application and fee, shall issue a State Fire Marshal's Permit to a fire protection sprinkler contractor who has a current State Fire Marshal's Permit, or who produces evidence of having a current state permit from another state, if such state shall have entered into an agreement of reciprocity with the State of Alabama.

"(b) Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or joint venture desiring to engage in the potable water single family dwelling fire sprinkler business shall submit to the State Fire Marshal on standard forms provided by the State Fire Marshal a completed application. The application shall include a nonrefundable fee of one hundred dollars ($100), which shall be paid by the applicant when making the application. The applicant shall designate in the application the name of the proposed certificate holder and provide written proof that such individual holds a valid master plumber certification issued by the Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board and has completed and passed a competency test on the installation of a potable water single family dwelling fire sprinkler system given by the State Fire Marshal. The State Fire Marshal, upon receipt of the properly completed application and fee, shall issue a State Fire Marshal's permit.

"(c) Prior to a certificate holder being issued a permit under this section to provide residential fire protection sprinkler services, the certificate holder must provide to the State Fire Marshal an active certificate of insurance covering such work.

§34-33-5.

"If the required fee has been paid, satisfactory written proof from NICET has been provided that the competency test was passed when required by this chapter meeting the requirements set forth in this chapter for the requested permit has been provided, and the proposed certificate holder is found to be at present a responsible, managing owner, partner, officer, or employee of the fire protection sprinkler contractor, the State Fire Marshal shall, within 30 days, shall issue a State Fire Marshal's permit in the name of the fire protection sprinkler contractor with the name of the certificate holder noted thereon."

"§34-33-10.

"(a) This chapter also applies to any fire protection sprinkler contractor performing work for any municipality, county, or the state. Officials of any municipality, county, or the state are required to determine compliance with this chapter before awarding any contracts for the installation, repair, alteration, addition, or inspection of a fire protection sprinkler system. Bids for such shall be accompanied by a copy of a valid State Fire Marshal's permit.

"(b) All architects and engineers preparing plans and specifications for work involving fire protection sprinkler systems to be contracted in the State of Alabama shall include in their invitations to bidders and their specifications a copy of this chapter or such portions thereof as are deemed necessary to convey to the invited bidder, whether he or she is a resident or nonresident of this state and whether a license has been issued to him or her or not, the information that it will be necessary for him or her to show evidence of license before his or her bid is considered.

"(c) The plans for a residential fire protection sprinkler system shall be designed by a certified licensed engineer."

Section 2. Nothing in this act is intended to authorize the State Fire Marshal to require the installation of any fire protection sprinkler system in any single family dwelling.

Section 3. (a) There is established the Fire Prevention, Protection, and Sprinkler System Advisory Board, which shall have seven members as follows the following members:

(1) A member appointed by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama.

(2) A member Two members appointed by the Alabama Fire Sprinklers Association.

(3) A member appointed by the Home Builders Association of Alabama.

(4) A member appointed by the Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board.

(5) A member appointed by the Subcontractors Association of Alabama.

(5) (6) A local municipal or county building official appointed by the Governor.

(6) (7) A member who is a certified firefighter employed by a paid fire department or a certified volunteer firefighter who is a member of a volunteer fire department, with a minimum of a NICET I certification, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(7) (8) The State Fire Marshal shall serve as an ex officio, non-voting member, shall serve as the secretary of the board, shall keep a record of the proceedings of all board meetings, and shall perform other duties as delegated by the board.

(b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this act, the State Fire Marshal shall convene a meeting of the board, and the members of the board shall select a chair and other officers of the board. After the initial meeting, the board shall meet not less than two times a year or at the call of the chair.

(c) The board may establish committees among its membership, as it deems necessary, to assist in the conduct of its business.

(d)(1) The board shall have sole authority to review and approve any curriculum used in the process of training and certification of potable water single family dwelling fire protection sprinkler contractors.

(2) The certification developed shall be approved by a nationally recognized single family dwelling fire sprinkler accrediting agency.

(e) In addition to the functions set forth in this act, the board may perform any of the following functions:

(1) Review and make recommendations to the State Fire Marshal in regard to changes to the rules or laws pertaining to potable water single family dwelling fire sprinkler systems.

(2) Make continuing studies, on its own initiative or upon the request of the Department of Insurance, on the effectiveness of enacted or proposed fire protection or prevention regulations.

(3) Make rules and regulations for the conduct of its board meetings, procedures, and execution of the purpose, functions, powers, and duties delegated to it by this act.

Section 4. (a) The State Fire Marshal shall collect and publish data on all structural fires in Alabama in a report that includes all of the following information:

(1) The type of structure.

(2) The age of the structure.

(3) The code enforced when the structure was constructed.

(4) The cause of the fire.

(5) Whether the cause of the fire was the result of a criminal or suspicious event.

(6) The materials used in the construction of the structure.

(7) The type and amount of damage to the structure.

(8) The type and number of functional smoke detectors and fire sprinklers installed in the structure.

(b) The Fire Prevention, Protection, and Sprinkler System Advisory Board may direct the State Fire Marshal to include additional information in the report as it deems necessary.

(c)(1) All information collected pursuant to this section shall be made available to the public, free of charge, on the website of the State Fire Marshal.

(2) The information shall be recorded and published on a monthly basis and maintained thereafter in a sortable electronic format on the website of the State Fire Marshal.

Section 5. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Fire Protection

Fire Marshal

Fire Protection Sprinkler Systems

Code Amended