BILL REQ. #: S-0763.1
| State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/28/11. Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection.
AN ACT Relating to fire protection firms; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Certificate of competency holder" means any person who has
satisfactorily met the qualifications and has received a certificate of
competency for any of the three following disciplines from the director
under this chapter:
(a) "Portable fire extinguisher technician" means any person who is
engaged in the business of installing, servicing, maintaining,
recharging, or hydrotesting fire extinguishers as defined in NFPA 10;
(b) "Preengineered industrial fire extinguishing system technician"
means any person who is engaged in the business of installing,
servicing, maintaining, recharging, or hydrotesting preengineered
industrial fire extinguishing systems as defined in NFPA 17 and 2001.
(c) "Preengineered kitchen fire extinguishing system technician"
means any person who is engaged in the business of installing,
servicing, maintaining, recharging, or hydrotesting preengineered
kitchen fire extinguishing systems as defined in NFPA 17A;
(2) "Director" means the state director of fire protection.
(3) "Fire extinguisher" or "appliance" means an assembly of
components consisting of cylinder, valve, nozzle, and hose or fixed
nozzle, extinguishing agent, and expelling agent. The appliance may be
in a fixed position or location, movable on wheels, or hand portable.
The fire extinguisher may be of the stored pressure type, pressurized
for expelling the extinguishing agent by means of an external
pressurized cartridge, or cylinder or as described in NFPA 10.
(4) "Fire protection firm" means a person or organization that
offers to undertake the execution of contracts, verbal or written, for
the installation, inspection, maintenance, or servicing of a fire
extinguisher or preengineered fixed fire suppression system or any part
of such an appliance or assembly.
(5) "Fire protection firm license" means the license issued by the
director to a fire protection firm.
(6) "Firm" means a corporation, partnership, organization, or other
business association, governmental entity, or any other legal or
commercial entity.
(7) "Hydrostatic testing" means pressure testing of the cylinder or
applicable attachment to verify its strength against unwanted rupture
as prescribed by the most current version of NFPA 10, 17, 17A, or 2001
and applicable United States department of transportation requirements.
(8) "ICC" means the international code council, inc.
(9) "Inspection" means a visual examination or "quick check" as
defined by NFPA 10, 17, 17A, and 2001.
(10) "Maintenance" means a thorough examination as defined by NFPA
10, 17, 17A, and 2001.
(11) "NAFED" means the national association of fire equipment
distributors.
(12) "NFPA 10" means the standard, referenced by the international
fire code, that is used by the national fire protection association for
the installation, maintenance, and servicing of fire extinguishers.
(13) "NFPA 17" means the standard, referenced by the international
fire code, that is used by the national fire protection association for
the installation, maintenance, and servicing of dry chemical
extinguishing systems.
(14) "NFPA 17A" means the standard, referenced by the international
fire code, that is used by the national fire protection association for
the installation, maintenance, and servicing of wet chemical
extinguishing systems.
(15) "NFPA 96 chapter 11" means the standard, referenced by the
international fire code, that is used by the national fire protection
association for ventilation control and fire protection of commercial
cooking operations.
(16) "NFPA 2001" means the standard, referenced by the
international fire code, that is used by the national fire protection
association for the installation, maintenance, and servicing of clean
agent fire extinguishing systems.
(17) "Person" means a natural person, including an owner, manager,
partner, officer, employee, or occupant.
(18) "Preengineered fixed fire suppression system" or "assembly"
means any system as defined by NFPA standards 17, 17A, 96 chapter 11,
and 2001.
(19) "Servicing" means performing maintenance, recharging, or
hydrostatic testing pursuant to NFPA 10, 17, 17A, and 2001.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 This chapter incorporates by reference the
following codes, standards, and regulations: International fire code;
international code council; international building code; international
mechanical code; NFPA 10 for portable fire extinguishers; NFPA 17 for
dry chemical extinguishing systems; NFPA 17A for wet chemical
extinguishing systems; NFPA 96 chapter 11; NFPA 2001 for clean agent
fire extinguishing systems as they may apply; and applicable United
States department of transportation regulations as the minimum standard
for installation, servicing, and maintenance for the fire extinguisher
and preengineered fire suppression industry in the state of Washington.
If a conflict exists between any of the codes, standards, or
regulations listed in this section, the more stringent standard
applies.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) A county, city, or town may not enact an
order, ordinance, rule, or regulation requiring a fire protection firm
or certificate of competency holder to obtain a fire extinguisher or
preengineered fire suppression system contractor license or certificate
of competency from the county, city, or town. However, a county, city,
or town may require a fire protection firm to obtain a business license
and pay its permit fee to install fire extinguishers or preengineered
fire suppression systems to conform to the building code or other
construction requirements of the county, city, or town, but may not
impose financial responsibility requirements other than proof of a
valid license.
