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2010 January - February - March - April - May - June July - August - September - October 2009 January - February - March - April - May - June July - August - September - October - November - December |
States covered: Delaware Maryland New Jersey Pennsylvania Virginia |
Contractor Area Director: Kent Mezaros |
Ray has over 45 years of fire protection experience beginning in the oil refining industry and as a fire protection supervisor in the Electric and Natural Gas Industry where he was responsible for the protection of company assets through plan review, hazard assessment, inspections, and the supervision of a fire suppression equipment installation, inspection, test and maintenance repair shop. He has also been a member of the Pennsylvania Fire Service serving as a municipal fire marshal, volunteer, paid and paid on call firefighter, and emergency medical technician
He has attained an A.A.S. Degree in Fire Science Technology, A.A.S Degree in Fire Protection Engineering Technology, B.A. Degree in Organizational Management and a M.S. Degree in Environmental Protection and Safety Management. He has been a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) since 1976 and has served as Treasurer and on the Board of Directors.
He has served on NFPA Technical Committees for 25 years representing the Edison Electric Institute and the National Fire Sprinkler Association. He is currently serving on NFPA-101 and 5000 Technical Committees. Ray is Past President of the Benjamin Chapter of the NFPA Industrial Section, Charter Member of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Fire Marshals Association of North America, member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Delaware Valley Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) as well as the National Association of the SFPE, Serves on the Board of Director for the Pennsylvania Fire & Emergency Services Institute.
Hot Issues:
Maryland:
City of Salisbury – 2009 I Codes Adoption Hearing and Second Reading:
On Monday evening July 26th Salisbury City Council held a public hearing and the second reading on the adoption of the 2009 International Codes during their regularly scheduled City Council Meeting. Of special interest during the hearing was the adoption of the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) with the sprinkler requirement. A final vote on the codes adoption will be held at a City Council meeting in August.
County of Baltimore – 2009 I Codes Adoption & Vote:
Baltimore County held a public hearing on the adoption of the I
Codes on Tuesday June 29th. The final vote by County Council came on
Tuesday evening July 6th with County Council voting 7-0 in favor of
adopting the 2009 I Codes with the sprinkler requirement in the 2009 IRC.
Washington County – 2009 I Codes Adoption Public Hearing:
Washington County Council held a public hearing on the adoption of the 2009 I Codes in the morning of July 6th. During the hearing council members requested the Washington County Solicitor to request a ruling on the recent Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) state adoption and code adoption provision that all counties and incorporated municipalities had 180 days from January 1, 2010 to adopt the code with local amendments. Any county or municipality that adopts the I Codes after the 180 days, July 1, 2010, must follow the DHCD adoption, disallowing local amendments. During the week of July 26th we were informed the Maryland Attorney General rendered an opinion that counties and municipalities can disregard the Maryland Building Performance Standards and can alter and adopt the IRC as they wish including the lessening of protection requirements. This was done in a letter to the Washington County Commissioners. Essentially, this means that the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) adoption of the 2009 IRC as written means little. A jurisdiction can alter the requirements to suit their political needs with little regard to the safety of firefighters and citizens. The July deadline that was in place for amending the IRC before adoption means nothing. Washington County Council vote still remains to be taken on the 2009 I Code adoptions.
Garrett County - 2009 I Codes Adoption & Vote:
On Tuesday July 27th Garrett County Commissioners voted to delete the residential sprinkler requirements from the 2009 IRC during their adoption process. Garrett County is the first county in Maryland to deprive their citizens and firefighters of the required safety of residential sprinklers in new homes.
New Jersey:
2009 I Codes Adoption:
As you may recall from past editions of the NFSA Mid-Atlantic Regional Report and various emails from the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NJFSAB) as well as NJ NFSA Chapter Meetings the adoption of the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) with the sprinkler requirement has been like a roller coaster ride. The adoption of the 2009 IRC had successfully gone through all the tests and challenges and was within hours of being published in the New Jersey Register as a promulgated regulation when the politics changed in New Jersey.
Newly elected Governor Christie put a hold on the codes adoption by placing it under review by the Red Tape Review Committee. The adoption with sprinklers in the IRC made it through the Red Tape Review with the caveat that the requirement should be reviewed in the future by the Department of Community Affairs, Codes and Standards Division if the economy in New Jersey remains in the present slump. Following the review it still appeared the adoption would be okay because the effective date for the sprinkler requirement was not until January 1, 2012 with an additional six-month grace period before the new codes took full effect. The only concern remaining was the deadline, September 8, 2010, for the regulation to be promulgated by official notice in the NJ Register.
We were told that there were many favorable provisions in the 2009 edition of the I Codes; therefore, the adoption process would not be allowed to just run out on September 8th. We have learned, through efforts taken by the NJFSAB, that the Christie administration plans to adopt the 2009 I Codes with the usual NJ amendments; however, the residential sprinkler requirement will be eliminated. We’re now at the 11th hour and the NJFSAB is striving to salvage whatever they can to maintain the residential sprinkler requirement in some form, perhaps just townhomes.
