PRINTER'S NO. 695
No. 643 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY LOGAN, BOSCOLA, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, ERICKSON,
STOUT, COSTA, KITCHEN, O'PAKE, MUSTO, FERLO, STACK, RAFFERTY,
C. WILLIAMS, LAVALLE, KASUNIC, FUMO, RHOADES, PIPPY AND
WASHINGTON, MARCH 22, 2007
REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
MARCH 22, 2007
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
1 instruction at the elementary, secondary or postsecondary level.
2 "Fire response plan" or "plan." A document prepared by a
3 State facility for each covered building for the purpose of
4 assisting fire company personnel in the event of a fire
5 emergency.
6 "State facility" or "facility." Any institution owned and
7 operated by the Department of Public Welfare, the State System
8 of Higher Education or the Department of Military and Veterans
9 Affairs and any educational institution owned and operated by
10 the Department of Education or the Department of Military and
11 Veterans Affairs.
12 Section 3. Fire response plan.
13 (a) Preparation of plan.--A State facility shall prepare a
14 fire response plan in accordance with the guidelines established
15 by the State Fire Commissioner. The fire response plan shall
16 include the required information for every covered building.
17 (b) Retention and dissemination of plan.--
18 (1) A copy of the current year's plan shall be retained
19 by the facility for a period of five years.
20 (2) The facility shall file a copy of the current year's
21 plan with the State Fire Commissioner and the Auditor
22 General.
23 (3) The facility shall distribute a copy of the current
24 year's plan to every local fire department that provides fire
25 protection for the facility.
26 (c) Contents of plan.--A fire response plan shall include,
27 but not be limited to, the following:
28 (1) Detailed floor plans for every covered building,
29 which shall indicate the location of all:
30 (i) Electrical panels.
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1 (ii) Fire hydrants.
2 (iii) Other fire suppression equipment, including
3 sprinkler systems.
4 (iv) Sleeping quarters for residents and staff of
5 the State facility.
6 (2) Types, locations and amounts of any chemicals stored
7 within the State facility building or any adjacent or nearby
8 structures or buildings under the control of the facility.
9 For the purposes of this paragraph, "chemicals" includes
10 substances utilized for the maintenance of the facility.
11 (3) Locations in covered buildings where resident
12 evacuation assistance is required during a fire emergency.
13 (4) Any other information that the State facility
14 determines would assist local fire companies in an emergency
15 response to a fire at a covered building.
16 (d) Annual updates.--A facility shall annually update the
17 plan to address any changes, modifications or alterations made
18 to a covered building regarding information listed under
19 subsection (c) and any additional information required pursuant
20 to section 5.
21 Section 4. Fire drill cooperation.
22 (a) Periodic drills.--A facility shall request that local
23 fire companies periodically participate in fire drills to
24 identify and review any unique fire response concerns for each
25 covered building.
26 (b) Cooperation.--A facility shall cooperate with the local
27 fire company in the scheduling of fire drills.
28 Section 5. State Fire Commissioner.
29 The State Fire Commissioner shall establish guidelines
30 regarding the content and form of a fire response plan within 60
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1 days of the effective date of this act and shall make such
2 guidelines available to State facilities through electronic
3 means.
4 Section 6. Effective date.
5 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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