PRINTER'S NO. 34
No. 44 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY WAGNER, STOUT, C. WILLIAMS, LOGAN, COSTA,
RAFFERTY, KITCHEN AND ORIE, JANUARY 13, 2005
REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
JANUARY 13, 2005
AN ACT
1 Requiring certain departments and institutions of the
2 Commonwealth to establish fire response plans and conduct
3 fire drills.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the State
8 Facility Fire Response Plan Act.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Auditor General." The Auditor General of the Commonwealth.
14 "Covered building." A building located in a State facility
15 that provides residential housing for persons admitted or
16 enrolled in the State facility.
17 "Educational institution." Any institution that provides
18 instruction at the elementary, secondary or postsecondary level.
1 "Fire response plan" or "plan." A document prepared by a
2 State facility for each covered building for the purpose of
3 assisting fire company personnel in the event of a fire
4 emergency.
5 "State facility" or "facility." Any institution owned and
6 operated by the Department of Public Welfare, the State System
7 of Higher Education or the Department of Military and Veterans
8 Affairs and any educational institution owned and operated by
9 the Department of Education or the Department of Military and
10 Veterans Affairs.
11 Section 3. Fire response plan.
12 (a) Preparation of plan.--A State facility shall prepare a
13 fire response plan in accordance with the guidelines established
14 by the State Fire Commissioner. The fire response plan shall
15 include the required information for every covered building.
16 (b) Retention and dissemination of plan.--
17 (1) A copy of the current year's plan shall be retained
18 by the facility for a period of five years.
19 (2) The facility shall file a copy of the current year's
20 plan with the State Fire Commissioner and the Auditor
21 General.
22 (3) The facility shall distribute a copy of the current
23 year's plan to every local fire department that provides fire
24 protection for the facility.
25 (c) Contents of plan.--A fire response plan shall include,
26 but not be limited to, the following:
27 (1) Detailed floor plans for every covered building,
28 which shall indicate the location of all:
29 (i) Electrical panels.
30 (ii) Fire hydrants.
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1 (iii) Other fire suppression equipment, including
2 sprinkler systems.
3 (iv) Sleeping quarters for residents and staff of
4 the State facility.
5 (2) Types, locations and amounts of any chemicals stored
6 within the State facility building or any adjacent or nearby
7 structures or buildings under the control of the facility.
8 For the purposes of this paragraph, "chemicals" includes
9 substances utilized for the maintenance of the facility.
10 (3) Locations in covered buildings where resident
11 evacuation assistance is required during a fire emergency.
12 (4) Any other information that the State facility
13 determines would assist local fire companies in an emergency
14 response to a fire at a covered building.
15 (d) Annual updates.--A facility shall annually update the
16 plan to address any changes, modifications or alterations made
17 to a covered building regarding information listed under
18 subsection (c) and any additional information required pursuant
19 to section 5 (relating to State Fire Commissioner).
20 Section 4. Fire drill cooperation.
21 (a) Periodic drills.--A facility shall request that local
22 fire companies periodically participate in fire drills to
23 identify and review any unique fire response concerns for each
24 covered building.
25 (b) Cooperation.--A facility shall cooperate with the local
26 fire company in the scheduling of fire drills.
27 Section 5. State Fire Commissioner.
28 The State Fire Commissioner shall establish guidelines
29 regarding the content and form of a fire response plan within 60
30 days of the effective date of this act and shall make such
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1 guidelines available to State facilities through electronic
2 means.
3 Section 6. Effective date.
4 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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