(2) This chapter does not apply to:
(a) United States, state, and local government employees, building
officials, fire marshals, fire inspectors, or insurance inspectors when
acting in their official capacities;
(b) A business owner or representative performing a monthly "quick
check" or inspection;
(c) A person or organization acting under court order;
(d) A person or organization that sells or supplies products or
material to a licensed fire extinguisher service firm;
(e) An owner and occupier of a single-family residence performing
his or her own installation in that residence; or
(f) An owner and occupier of any building where the owner and
occupier must meet the certification requirements listed in this
chapter when completing the work outlined in this chapter, but are not
required to contract out these services to a private contractor.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 (1) The director shall administer the
requirements of this chapter.
(2) The director shall:
(a) Adopt rules necessary to administrate this chapter, including:
(i) Setting fees for licenses, certificates, testing, and other
aspects of the administration of this chapter;
(ii) Reviewing all aspects of applications for fire protection firm
licenses and certificates of competency including, but not limited to,
claims against the contractor's bond;
(iii) Adopting rules establishing a special category restricted to
fire protection firms registered under this chapter that install fire
extinguishers and preengineered fixed fire suppression systems; and
(iv) Adopting rules defining infractions under this chapter and
fines to be assessed for those infractions in accordance with section
13 of this act;
(b) Enforce this chapter;
(c) Conduct investigations of complaints to determine if any
infractions of this chapter or the rules adopted under this chapter
have occurred;
(d) Structure all initial investigations of complaints with intent
to bring license and certificate holders into service compliance
without being excessively punitive. Gross or fraudulent violations
must be dealt with as deemed appropriate by the director;
(e) Assign a license number to each fire protection firm,
referencing a number of a certificate of competency holder, and issue
each license in the firm's business name;
(f) Assign a certificate number to each certificate of competency
holder referencing the licensing number of the fire protection firm;
(g) Adopt a minimum standard for a certification tag to be used
throughout the state of Washington that includes the fire protection
firm's license number and the certificate of competency holder's name
and number; and
(h) Amend the licensing and certification rules as codes,
standards, and certification tests evolve.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 (1) To become a portable fire extinguisher
technician certificate of competency holder under this chapter, an
applicant must have satisfactorily passed the ICC examination for
portable fire extinguishers.
(2) To become a preengineered kitchen fire extinguishing system
technician certificate of competency holder under this chapter, an
applicant must have satisfactorily passed the ICC examination for
preengineered kitchen fire extinguishing systems and completed a
factory kitchen system school or equivalent.
(3) To become a preengineered industrial fire extinguishing system
technician certificate of competency holder under this chapter, an
applicant must have satisfactorily passed the ICC examination for
preengineered industrial fire extinguishing systems and successfully
completed a factory industrial system school or equivalent.
(4) Every applicant for a certificate of competency shall fulfill
the requirements established by the director under section 4 of this
act.
(5) Every applicant for a certificate of competency shall apply to
the director and pay the fees required.
(6) Every certificate of competency holder must be employed by a
licensed fire protection firm in order to perform service, maintenance,
or installation of an appliance or assembly unless the person is an
owner and occupier of a building where the owner and occupier is
responsible for the business or operations of the building.
(7) The director may issue a training certificate of competency in
any particular discipline to an individual who has applied for a
certificate and paid the required fees. An individual issued a
training certificate must perform work under direct visual supervision
of a certificate of competency holder. The training certificate of
competency is valid for a period of up to one year. The training
certificate holder shall, within the one-year period, complete the
requirements for a certificate of competency specified in this section.
There is no examination exemption for an individual issued a training
certificate. Prior to the expiration of the one-year period, the
training certificate holder shall apply for a regular certificate of
competency. The procedures and qualifications for issuance of a
regular certificate of competency are applicable to the training
certificate holder. When a training certificate expires, the holder
may apply for an extension, not to exceed six months. When that
extension expires, the holder may not perform any activities associated
with the holding of a training certificate of competency and is subject
to the penalties contained in this chapter.
(8) To become a licensed fire protection firm under this chapter,
a person or firm must:
(a) Obtain a certificate of competency or have in their full-time
employ at least one holder of a valid certificate of competency before
performing service, maintenance, or installation on an appliance or
assembly;
(b) Maintain a minimum two million dollars aggregate sum of
insurance and current posting with the Washington state department of
labor and industries;
(c) Be a contractor registered with the department of labor and
industries; and
(d) Have or be contracted to a company with a department of
transportation retesters identification number for both low and high-pressure cylinders and applicable attachments.
