Fire Safety Code Administrative Procedures and Appeal Process

Regulation Authority:

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-28.1-2 and 23-28.3-3

Purpose and Reason:

The Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review (“Board”) has proposed amendments to this regulation to reflect certain administrative and procedural changes made during the past code cycle and to add certain clarifying terms where needed.

Here is a summary of the changes:

§§ 1.3 and 1.4 – Citations were updated for clarity. 

§ 1.6(A) – Content that merely repeated the statute was deleted and replaced with a citation to the act. 

§ 1.6(C) – A cross reference was added to Part 8 of Title 450. 

§ 1.7.1(E) – This amendment clarifies existing procedure for the submission of appeal applications. No change to the status quo.

§ 1.7.1(G) – Amended to match current practice of the authority having jurisdiction. No change to status quo. 

§ 1.7.2(Y) – Amended based on guidance from the District Court (appellate authority) and the Attorney General’s office. No change to current practice as this has not been followed in recent years. Deleting this sentence ensures the finality of Board decisions. 

§ 1.7.2(AA) – Corrected typo which referred erroneously to Part 7 instead of Part 8. 

§ 1.7.4(A) – Clarified that any party may request an interpretation of the statutory and regulatory provisions of the fire code, including all the regulations in Title 450, not just Part 7. No change to status quo.

§ 1.7.5(D) – Clarified that there are no filing fees for abatements. All filing fees are set forth in statute and there was never a fee for abatement. Adding this sentence to avoid confusion. No change to status quo.