[Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of East Greenwich
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 876]
A.
Summary.
(1)
Under the authority of the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal, there
shall be a Fire Marshal who shall enforce and perform the duties required
by the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act, and all other provisions of
the general and public laws insofar as such powers and duties relate
to fires, fire prevention, fire protection, fire inspection, fire
investigation, fire training and public education programs. The Fire
Marshal also serves as the fire department representative at all Technical
Review Committee meetings to ensure early development input. The mission
of the Fire Marshal is the comprehensive, professional, and consistent
enforcement of the Fire Safety Code to ensure that the minimum requirements
necessary for fire and life safety are met. This requires the Fire
Marshal to perform the roles of code enforcement official, fire investigator
and educator.
(2)
Fire prevention activities that are provided by the Town are part
of a comprehensive plan to protect life and property from fire and
other hazards. Code enforcement, preconstruction plan review, public
fire education and the investigation of fires are all components of
the prevention plan. The Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee,
are responsible for implementing and managing activities under this
section. The Office of State Fire Marshal certifies staff serving
in these positions.
(3)
Inspections of commercial occupancies are conducted to monitor and
rectify conditions that may cause fire situations or the spread of
fire. The primary objective of these inspections is to ensure the
safe egress of occupants or employees who may be endangered by fire
or its byproducts. The Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee,
shall work in cooperation with building, planning and zoning, and
potential commercial and residential property owners to facilitate
proper certifications for occupancy. It is also the responsibility
of the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, to enforce
all aspects of local, state and federal regulations/codes pertaining
to fire and life safety compliance.
B.
Plan review.
(1)
Any person, including any partnership, corporation or association, undertaking the erection, extension, alteration, repair, or moving of a structure, or undertaking any changes that may affect the fire safety or fire alarm system of a building or any portion thereof, shall be required to make application for plan review to the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee. Said application shall be made prior to the start of any construction or work and shall be accompanied by the proper fee or fees as described in Subsection B(2) hereof. All rough and final inspections, as necessary, shall be considered as part of the plan review fee and will not be charged separately. No construction or work shall be started until the required application has been approved by the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee.
(2)
A plan review application must be submitted along with the initial
plans. When filling out this application, be sure to fill out all
sections completely before submitting. In his code enforcement role,
the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, conducts a review
of all submitted plans to determine the adequacy of the plans before
starting a formal review. If the plans submitted are complete and
satisfactory, they will be accepted, and the formal review process
will begin. All fees for such reviews shall be in accordance with
RIGL 23-28.2-26, Plan review fees.
(3)
In all matters relating to plan review, the interpretations and decisions
of the Town's Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, shall
be binding. If the applicant disagrees with the decision of the Fire
Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, the applicant may request
a variance or seek appeal to the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Board
of Appeal and Review.
(4)
The Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, shall perform
smoke and carbon monoxide detector inspections in all residential
occupancies and shall, at the time of inspection, be allowed to charge
a fee of $30 for the inspection of any residential occupancy. The
responsibility of this charged fee will be borne by the seller on
each occurrence before title to the property is transferred. A fee
of $30 will be allowed for any subsequent reinspection of the same
residential occupancy due to improper installation, wrong location,
improper wiring method, or the seller's failure to maintain a mutually
agreed-upon appointment with the Fire Marshal. The fees collected
by the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, shall be used
for fire prevention purposes.
(5)
The following residential/commercial/businesses are inspected by
the East Greenwich Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee:
(a)
All elementary, secondary and high schools (K-12).
(b)
Private colleges.
(c)
Retail gas stations and service stations.
(d)
Apartment houses.
(e)
Theaters.
(f)
Hotels and motels.
(g)
Bed-and-breakfast buildings.
(h)
Lodging or rooming houses.
(i)
All industrial occupancies.
(j)
All private business occupancies.
(k)
All private mercantile occupancies.
(l)
All private storage occupancies.
(m)
All Town-licensed and -registered businesses per Town ordinance.
(n)
Rough and final commercial and residential inspections from
plan review.
(o)
Complaints related to code violations.
C.
Investigations.
(1)
The Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee, is authorized
by statute to respond to any fire or apparently attempted fire and
investigate the cause or origin of the fire. The Fire Marshal, or
his or her qualified designee, will also request that the State Fire
Marshal respond to every fire of suspicious origin and any fire that
results in a fatality. The Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee,
responds to all building fires as well as when requested by the responding
fire officer. All investigators follow industry guidelines to establish
the cause and determine whether the fire will be classified as accidental,
incendiary, natural, or undetermined. Due to the complex nature of
fire investigation, the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee,
often works closely with other local, state, and federal agencies.
(2)
The investigations of all fires arc conducted to determine cause
and origin of ignition. This information is required to prevent the
occurrence of future fires or, at the least, reduce the severity of
such incidents. If a fire is determined to be of suspicious origin,
a thorough investigation is intended to prosecute the guilty party.
In this case, the investigation becomes a deterrent to the crime of
arson. When necessary, the Fire Marshal, or his or her qualified designee,
may utilize the expertise of mutual aid fire investigators, members
of the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal's Office or agents from the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms or Federal Bureau of Investigation.
[Adopted 8-26-2019 by Ord. No. 887]
A.
Private
property owners within the Town shall be allowed to connect private
auxiliary fire alarm systems, using a local energy master fire alarm
box, on their property to the East Greenwich municipal fire alarm
system; provided that, prior to the commencement of installation:
(1)
They
obtain a permit from the Fire Chief or his designee of the East Greenwich
Fire Department;
(2)
Purchase
an approved radio fire alarm box; and install per direction of the
Fire Chief or his designee. Any and all existing connected systems
must be transferred from wired connections to radio boxes by June
30, 2025;
(3)
Pay
a connection fee of $500. This fee is to cover programming and acceptance
testing to connect the private system at a location to be approved
by the Fire Chief or his designee;
(4)
Agree
in writing that the Town shall incur no liability by reason of such
connection to the municipal system.
B.
The fee
above required shall be paid to the Town Treasurer prior to connections
and will cover all expenses incurred by the Town in making said installations.
C.
The Fire
Chief or his designee, with the approval of the Town Council, may
make any other reasonable rules and regulations regarding connections
and maintenance of the fire alarm services as they deem necessary.
