| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to firesafety inspections; amending s. |
| 3 | 633.081, F.S.; providing exceptions to certain local |
| 4 | government firesafety inspection requirements; amending s. |
| 5 | 633.082, F.S.; specifying inspection requirements for fire |
| 6 | hydrants owned by governmental entities; authorizing local |
| 7 | government utilities to comply using designated employees; |
| 8 | specifying responsibility for ensuring the qualification |
| 9 | of designated employees to make inspections; providing an |
| 10 | effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 633.081, |
| 15 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 16 | 633.081 Inspection of buildings and equipment; orders; |
| 17 | firesafety inspection training requirements; certification; |
| 18 | disciplinary action.-The State Fire Marshal and her or his |
| 19 | agents shall, at any reasonable hour, when the department has |
| 20 | reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter or |
| 21 | s. 509.215, or a rule promulgated thereunder, or a minimum |
| 22 | firesafety code adopted by a local authority, may exist, inspect |
| 23 | any and all buildings and structures which are subject to the |
| 24 | requirements of this chapter or s. 509.215 and rules promulgated |
| 25 | thereunder. The authority to inspect shall extend to all |
| 26 | equipment, vehicles, and chemicals which are located within the |
| 27 | premises of any such building or structure. |
| 28 | (1) Each county, municipality, and special district that |
| 29 | has firesafety enforcement responsibilities shall employ or |
| 30 | contract with a firesafety inspector. Except as provided in s. |
| 31 | 633.082(2), the firesafety inspector must conduct all firesafety |
| 32 | inspections that are required by law. The governing body of a |
| 33 | county, municipality, or special district that has firesafety |
| 34 | enforcement responsibilities may provide a schedule of fees to |
| 35 | pay only the costs of inspections conducted pursuant to this |
| 36 | subsection and related administrative expenses. Two or more |
| 37 | counties, municipalities, or special districts that have |
| 38 | firesafety enforcement responsibilities may jointly employ or |
| 39 | contract with a firesafety inspector. |
| 40 | (2) Except as provided in s. 633.082(2), every firesafety |
| 41 | inspection conducted pursuant to state or local firesafety |
| 42 | requirements shall be by a person certified as having met the |
| 43 | inspection training requirements set by the State Fire Marshal. |
| 44 | Such person shall: |
| 45 | (a) Be a high school graduate or the equivalent as |
| 46 | determined by the department; |
| 47 | (b) Not have been found guilty of, or having pleaded |
| 48 | guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or a crime punishable by |
| 49 | imprisonment of 1 year or more under the law of the United |
| 50 | States, or of any state thereof, which involves moral turpitude, |
| 51 | without regard to whether a judgment of conviction has been |
| 52 | entered by the court having jurisdiction of such cases; |
| 53 | (c) Have her or his fingerprints on file with the |
| 54 | department or with an agency designated by the department; |
| 55 | (d) Have good moral character as determined by the |
| 56 | department; |
| 57 | (e) Be at least 18 years of age; |
| 58 | (f) Have satisfactorily completed the firesafety inspector |
| 59 | certification examination as prescribed by the department; and |
| 60 | (g)1. Have satisfactorily completed, as determined by the |
| 61 | department, a firesafety inspector training program of not less |
| 62 | than 200 hours established by the department and administered by |
| 63 | agencies and institutions approved by the department for the |
| 64 | purpose of providing basic certification training for firesafety |
| 65 | inspectors; or |
| 66 | 2. Have received in another state training which is |
| 67 | determined by the department to be at least equivalent to that |
| 68 | required by the department for approved firesafety inspector |
| 69 | education and training programs in this state. |
| 70 | Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 633.082, Florida |
| 71 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 72 | 633.082 Inspection of fire control systems, fire hydrants, |
| 73 | and fire protection systems.- |
| 74 | (2) Fire hydrants and fire protection systems installed in |
| 75 | public and private properties, except one-family or two-family |
| 76 | dwellings, in this state shall be inspected following procedures |
| 77 | established in the nationally recognized inspection, testing, |
| 78 | and maintenance standards publications NFPA-24 and NFPA-25 as |
| 79 | set forth in the edition adopted by the State Fire Marshal. |
| 80 | Quarterly, annual, 3-year, and 5-year inspections consistent |
| 81 | with the contractual provisions with the owner shall be |
| 82 | conducted by the certificateholder or permittees employed by the |
| 83 | certificateholder pursuant to s. 633.521, except that: |
| 84 | (a) Public fire hydrants owned by a governmental entity |
| 85 | shall be inspected following procedures established in the |
| 86 | inspection, testing, and maintenance standards adopted by the |
| 87 | State Fire Marshal or equivalent standards such as those |
| 88 | contained in the latest edition of the American Water Works |
| 89 | Association's Manual M17, "Installation, Field Testing, and |
| 90 | Maintenance of Fire Hydrants." |
| 91 | (b) County, municipal, and special district utilities may |
| 92 | perform fire hydrant inspections required by this section using |
| 93 | designated employees. Such designated employees need not be |
| 94 | certified under this chapter. However, counties, municipalities, |
| 95 | or special districts that use designated employees are |
| 96 | responsible for ensuring that the designated employees are |
| 97 | qualified to perform such inspections. |
| 98 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |