Report Title:

Public Safety; Fire Protection

Description:

Requires the State Fire Council to set forth statewide fire protection requirements to protect against wildland fires that may threaten lives, homes, and businesses.  (HB1677 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1677
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to fire safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Wildland-urban interface areas exist wherever residential, industrial, commercial, or agricultural structures are located within or adjacent to trees or other combustible vegetation.  Wildfires that have the potential to involve buildings and wildland vegetation simultaneously are known as interface fires.  As in many other locations around the world, the threat of interface fires and the economic and social impact they cause is increasing in the state.  Wildland-urban interface fires present a unique set of challenges and obstacles that must be addressed through practical, proactive, community-based solutions.

     The purpose of this Act is to require the state fire council to set forth statewide fire protection requirements to protect against wildland fires that may threaten lives, homes, and businesses.

     SECTION 2.  Section 132-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§132-3  Adoption of state fire code. (a)  The state fire council shall, after public hearings pursuant to chapter 91, adopt prior to July 1, 1979, a state fire code setting forth minimum requirements relative to the protection of persons and property from fire loss.  The state fire council shall meet annually to review and amend the state fire code.  The state fire code shall set forth minimum requirements relative to the protection of persons and property from fire loss, including without limitation:

(1) [the storage,] Storing, handling, and [use of] using hazardous substances, materials, and devices; [and]

(2) [the control of] Controlling conditions hazardous to life or property in the design, use, or occupancy of buildings and premises[.];

(3) Safeguarding life and property from wildland fires and related fire hazards;

(4) Preventing wildland fires and alleviating fire hazards in wildland-urban interface areas;

(5) Identifying wildland-urban interface areas and requirements for fire evacuation routes and community alert systems;

(6) Identifying defensible spaces in wildland-urban interface areas; and

(7) Assessing treatment programs to determine the effectiveness of those programs in meeting prevention objectives.

(b)  The state fire code, insofar as is practicable, shall complement, augment, and be consistent in form and language with the building and other codes of the respective counties.  Upon adoption by the state fire council, the state fire code shall be transmitted to the respective county councils which [may,] shall, by ordinance, either enact its provisions or enact more stringent provisions relating to protection of persons and property against fire loss; provided that the county councils may enact less stringent provisions with the prior written approval of the state fire council.  [The state fire council shall meet annually to review and amend the state fire code.]

(c)  As used in this section, "wildland-urban interface area" means a geographical area where urban structures, including but not limited to residential, commercial, and industrial structures, meet or intermingle with federal, state, or other public or private lands that are undeveloped, other than by transportation or utility infrastructure."

     SECTION 3.  Section 132-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§132-16  State fire council; composition; functions.  (a)  There is established a state fire council [which] that shall be placed within the department of [labor and industrial relations] land and natural resources for administrative purposes.  The state fire council shall consist of the fire chiefs of the counties.  The state fire council may appoint an advisory committee to assist it in carrying out its functions under this chapter.  The advisory committee may include [the]:

(1) The heads of the various county building departments[, a];

(2) A licensed architect recommended by the Hawaii Society of the American Institute of Architects[, a];

(3) A licensed electrical engineer and a licensed mechanical engineer recommended by the Consulting Engineers Council of Hawaii[, a];

(4) A representative of the Hawaii Rating Bureau[, a];

(5) A representative of the Hawaii [firefighters association, representatives] Firefighters Association;

(6) Representatives of the county fire departments[,]; and [such]

(7) Such other members of the public as the state fire council may determine can best assist it.

The state fire council shall elect a chairperson from among its members.

     (b)  In addition to adopting a state fire code pursuant to section 132-3, the state fire council shall serve as a focal point through which all applications to the federal government for federal grant assistance for fire-related projects shall be made.  Upon the receipt of any such federal grants, the state fire council shall administer those federal grants.

     (c)  The state fire council may also:

     (1)  Appoint advisory committees comprised of representatives from each county fire department to assist in drafting the state fire code and coordinating statewide training, data collection, and contingency planning needs for firefighters; and

     (2)  Advise and assist the county fire departments where appropriate, may prescribe standard procedures and forms relating to inspections, investigations, and reporting of fires, and may approve plans for cooperation among the county fire departments[, and may advise].

(d)  The state fire council shall issue an annual report and provide proposed legislation and recommendations for appropriations to the governor and the legislature [with respect to fire] by December 31 of each year.  The report shall include:

(1) Fire prevention and protection[, life] recommendations;

(2) Life safety[, and any] recommendations;

(3) Any other functions or activities for which the various county fire departments are generally responsible[.]; and

(4) A record of any federal grants applied for, received, or expended."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.