PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 812 PRINTER'S NO. 2187
No. 728 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG, ALLEN, BARRAR, BENNINGHOFF,
CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, COLAFELLA, CREIGHTON, DeWEESE, EGOLF,
FICHTER, FLICK, GODSHALL, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, HORSEY,
LAUGHLIN, LUCYK, LYNCH, McCALL, MELIO, METCALFE, NAILOR,
ORIE, PETRONE, SAYLOR, SCHULER, SHANER, B. SMITH, SOLOBAY,
STEELMAN, STRITTMATTER, STURLA, THOMAS, WILT, WOGAN,
YOUNGBLOOD, ZIMMERMAN, ZUG, JAMES AND COLEMAN,
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
JUNE 12, 2001
AN ACT
1 Providing for bed and breakfast establishment safety
2 regulations.
3 TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 Section 2. Definitions.
6 Section 3. Conversion requirements.
7 Section 4. Accessibility requirement.
8 Section 5. Smoke detector requirement.
9 Section 6. Window requirement.
10 Section 7. Corridor requirement.
11 Section 8. Emergency lighting requirement.
12 Section 9. Door requirement.
13 Section 10. Handrail and guardrail requirement.
14 Section 11. Transom requirement.
1 Section 12. Stairway requirement.
2 Section 13. Separation and mixed occupancy requirement.
3 Section 14. Hazard requirement.
4 Section 15. Travel distance to exit requirement.
5 Section 16. Ramp requirement.
6 Section 17. Fire extinguisher requirement.
7 Section 18. Carbon monoxide requirement.
8 Section 19. Certificate of occupancy.
9 Section 20. Applicability.
10 Section 21. Effective date. <--
11 SECTION 21. ENFORCEMENT. <--
12 SECTION 22. EFFECTIVE DATE.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Short title.
16 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Bed and
17 Breakfast Establishment Safety Act.
18 Section 2. Definitions.
19 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
20 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
21 context clearly indicates otherwise:
22 "Bed and breakfast homestead or inn." A private residence
23 which accommodates 7 to 16 guests and is used for providing
24 overnight accommodations to the public and in which breakfast is
25 the only meal served and is included in the charge for the room.
26 "Division D-H hazardous occupancy." An occupancy involving
27 highly combustible, explosive or unstable products or materials
28 that constitute a special fire, life or toxic hazard because of
29 the forms, characteristics or volume of the materials used.
30 "Historic property." A property listed or determined
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1 eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic
2 Places.
3 "NFPA 70." An ANSI accredited document, which, as such, may <--
4 be updated periodically for the construction and subsequent
5 inspection of electrical facilities and equipment and known as
6 the National Electric Code.
7 "NFPA 70." THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, AS ADOPTED BY THE <--
8 NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION, WHICH SETS FORTH STANDARDS
9 ON THE INSTALLATION OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT IN
10 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES IN ORDER TO
11 PROTECT PERSONS AND PROPERTY FROM THE HAZARDS ARISING FROM THE
12 USE OF ELECTRICITY.
13 "Required window size." A window having a minimum size of
14 4.5 square feet with neither dimension smaller than 20 inches.
15 Section 3. Conversion requirements.
16 A private residence being utilized for a bed and breakfast
17 homestead or inn shall comply with requirements set forth in
18 this act.
19 Section 4. Accessibility requirement.
20 Except as otherwise provided in this section, every story of
21 a bed and breakfast homestead or inn utilized for guest
22 occupancy shall be provided with a minimum of two exits and
23 shall comply with the following:
24 (1) A fire escape shall be accepted as providing one of
25 the required means of egress if it can safely be used under
26 emergency exiting conditions. All occupants shall have
27 unobstructed access to the fire escape without having to pass
28 through a room subject to locking. Access to a fire escape
29 shall be through a door, except that window access shall be
30 permitted from guest rooms.
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1 (2) In buildings having a single exit, no additional
2 exit shall be required if the following conditions are met:
3 (i) at all locations in the story at the level of
4 discharge, the exit access travel distance shall not
5 exceed 75 feet;
6 (ii) except as otherwise provided in subparagraph
7 (iii), no part of the building open to guests shall be on
8 a floor that is more than 16 feet above exterior grade;
9 or
10 (iii) in buildings where guests do not have access
11 to rooms above the second story from floors that are more
12 than 16 feet above grade, where there are not more than
13 four guest rooms per floor and the exit access travel
14 distance does not exceed 50 feet, the exit shall be
15 enclosed with construction and opening protection
16 providing a one-hour fire-resistance rating.
