| NFSA IRC Update Maine | ||||||||||||||
| Providing an update on adoption of the International Residential Code and the requirement of fire sprinkler adoption of dwellings. | ||||||||||||||
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Current IRC Status Reports: 12-14-2009 Rockland, ME City Council, passed NFPA 101, 2009 Edition without exceptions. LR 2422 - Prevents adoption of IRC sprinkler provision Filed for 2010 session. Proposed legislation was killed in committee by vote of 10-0, to not accept as emergency legislation (11-04-2009). LD 440 Prevents local adoption of IRC sprinkler provision. Active fire service testimony against, bill voted down at Committee hearing - may reappear in 2010.ME (statewide)Code adoption Committee (MUBEC) meets 2X monthly and is the IRC adoption Board; a secondary MHBA path to stop adoption. The new codes are to be adopted by June 1, 2010. 4-15-2010 - MUBEC Board voted 10-1 to remove the residential sprinkler requirement for one and two family homes from the code. Only the Fire Marshal-Fire Chiefs Association Representative voted in opposition. Public hearings on the matter will begin after June 1st. 5/27/2010 - As of todays Board meeting, the I-codes IRC, IBC, IECC and IEBC were adopted effective June 1, 2010 as well as ASHRAE standards 62.1 – 2007, 62.2-2007 and 90.1-2007 and Radon standard ASTM 1465-06. The Chapters for Rule-making will now be reviewed by the AG’s and Secretary of State’s office. In the near future, ME will be holding a Public Hearing as well as a Public Comment Period on the Codes that have been adopted. When scheduled these will be posted on the website. Once approved by the AG’s office and Secretary of State’s office, they will post these Chapters on their website: www.maine.gov/dps/bbcs 07/01/2010 - The MUBEC Board has completed the new codes by the deadline of June 1, 2010. Now the rulemaking process begins and public hearings on the matter will take place on July 26, 2010 in Augusta, ME. Despite the removal of the requirement for sprinklers in one and two family dwellings the Fire Chief’s – Fire Marshal’s Representative on the Board was able to get 20 minute fire rated resistance rating on all floor and ceiling assemblies when using lightweight construction or fire sprinklers must be installed. We are awaiting copies of the final draft. 08-16-2010 - Portland, ME adopted the 2009 edition of NFPA 1 and 101 with the one- and two-family sprinkler requirements intact. The vote was 8-0 and takes effect in 30 days. Both codes require all new one- and two-family dwellings to have fire sprinkler systems. Portland is the largest city in the state of Maine. Westbrook and Rockland are two other towns in the state that also have NFPA 101 adopted in its entirety. This is part of a trend to provide the safety feature of fire sprinklers as a standard rather than as an option. |
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