Governor Signs Senate Bill 1042 into Law – Law Extends Building Permits Expiration Dates:
On July 6, 2010 Governor Rendell signed Senate Bill 1042 into law amending the Act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176) known as the Fiscal Code. Prior to the Governor signing the bill into law on July 6th the bill was amended on July 2nd, which extended building permit expiration dates to 2013. Concerns have been raised on the bill’s impact on the implementation of the 2009 IRC’s sprinkler requirement. Questions on the IRC impact were posed to the PA Department of Labor and Industry (L&I). L&I issued the following points of clarification on Senate Bill 1042 through an LI, BOIS-UCC e-alert dated July 14, 2010:
Senate Bill 1042 which contains a requirement that the validity of UCC building permits, which are issued or in effect during the period December 31, 2008 through July 2, 2013, shall be extended during this period.
- It is the Department’s position that if someone has a residential building permit issued under the 2006 code and that permit was in effect on January 1, 2009 but has since expired, this permit is subject to the automatic extension and is therefore valid until 2013. Why? Because the automatic suspension language in section 1603-I (A) (on page 104 of the bill) refers to an approval by a government agency “granted for or in effect during the extension period” the implication would seem to be that if the permit was in effect on January 1, 2009, then it would be subject to the extension, regardless of when it expired.
- The section on permit extensions speaks to “government approvals.” Under the UCC, local permit approvals are technically issued by Building Code Officials. These code officials might be employees of the municipality or they might be persons who work for certified third party agencies that have been retained (i.e., contracted with) by the municipality. Nonetheless, the permits that they issue are municipal (i.e. government) approvals, and thus the SB 1042 suspension requirement applies to all UCC permits.
Pennsylvania:
PBA vs. PA Dept of L&I Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Hearing – June 23, 2010:
On June 23rd Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court heard testimony from the attorneys representing the Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA) and the PA Department of Labor and Industry (L&I). The argument presented was over the constitutionality of the process involving the model code adoptions for the PA Uniform Construction Code (UCC). Each attorney presented their side of the argument and answered questions from the seven judge panel. Two main points were argued. The PBA claimed that the Legislature had turned over its authority to L&I allowing L&I to enact code changes without any legislative decision. Also, prior to the 2009 adoption there was no public input or hearings, which Judge Butler pointed out was corrected in 2008 with the creation of the UCC Review and Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC holds hearings for exclusions from provisions of various model code revisions. The PBA also presented an issue on the RAC’s authority, whereas, they can only exclude a provision but can’t modify it. It is uncertain how the court will rule. The court has 90 days to render a decision
Virginia:
On Monday morning July 26th the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VDHCD), Codes and Standard Committee held their final meeting on the adoption of the 2009 International Codes. Of special interest were the recommendations for the adoption of the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC). The VDHCD Board has not been in favor of adopting the residential fire sprinkler requirement. The Virginia Residential Fire Sprinkler Coalition has been actively pursuing a compromise with the Board, which would require sprinklers in townhouses leaving detached one- and two-family dwellings go for another code cycle. In doing so the coalition recommended the inclusion of trade-ups in the adoption of the main body of the 2009 IRC. The Codes and Standards Committee elected to leave the sprinkler requirement as an option and require the two-hour separation wall between townhouses where sprinklers were not installed. In addition the Codes and Standards Committee placed trade-ups in the appendix of the 2009 IFC, as an addition, not the IRC for hydrant spacing, fire main size and street width for communities that are sprinklered. The appendix of the IFC is not adopted by the VDHCD; therefore, an amendment has to be made to allow the appendix to be used for the trade-ups. The coalition was disappointed by the actions of the Code and Standards Committee and believes the options will not be considered by builders because they are too confusing to apply. The Codes and Standards Committee meeting was followed by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Board meeting who voted in favor of the committee’s recommendation.
Upcoming Events:
Calendar:
August:
August 17: Delaware State Fire Commission meeting, 9:00 a.m., Fire Commission Chamber, Delaware State Fire School, Dover, DE.
August 18: New Jersey Fire Code Advisory Council meeting, 9:30 a.m., Middlesex Fire Academy, Sayreville, NJ.
August 19: Maryland Fire Prevention Commission meeting, 9:30 a.m., City of Laurel Municipal Building, Council Chambers, 8103 Sandy Sprinkler Road, Laurel MD.
September:
September 14: NFSA NJ Chapter meeting, Trattoria Venezia Restaurant, 112 Main Street, Woodbridge NJ. (732) 855-8995. Cocktails at 6:00 p.m., Dinner at 7:00 p.m., followed by the monthly meeting.
September 15: New Jersey Fire Safety Commission meeting, 10:00 a.m. Middlesex Fire Academy, Sayreville, NJ.
September 20: NFSA PenJerDel Chapter meeting. Maggiano’s in King of Prussia next to Crate & Barrel in the Mall. Cocktails and appetizers at 6:00 p.m. Dinner at 7:00 p.m. followed by the meeting
September 21: Delaware State Fire Commission Meeting, 9:00 a.m., Fire Commission Chamber, Delaware State Fire School, Dover, DE