17 (3) In bed and breakfast establishments having guest
18 rooms on the third floor the stairway requirements of section
19 12 apply.
20 (4) In a building not meeting the requirements of
21 section 12(1), (2) or (3), a second floor corridor exceeding
22 eight feet in length requires a one-hour barrier protecting
23 only one staircase if the following conditions are met:
24 (i) each sleeping room has a window meeting the
25 minimum size requirements defined in section 2 and having
26 a sill height not more than 44 inches;
27 (ii) no second floor sleeping room is more than 16
28 feet above grade; or
29 (iii) any second floor sleeping room more than 16
30 feet above grade has direct access to a fire escape or
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1 other approved secondary exit.
2 Section 5. Smoke detector requirement.
3 AC-powered interconnected smoke detectors with battery back-
4 up shall be installed in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn
5 and shall be in accordance with the building subcode in the
6 locations listed in this section. Fixed temperature or rate-of-
7 rise and fixed temperature heat detectors may be substituted for
8 smoke detectors in those locations where frequent nuisance
9 alarms would be likely to occur. At least one portable visual
10 alarm-type smoke detector for the deaf or hearing-impaired shall
11 be available. Notification of the availability of such devices
12 shall be provided to each occupant. Installation shall be
13 required:
14 (1) In all guest rooms, AC-powered interconnected smoke
15 detectors with battery back-up or battery powered smoke
16 detectors shall be installed.
17 (2) On each story in common areas.
18 (3) In basements and attics.
19 Section 6. Window requirement.
20 Every sleeping room of a bed and breakfast homestead or inn
21 shall be provided with a window meeting the minimum size
22 requirements defined in section 2 and having a sill height of
23 not more than 44 inches. Such window shall have no obstacles
24 placed in front of or around it that will prevent egress, shall
25 be easily released from the inside, and shall contain no
26 obstructions such as a grille or screen.
27 Section 7. Corridor requirement.
28 Dead-end corridors in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn
29 shall not exceed 35 feet.
30 Section 8. Emergency lighting requirement.
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1 (a) Common egress areas.--Emergency egress lighting shall be
2 provided in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn between all
3 guest rooms and emergency egress areas and shall be connected to
4 an emergency electrical system conforming to NFPA 70 to assure
5 continued illumination for a duration of not less than one hour,
6 in case of primary power loss, or this lighting may be self-
7 illuminating, in which case it shall be mounted at or near floor
8 level and shall not require an emergency electrical system.
9 (b) Exit signs.--In all buildings, rooms or spaces required
10 to have more than one exit or exit access, all required means of
11 egress shall be indicated either with approved self-luminous
12 signs, or with approved internally illuminated signs connected
13 to an emergency electrical system to assure continued
14 illumination for not less than one hour in case of primary power
15 loss. Exit signs shall not be required if the second means of
16 egress is a fire escape or through main exterior doors that are
17 obviously utilized for exits.
18 (c) Guest rooms.--A battery-powered handheld emergency light
19 shall be the minimum allowance available in each guest room.
20 Section 9. Door requirement.
21 Means of egress doors in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn
22 shall comply with the following:
23 (1) All doors opening into an exit stair shall be self-
24 closing or automatic-closing.
25 (2) All guest-room doors shall be at least equivalent to
26 a 15-minute fire rating which may be achieved by various
27 options. Guest room doors shall also be equipped with door
28 latches and shall be reasonably tight-fitting. Replacement
29 doors shall be equivalent to a 20-minute fire rating which
30 may be reached by various options.
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1 Section 10. Handrail and guardrail requirement.
2 Existing handrails and guardrails provided for stairways and
3 open-sided floor areas in a bed or breakfast homestead or inn
4 shall be permitted to remain in place, provided they are
5 structurally sound. When handrails or guardrails do not exist in
6 locations where the building code requires them, or where
7 handrails or guardrails are in danger of collapse when used
8 under emergency conditions, handrails and guardrails complying
9 with the building subcode shall be provided.
10 Section 11. Transom requirement.
11 Transoms in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn shall be
12 either glazed with 1/4-inch wire glass set in metal frames and
13 permanently secured in the closed position and may be provided
14 from the interior of the room. Transoms may also be sealed with
15 materials consistent with the corridor construction.
