Monthly Report
California State Fire Marshal
June 2003

Code Enforcement

• The SFM will be terminating its contract with the Department of Health Services effective July 1, 2003. We will no longer be doing Life Safety Code surveys in health care facilities. An informational bulletin will be sent out later this month to clarify this issue.
• An SFM Statues and Regulations class was presented to both SFM and University of California Campus Fire Marshals on May 13-15th in Monrovia. The next class will be given in Eureka on August 19-21st. Anyone interested in attending should contact Ralph Altizer at (707) 825-2000. Additional classes are scheduled for the first two weeks of November in Apple Valley, and again in March 2004 at the Joint North-South FPO meeting.
• July 4th is right around the corner. Deputy State Fire Marshals will be busy inspecting public firework displays in facilities owned by the State of California. However, we do not have the resources to inspect all public firework displays that are our responsibility. If you have within your area of jurisdiction a facility owned by the State having a public fireworks display, we may ask for and appreciate any assistance that you can provide.

Fire Engineering

Fireworks

• Health and Safety Code Sections 12723 and 12726 require, upon proper notification from local authorities, the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to dispose of confiscated and dangerous fireworks. Current hazardous waste laws prohibit the disposal methods used by the SFM in years past. As a result, storage of seized fireworks has reached increased levels.

The SFM is working with State and local fire and law enforcement agencies to develop a plan for the disposal of seized or confiscated fireworks. The SFM has recently distributed a "Fireworks Seizure Inventory Form" to all local fire and law enforcement agencies within California. This will assist the SFM in identifying locations, type, and quantities stored so that we may properly dispose of these materials by a method that is environmentally safe.

• The 2003 Safe & Sane Fireworks list is now available on our website: http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/. This document has been developed to assist the California Fire Service in determining those firework items that have been classified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as "Safe and Sane".

Continuing Challenge

The 14^th Annual Continuing Challenge HazMat Workshop is scheduled for September 2-5, 2003 at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento. Brochures are provided that list the classes and contain a registration form for the conference. Registrations will be taken until the classes are full. For more information please visit the Continuing Challenge website: http://hazmat.org/

CUPA Program

Two CUPA hazardous materials program evaluations were completed in May for the following agencies:

• Merced County Environmental Health Department. Evaluation included meetings or contact with officials from the City of Merced, Atwater, and Livingston Fire Departments.
• Fresno Environmental Health Department. Evaluation included meetings or contact with officials from the cities of Fresno and Clovis fire departments, and Fresno County Fire (CDF contract county).

BML

At the present time, there is nothing new to report for BML. Listings will be renewed and posted on the website by July 1, 2003.

Code Development and Analysis

Fire Safe Planning

The progress is continuing on development of Fire Safe Building Standards for the Urban Wildland Interface. The next Urban Wildland Interface Building Standards working group/code development meeting will be held on Thursday, June 19th, 2003 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Office of the State Fire Marshal, 1131 S Street, Sacramento, CA.

The Department sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 1216 (Vargas, Fire Safety: Regulations) has passed the Assembly, passed the Senate Committee on Housing and Community Development, and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife. It will be heard at that committee on June 24. Please direct letters of support to Assembly Member Juan Vargas, Attention Jim Anderson, State Capitol, Room 2013, Sacramento, CA 95814. Project information and updates are available at the following website: http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/UWIBS.html

We are waiting for approval from FEMA for a time extension and additional grant funding to assist with the completion of an updated "Fire Safe: Inside & Out" public education video.

CAIRS/Data Collection

SFM has been collecting and processing NFIRS data for the first quarter of 2003. Half of the backlog of NFIRS data has now been processed (44,473 incidents).

TITLE 19

Fire Code Update

The SFM proposes to update the 1979 Uniform Fire Code to the 2000 Uniform Fire Code and, where appropriate, the 2001 California Fire Code. Fire service inspectors asked that the Standpipe test information, found only in the Appendix of the 1979 Uniform Fire Code, are included in the new regulations. The text of the new regulations can be found on the SFM website http://osfm.fire.ca.gov

Non-Metallic Waste Cans

The SFM was petitioned to change the outdated referenced test standard for non-metallic waste cans (Section 3.19 Housekeeping) with up-to-date test standards. This regulatory proposal is also on the SFM website.

Both of these proposed regulations are subject to the review of the SFM Division Chiefs and the Fire and Life Safety Building Standards Advisory Board, before being submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for regular rulemaking. If you have any questions or concerns with these proposals, please contact Rodney Slaughter via e-mail at the following: mailto:Rodney.Slaughter@fire.ca.gov

Tire Fire Curriculum and Regulations

The contract between California Integrated Waste Management Board and the SFM is moving forward. A legislative proposal is pending which will give the SFM the statutory authority to develop fire regulations for scrap tire storage. The first curriculum-working group has met and the outline for the new training program will be posted shortly on the SFM website. Any question regarding this program should also be directed to Rodney Slaughter at (916) 445-8454.

The SBSC has approved the proposed emergency regulations relating to Senate Bill (SB) 1896. The subject of this bill relates to bedridden clients in Residential Care Facilities caring for 6 or less clients. Please see the SFM website for a copy of these new regulations.

The SBSC requested that the SFM withdraw the proposed emergency regulations relating to Senate Bill (SB) 1361. The subject of this bill relates to Adult Day Care Facilities that may want to install delayed egress devices and or secure perimeter fences at centers caring for persons for Alzheimer’s and other Dementias for less than 24 hours a day. SFM will resubmit an amended package at the July 16, 2003 meeting.

Code Recommendation by SFM

The State Board of Fire Services (SBFS) met on May 29 where oral and written comment was heard regarding the SBFS’s recommendation on their proposed choice of building and fire code. The SBFS voted 12-1-1 to recommend to Chief Tennant, the NFPA 5000 and NFPA 1. Chief Tennant did not vote.

On June 11, 2003 four of the State agencies, State Fire Marshal (SFM), Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), Division of State Architect (DSA) and Housing Community Development (HCD) made presentations before the Building Standards Commission Code Change Committee to offer their recommendation of code choice between ICC and NFPA as a base model code for the California Building and Fire Codes. The recommendations were as follows:

Agency - Code Recommendation

SFM - NFPA 5000 (Building Code) and NFPA 1 (Fire Code)

OSHPD - IBC

DSA - IBC

HCD - IBC

No other State agency made a recommendation on the fire code other than SFM.

The next scheduled Coordinating Council meeting is slated for June 26, 2003 where the commission will offer the floor to the public for comments on the State agencies recommendations.

The State agencies will once again meet with the CBSC Code Change Committee on July 2 regarding their recommendations, and finally to the full Commission on

July 16, 2003.

NEXT COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR:

July 16, 2003 at 10:00 a.m.

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

400 R STREET, FIRST FLOOR HEARING ROOM

SACRAMENTO, CA 95814