Division of the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal Employee Rules and Regulations

Regulation Authority:

R.I.G.L. 42-7.3-9

Purpose and Reason:

The purpose of this adoption is to make rules and regulations for the sworn and civilian employees of the Division of the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal. As a result of comments received, the following changes were made that were not originally part of the proposed text: 1. Chapter I, Section 1, Subsection B: the position of bomb technician was pluralized to accurately reflect the structure of the Division 2. Chapter I, Section 5, subsection F: the language “discipline and/or” was added to the first sentence for clarification; the language in the second sentence was changed to “He/She shall promptly proceed with the necessary disciplinary procedures as set forth in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, where applicable” to clarify the process. 3. Chapter I, Section 5, subsection K: the sentence “The Fire Marshal shall hold certification from the National Fire Protection Association as a Certified Inspector I.” This was added to reflect new requirements that were just put into law. 4. Chapter I, Section 5: under “Duties and Responsibilities of the Fire Marshal.” Another subsection was added for the letter L. It states “The Fire Marshal shall oversee the issuance of all Uniform Test Report stickers, for which the fees received shall be deposited in the Fire Training Academy’s restricted receipt account, as described in R.I.G.L. 23-28.2-29.” This was added to establish rules and regulations on how this money will be handled upon receipt. 5. Chapter I, Section 9, subsection B: the language “including, but not limited to, all fires in State buildings, nursing homes, and hospitals, and all fires resulting in a fatality(ies)” was added to further clarify the description of duties of the unit. 6. Chapter I, Section 10, subsection A: the language “including, but not limited to, all fires in State buildings, nursing homes, and hospitals, and all fires resulting in a fatality(ies)” was added to further clarify the description of this position. 7. Chapter I, Section 13, subsection C: this section was added to identify that this unit is the State Bomb Disposal Unit or Bomb Squad. 8. Chapter I, Section 15, subsection B: this section was added to identify this position as a member of the State Bomb Squad. 9. Chapter I, Section 18: subsection C was added, the language of which was taken from Section 23, which was deleted entirely and moved under this section. There is no position description for “Senior Inspector, Plan Review,” therefore it was moved under this position. 10. Chapter I, Section 22: subsection B was added to clarify the role of this position when members of the Inspections Unit assist the Chief Plan Review Officer in the Plan Review Unit. 11. Chapter I, Section 23, Senior Inspector, Plan Review Unit: this section was deleted because this position does not exist within the Division. 12. Chapter II, Section 6, subsection A: The language “as to be worthy of the esteem a public employee must enjoy,” was replaced with “ in a manner that brings honor and respect for, rather than public distrust of, division personnel.” This change was made to clarify the purpose of this section. 13. Chapter II, Section 8, subsection A: the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” were added to this section to include these in this group. 14. Chapter II, Section 11, subsection A: the language “except for alcohol collected as evidence as part of an investigation” was added to this subsection to further clarify it’s meaning. 15. Chapter II, Section 12, subsection A: the language “or for drugs collected as evidence as part of an investigation” was added to this subsection to further clarify it’s meaning. 16. Chapter II, Section 19, subsection B: the language “when necessary for the performance of official duties and where unavoidable…” was added to clarify the meaning of the rule. 17. Chapter II, Section 24, subsection A: the word “lawfully” was added to the section to clarify the intent of the rule. 18. Chapter II, Section 39; subsection A: The language “use their official position within the department to” was added in the first sentence to clearly define what is prohibited under this section.