16 Section 12. Stairway requirement.
17 Interior stairways and other vertical openings connecting
18 more than six floor levels in a bed and breakfast homestead or
19 inn shall be enclosed with approved assemblies having a two-hour
20 fire-resistance rating. Those connecting four to six floor
21 levels shall be enclosed with approved assemblies having a one-
22 hour fire-resistance rating. A minimum one-hour fire barrier
23 shall be provided to protect all interior stairways and other
24 vertical openings not exceeding three stories. Such fire barrier
25 may be omitted provided that:
26 (1) the building is provided throughout with an approved
27 automatic fire suppression system;
28 (2) in buildings where the building is protected
29 throughout by an automatic fire alarm system complying with
30 the building subcode; or
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1 (3) the following conditions are met:
2 (i) each sleeping room has an approved window with a
3 sill height of not more than 44 inches;
4 (ii) each sleeping room above the second floor is
5 approved with direct access to a fire escape or other
6 approved secondary exit; or
7 (iii) any exit-access corridor exceeding eight feet
8 in length which serves two means of egress, at least one
9 of which is an unprotected vertical opening, shall be
10 separated from the vertical opening by a one-hour fire
11 barrier.
12 Section 13. Separation and mixed occupancy requirement.
13 When a bed and breakfast homestead or inn shares a structure
14 with one or more occupancy groups, as defined in 34 Pa. Code §
15 50.1 (relating to occupancy groups), the structure shall be
16 governed in one of the following manners:
17 (1) When each occupancy is separated from other
18 occupancies by fire walls, each portion thus separated shall
19 be considered a separate building, and limitations for
20 separate buildings shall govern.
21 (2) Structures with multiple occupancies which are not
22 separated shall be considered mixed occupancies and shall be
23 governed by the most restrictive of the various limitations
24 of the occupancies.
25 Section 14. Hazard requirement.
26 Division D-H hazardous occupancies shall not be permitted in
27 a bed and breakfast homestead or inn.
28 Section 15. Travel distance to exit requirement.
29 Exits in a bed and breakfast homestead or inn shall be
30 arranged so that the total length of travel from any point to
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1 reach an exit shall not exceed 200 feet. Exits shall be so
2 arranged that one exit is not more than 200 feet from another
3 exit.
4 Section 16. Ramp requirement.
5 (a) General rule.--A ramp in a bed and breakfast homestead
6 or inn shall be permitted as a means of egress when it conforms
7 to the following table:
8 Minimum clear width in inches 40 inches
9 Maximum slope 1 inch per foot
10 (8.33%)
11 Maximum length between landings 30 feet
12 (b) Direction of travel.--Changes in direction of travel
13 shall be made only at landings.
14 (c) Connecting ramps.--Ramps which connect two or more floor
15 levels shall comply with the same door, handrail and enclosure
16 requirements as stair towers.
17 (d) Sloped surfaces.--Sloped surfaces of less than 5% shall
18 not be considered ramps.
19 Section 17. Fire extinguisher requirement.
20 The following conditions shall apply to a bed and breakfast
21 homestead or inn:
22 (1) Fire extinguishers with a minimum 2-A rating shall
23 be provided.
24 (2) There shall be a minimum of one fire extinguisher
25 per floor including basement.
26 (3) Fire extinguishers shall be located so that it shall
27 not be necessary to travel more than 100 feet in any
28 direction to reach the nearest unit.
29 (4) A fire extinguisher with a minimum 10-B rating shall
30 be provided in each kitchen.
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1 (5) Where fire extinguishers are installed in a closet
2 or recessed in a wall or obscured from view, there shall be
3 provided adjacent thereto a self-luminous fire extinguisher
4 sign or a constant blue light of not less than 25-watt
5 capacity.
6 Section 18. Carbon monoxide requirement.
7 When a bed and breakfast homestead or inn has a potential
8 danger of carbon monoxide, there shall be one carbon monoxide
9 alarm per floor in a common area.
10 Section 19. Certificate of occupancy.
11 A bed and breakfast homestead or inn meeting the requirements
12 of this act shall be entitled to a certificate of occupancy for
13 use group R-1. The certificate of occupancy shall be subject to
14 the condition that it be valid for a bed and breakfast homestead
15 or inn use only.
16 Section 20. Applicability.
17 This act shall not apply to bed and breakfast homesteads or
18 inns:
19 (1) For which certification has been obtained from the
20 Department of Labor and Industry or local municipality prior
21 to the effective date of this act.
22 (2) That accommodate fewer than seven or more than 16
23 guests.
24 (3) That are considered to be historic properties as
25 defined in section 2.
26 SECTION 21. ENFORCEMENT. <--
27 THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
28 ENFORCING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.
29 Section 21 22. Effective date. <--
30 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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