(9) Each license and certificate of competency issued under this
chapter must be posted in a conspicuous place in the fire protection
firm's primary Washington state place of business.
(10) All bids, advertisements, proposals, offers, and drawings for
fire extinguisher and preengineered fixed fire suppression system
installation, service, and maintenance must prominently display the
fire protection firm's license number.
(11) A certificate of competency or license issued under this
chapter is not transferable.
(12) In no case may a certificate of competency holder be employed
full time, as defined by the department of labor and industries, by
more than one licensed fire protection firm at the same time. If the
certificate of competency holder should leave the employment of the
fire protection firm, that firm must notify the director within fifteen
days.
(13) A certificate of competency holder who is terminated or
resigns from a fire protection firm must have his or her certificate of
competency placed in inactive status until again employed by a fire
protection firm.
(14) A certificate of competency holder employed full time under
this chapter for reasons of long-term disability or military obligation
may upon application to the director have his or her certificate of
competency placed on inactive status until the holder can return to the
full-time place of employment.
(15) A fire protection firm must have at the minimum a physical
address, and at least one telephone number attached to the physical
address. A fire protection firm must possess the proper tools and
equipment to service and maintain either fire extinguishers or
preengineered fixed fire suppression systems, or both, in accordance
with applicable NFPA standards and United States department of
transportation regulations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 (1) Every three years all certificate of
competency holders who desire to retain their certificate in a
particular discipline shall secure from the director a renewal
certificate of competency upon payment of the renewal fee adopted by
the director. Application for renewal must be upon a notarized form
prescribed by the director and the certificate holder shall furnish the
information required by the director.
(a) The director may suspend the certificate of competency of any
certificate of competency holder who fails to secure his or her renewal
certificate of competency within sixty days after the due date.
(b) The director may, upon the receipt of payment of all delinquent
fees including a late charge, restore a certificate of competency that
has been suspended for failure to pay the renewal fee.
(c) A certificate of competency holder may voluntarily surrender
his or her certificate of competency to the director. After
surrendering the certificate of competency, he or she is not subject to
a renewal fee, may not use the term certificate of competency holder,
and may not perform the services of a certificate holder. Within two
years from the time of surrender of the certificate of competency, he
or she may again qualify for a certificate of competency, without
examination, by the payment of the required fee. If two or more years
have elapsed, he or she must apply as a new applicant.
(2) All licensed fire protection firms desiring to continue to be
licensed shall annually secure from the director a renewal license upon
payment of the fee adopted by the director. Application for renewal
must be upon a form adopted by the director and the license holder
shall furnish the information required by the director.
(a) Failure of any license holder to secure his or her renewal
license within sixty days after the due date constitutes sufficient
cause for the director to suspend the license.
(b) The director may, upon the receipt of payment of all delinquent
fees including a late charge, restore a license that has been suspended
for failure to pay the renewal fee.
(3) The initial certificate of competency or license fee must be
prorated based upon the portion of the licensing period in which the
certificate of competency or license is in effect.
(4) All fire protection firms based in other states providing fire
protection services to accounts with locations in the state of
Washington either by direct service or by contracting with Washington
state-based fire protection firms must comply with this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) The fire protection firm licensing
account is created in the custody of the state treasurer.
(2) All receipts from licenses, testing, and certification fees and
money generated due to enforcement of this chapter must be deposited
into the account. All money from this account must be used only for
the purposes of education for the public, licensed fire protection
firms and their certificate of competency holders, and in administering
and enforcing this chapter. Only the director or the director's
designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is
subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no
appropriation is required for expenditures.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 (1) Nothing in this chapter limits the power
of a city, town, county, or the state to regulate the quality and
character of work performed by contractors, through a system of
permits, fees, and inspections which are designed to assure compliance
with and aid in the implementation of state and local building laws or
to enforce other local laws for the protection of the public health and
safety. Nothing in this chapter limits the power of the city, town,
county, or the state to adopt any system of permits requiring
submission to and approval by the city, town, county, or the state, of
technical drawings and specifications for work to be performed by
contractors before commencement of the work. The official authorized
to issue building or other related permits shall ascertain that the
fire protection firm is duly licensed by requiring evidence of a valid
fire protection firm license.
(2) This chapter applies to any fire protection firm performing
work for any city, town, county, or the state. Officials of any city,
town, county, or the state are required to determine compliance with
this chapter before awarding any contracts for the installation,
repair, service, alteration, fabrication, addition, or maintenance of
a fire protection appliance or assembly.
