Senate Bill No. 415
(By Senator Manchin)
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[Introduced March 19, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article three-c, relating
to persons who perform fire protection service; requiring
certification; setting out a purpose; defining certain
terms; providing exemptions; certification qualifications;
providing for transferability, assignability, renewal and
reciprocity; setting forth application fees; requiring a
seal; effect of denial, suspension and revocation of
certificate; effect of noncompliance; penalty for failure to
comply; excluding applicability of local ordinances; and
providing for the disposition of fees, fines and other
receipts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article three-c, to readas follows:
ARTICLE 3C. SUPERVISION OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS AND
INSTALLATIONS.
§29-3C-1. Declaration of purpose.
This article is enacted to protect the health, safety and
welfare of the public and to protect public and private property
by requiring that people who perform fire protection work are
certified by the state fire marshal as being competent to perform
the work.
§29-3C-2. Necessity of certificate.
After the effective date of this article, a person, firm or
corporation may not perform, offer to perform or engage in fire
protection work for compensation or hire within this state unless
the person, firm or corporation possesses an appropriate
certificate issued by the fire marshal.
§29-3C-3. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Certificate of registration" means the certificate
issued by the state fire marshal to a person, firm or corporation
engaged in fire protection work who has satisfactorily met the
requirements of section five of this article.
(b) "Certificate of competency" means the certificate issued
by the state fire marshal to an individual who has satisfactorily
met the requirements of section five of this article.
(c) "Certificate holder" means an individual who has been
issued a certificate of competency by the state fire marshal.
(d) "Fire protection contractor" means a person, firm or
corporation who engages in the business of fire protection work
and employs a certificate holder.
(e) "Fire protection work" means the installation and
inspection of piping (both above and below ground) utilizing
water, gases, or chemicals for the purpose of controlling or
suppressing fire.
(f) "Fire protection system" means a system of piping used
in fire protection work, which may require shop drawings that
have been prepared by or preparation supervised by a certificate
holder in accordance with fire protection engineering standards.
(g) "Inspection" means a visual examination of a fire
protection system or portion of it to verify that it appears to
be in operating condition and is free of physical damage.
Inspections are performed as required by the national fire
protection association standards adopted under the state fire
code.
(h) "Installation" means the initial placement of a system
or its extension or alteration after the initial placement.
(i) "Shop drawings" means the technical drawings that
identify the components and installation requirements used for
the installation of fire protection systems.
§29-3C-4. Exemptions; nonapplicability of certificate
requirements.
This article does not apply to and a certificate may not be
required for: (a) Inspections performed by building officials,fire marshal inspectors and insurance inspectors; (b) a person
working under the supervision of a certificate holder; (c)
persons installing limited area sprinkler systems served by a
domestic water supply consisting of six sprinkler heads or less
in one structure; or (d) a person who, while employed by a public
utility or its affiliate, performs fire protection work in
connection with the furnishing of public utility service.
§29-3C-5. Certificates; classes of certificates; issuance of
certificates by fire marshal; qualifications required for
certificate; nontransferability and nonassignability of
certificate; expiration of certificates; renewal;
reciprocity.
(a) The following classes of certificate may be issued by
the state fire marshal: "Certificate of registration,"
"temporary certificate of registration," and "certificate of
competency."
(b) The state fire marshal shall issue the appropriate class
of certificate to a person, firm or corporation upon a finding
that the person, firm or corporation possesses the
qualifications for the class of certificate to be issued.
(c) The qualifications for each class of certificate to be
issued are as follows:
(1) For a "certificate of registration" a person, firm or
corporation must demonstrate that they employ a certificate
holder on staff who serves as an employee, owner, partner or
officer.
(2) For a "temporary certificate of registration" a person,
firm or corporation must have been engaged in fire protection
work for at least five years and must employ a certificate holder
within twenty-four months after the effective date of this
article. After twenty-four months after the effective date of
this article, no temporary certificates of registration shall be
issued.
(3) For a "certificate of competency" a certificate holder
must demonstrate competence by passing the National Institute for
Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) test for an
engineering technician certificate, level III or higher, in the
fire protection field for which the certificate holder is to be
employed. If a NICET field has not been established in the field
for which the certificate holder is to be employed, the
certificate holder must show competence by providing a
manufacturer's certificate of training until the NICET field
becomes available, at which time the certificate holder must pass
the certification test under NICET regulations.
(d) No certificate issued under this article is assignable
or transferable.
(e) All certificates issued by the state fire marshal shall
expire on the thirtieth day of June following the year of issue
or renewal.
(f)(1) Each expiring certificate may be renewed without need
for examination and without limit as to the number of times
renewed, for the same class of certificate previously issued andfor the same person, firm or corporation to whom it was
originally issued upon payment to the state fire marshal of a
renewal fee of fifty dollars if the application for renewal and
payment of the fee is made before the date of expiration of the
certificate.
