PRINTER'S NO. 1663
No. 1445 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY JOSEPHS, STURLA, McNALLY, BILLOW, PISTELLA,
KUKOVICH, KOSINSKI, HARPER, BELARDI, MIHALICH, MICHLOVIC,
MELIO, BISHOP, SAURMAN, STEIGHNER, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRELLO,
VEON, CIVERA, R. C. WRIGHT AND THOMAS, MAY 15, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND COMMERCE, MAY 15, 1991
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 27, 1927 (P.L.465, No.299), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act to provide for the safety of persons
3 employed, housed, or assembled in certain buildings and
4 structures by requiring certain construction and ways of
5 egress, equipment, and maintenance; providing for the
6 licensing of projectionists, except in cities of the first
7 class and second class; requiring the submission of plans for
8 examination and approval; providing for the promulgation of
9 rules and regulations for the enforcement of this act;
10 providing for the enforcement of this act by the Department
11 of Labor and Industry, the Department of Health, boards of
12 school directors and, in certain cases, by the chiefs of fire
13 departments in cities of the third class; providing penalties
14 for violations of the provisions of this act; and repealing
15 certain acts," providing for sprinkler systems in certain
16 buildings.
17 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
18 hereby enacts as follows:
19 Section 1. Section 2 of the act of April 27, 1927 (P.L.465,
20 No.299), referred to as the Fire and Panic Act, amended July 10,
21 1981 (P.L.253, No.83), is amended to read:
22 Section 2. Classes of Buildings.--The following are the
23 classes of buildings and structures which it is intended that
24 this act shall cover:
1 Class I Buildings.--Factories, power plants, mercantile
2 buildings, hotels, office buildings, hospitals, asylums, public
3 and private institutions, convalescent and nursing homes,
4 schools, colleges, school and college auditoriums and gymnasiums
5 when used for public assemblages, airports, airport buildings,
6 airplane hangars, dormitories, warehouses, garages, farm
7 buildings, except those farm buildings, occupied by less than
8 ten employes, which are used for the production or storage, or
9 both, of agricultural products, or used in the storage of farm
10 equipment by the owner or tenant of the building, and all other
11 buildings specified by the department, not enumerated in Classes
12 II, III, IV, and V, wherein persons are employed, housed or
13 assembled, except those farm buildings excluded herein.
14 Class II Buildings.--Theatres and motion picture theatres.
15 Class III Buildings.--Public halls, dance halls, banquet
16 halls, lodge halls, churches, skating rinks, armory halls, or
17 any other auditorium in which the public assembles, not used for
18 any of the other purposes mentioned in this act.
19 Class IV Buildings.--Tenement houses, apartment houses,
20 apartment hotels, club houses, lodging houses, and rooming
21 houses.
22 Class V Buildings.--Grandstands, stadiums and amphitheaters,
23 and summer theatres.
24 Class VI Buildings.--High rise buildings. Buildings which
25 have an exterior base which exceeds seventy-five (75) feet when
26 measured from ground level to five (5) feet above the highest
27 occupiable floor level.
28 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
29 Section 3.6. Automatic Sprinkler Systems in Class I
30 Buildings.--(a) All existing high rise buildings shall be
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1 totally protected with an automatic sprinkler system by January
2 1, 1994. The department shall issue regulations determining the
3 type of sprinkler systems necessary for adequate fire protection
4 by January 1, 1992. The regulations shall also require:
5 (1) installation of new or updated dry standpipes and back-
6 up generators in any high rise building being substantially
7 renovated; and
8 (2) periodic inspection of all standpipes, back-up
9 generators and sprinkler systems.
10 (b) For the purposes of this section, the exemption of
11 cities of the first class, second class and second class A
12 provided in section 15 shall not apply. Cities otherwise
13 exempted from this act may be certified by the Department of
14 Labor and Industry to enforce the provisions of this section and
15 the regulations promulgated under authority of this section.
16 Section 3. This act shall take effect as follows:
17 (1) The addition of section 3.6 of the act shall take
18 effect upon the effective date of the regulations promulgated
19 under that section.
20 (2) The remainder of this act shall take effect in 60
21 days.
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