(3) A city, town, county, state agency, or private entity
performing fire appliance or assembly servicing for their own use or
public use must comply with the level of licensing and certification
intended for fire protection firms in the public sector under this
chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 (1) The director may impose penalties under
this chapter or refuse to issue or renew a license or may suspend or
revoke the license of a fire protection firm or the certificate of a
certificate of competency holder to engage in the fire extinguisher or
preengineered fixed fire system service business for any of the
following reasons:
(a) Gross incompetence or gross negligence in the preparation of
technical drawings, installation, repair, alteration, maintenance,
service, addition, or removal of any fire protection appliance or
assembly;
(b) Conviction of a class A or B felony or any conviction that
classifies the licensee or certificate holder as a registered sex
offender. The director shall adopt rules for verifying that no class
A or B felony has been committed or that the applicant is a registered
sex offender;
(c) Fraudulent or dishonest practices while working as a fire
protection firm or certificate of competency holder;
(d) Use of false evidence or misrepresentation in an application
for a license or certificate of competency;
(e) Permitting his or her license to be used in connection with the
preparation of any technical drawings which have not been prepared by
him or her personally or under his or her immediate supervision; or
(f) Knowingly violating any provisions of this chapter or the rules
adopted under this chapter.
(2) The director shall revoke the license of a licensed fire
protection firm or the certificate of a certificate of competency
holder who engages in any of the three disciplines listed in section
1(1) of this act while the license or certificate of competency is
suspended.
(3) The director shall immediately suspend any license or
certificate issued under this chapter if the holder has been certified
pursuant to RCW 74.20A.320 by the department of social and health
services as a person who is not in compliance with a support order or
a residential or visitation order. If the person has continued to meet
all other requirements for issuance or reinstatement during the
suspension, issuance, or reissuance of the license or certificate is
automatic upon the director's receipt of a release issued by the
department of social and health services stating that the person is in
compliance with the order.
(4) Any licensed fire protection firm or certificate of competency
holder who is aggrieved by an order of the director may, within thirty
days after notice of such action, file an informal appeal to the
director and if still aggrieved by the outcome of the informal appeal,
may appeal under chapter 34.05 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 The director shall suspend the certificate
of any person who has been certified by a lending agency and reported
to the director for nonpayment or default on a federally or state-guaranteed educational loan or service-conditional scholarship. Prior
to the suspension, the agency must provide the person an opportunity
for a brief adjudicative proceeding under RCW 34.05.485 through
34.05.494 and issue a finding of nonpayment or default on a federally
or state-guaranteed educational loan or service-conditional
scholarship. The person's certificate may not be reissued until the
person provides the director a written release issued by the lending
agency stating that the person is making payments on the loan in
accordance with a repayment agreement approved by the lending agency.
If the person has continued to meet all other requirements for
certification during the suspension, reinstatement shall be automatic
upon receipt of the notice and payment of any reinstatement fee the
director may impose.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 Any fire protection firm that constructs,
installs, or maintains a fire protection appliance or assembly in any
occupancy, except an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, without
first obtaining a fire protection firm's license from the state of
Washington is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. This section may not be
construed to create any criminal liability for a prime contractor or an
owner or his or her agent of occupancy unless it is proved that the
prime contractor or owner or his or her agent had actual knowledge of
an illegal construction, installation, or maintenance of a fire
protection appliance or assembly by a fire protection firm.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 Civil proceedings to enforce this chapter
may be brought by the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney of
any county where a violation occurs on his or her own motion or at the
request of the director.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 (1) A fire protection firm that performs
service maintenance or installation of an appliance or assembly without
obtaining a valid certificate of competency under section 5 of this act
must be assessed a fine of not less than five hundred dollars and not
more than one thousand dollars per infraction, to be determined by the
director.
(2) A certificate of competency holder who performs work as a valid
certificate of competency holder while not employed by a licensed fire
protection firm or while his or her certificate is inactive must be
assessed a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars and not more
than five hundred dollars.
(3) All fines collected under this section must be deposited into
the fire protection firm licensing account.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 Any fire protection firm or certificate of
competency holder who willfully and maliciously constructs, installs,
alters, services, or maintains a fire protection appliance or assembly
so as to threaten the safety of any user of the structure, occupant,
appliance, or assembly in the event of a fire is guilty of a class C
felony. This section may not be construed to create any criminal
liability for a prime contractor or an owner of a structure or their
agent unless it is proved that the prime contractor or owner or their
agent had actual knowledge of an illegal construction, installation,
alteration, service, or maintenance of a fire protection appliance or
assembly by a fire protection firm or a certificate of competency
holder.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 Sections 1 through 15 of this act
constitute a new chapter in Title