(2) In the case of a failure to renew a certificate on or
before the thirtieth day of June, the person named in the
certificate may, upon payment of the renewal fee and an
additional fee of fifteen dollars, receive from the state fire
marshal a deferred renewal of the certificate which shall expire
on the thirtieth day of June in the ensuing year. No person,
firm or corporation may perform fire protection work upon
expiration of the person's, firm's or corporation's certificate
until a deferred renewal for the certificate is issued by the
state fire marshal even if the person, firm or corporation has
applied for the deferred renewal of the certificate.
(g) To the extent that other jurisdictions provide for the
licensing or certification of fire protection installers or
contractors, the state fire marshal may grant the same or
equivalent classification of certificate without written
examination upon satisfactory proof furnished to the state fire
marshal that the qualifications of the applicant are equal to the
qualifications required by this article and upon payment of the
required fee: Provided, That as a condition to reciprocity, the
other jurisdictions must extend to certified installers of this
or the other state, the same or equivalent classification.
§29-3C-6. Applications; fees.
(a) The state fire marshal shall prepare and arrange for the
receipt of applications from those who intend to perform fire
protection work in the state of West Virginia. The application
shall be sufficiently detailed to enable the state fire marshal
to determine the presence or absence of an applicant's
qualifications for a certificate of a particular class. The
state fire marshal may, if he or she considers it necessary,
require applicants to supply affidavits or other documents
attesting to the applicant's qualifications from past employers,
other installers, engineers and others with knowledge of the
applicant's qualifications. The state fire marshal may make the
other inquiries as he or she considers necessary to determine the
qualifications of the applicant. An applicant expressly consents
to the inquiries by the state fire marshal by his or her
application.
(b) Applications for certificates shall include the
following fee: Certificate of registration, one hundred dollars;
certificate of competency, one hundred dollars.
(c) The state fire marshal shall prepare and arrange for the
registration and filing of the qualifications of certificate
holders and compile a record of certificate holder names and
NICET certificate numbers for easy reference during plans review.
(d) Shop drawings for the initial installation or extensive
renovation of fire protection systems shall be submitted to the
fire marshal for plan review to assure compliance with applicablerequirements of the national fire protection association
standards adopted under the state fire code. All shop drawings
shall be signed by the certificate holder and include his or her
certificate number.
§29-3C-7. Certificate holder seal; use of seal.
Each certificate holder shall obtain and use a seal for all
work prepared by him or her under his or her direct supervision.
The design of the seal shall be as follows:
§29-3C-8. Denial of certificate; suspension and revocation of
certificate.
(a) The state fire marshal shall deny a certificate to any
applicant who fails to establish or who lacks the necessary
qualifications for a certificate for the class of certificate
desired.
(b) The state fire marshal may upon complaint or his or her
own inquiry, after notice and hearing as provided by article
five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, suspend or revoke the
certificate of any person, firm or corporation who holds a
certificate if:
(1) The certificate was granted upon an application or
documents supporting the application which materially misstated
the terms of the applicant's qualifications or experience;
(2) The person subscribed or vouched for the misstatement by
an applicant;
(3) The person incompetently or unsafely performs fire
protection work;
(4) The person violated any statute of the state of West
Virginia, any rule lawfully promulgated by an agency of the state
of West Virginia or any ordinance of any municipality or county
of the state of West Virginia which protects the consumer or
public against unfair, unsafe, unlawful or improper business
practices; or
(c) Any person aggrieved by an order or decision of the
state fire marshal under this article is entitled to judicial
review as provided by section eighteen, article three of this
chapter.
§29-3C-9. Effect of noncompliance with article; failure to
obtain certificate.
Any person, firm, corporation or employee thereof, or any
representative, member or officer of the firm or corporation,
individually, entering upon or engaging in the business of
performing any fire protection work as defined in this article,
without obtaining the required certificate or otherwise complying
with this article, is for the first offense guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than one hundred dollars. For a second or subsequent
offense, the penalty and punishment is a fine of not less than
one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
Each day during which the fire protection work is performed
without the required certificate or while in noncompliance with
any of the provisions of this article, after official notice that
the work is unlawful, is a separate offense.
Any fire protection work performed by a person, firm or
corporation which is determined by the state fire marshal to
constitute a safety or health hazard to members of the public or
any fire protection work of an extensive nature being performed
by any person without the required certificate or otherwise in
noncompliance with the requirements of this article or contrary
to an order or rule promulgated lawfully by the state fire
commission or fire marshal, is subject to being issued a citation
or a civil action in the name of the state in the circuit court
of the county where the work is being performed for an injunction
against the person, firm or corporation, enjoining the work or
violation. A circuit court by mandatory or prohibitory
injunction may compel compliance with the provisions of this
article, with the lawful orders of the state fire marshal and
with any final decision of the state fire marshal or state fire
commission. The state fire marshal shall be represented in all
proceedings by the prosecuting attorney of the county for
issuance of citations, and he or she shall be represented by the
attorney general or his or her assistants for other matters.
§29-3C-10. Nonapplicability of local ordinances; exclusive
certificate.
After the effective date of this article no municipality,local government or county may require any license or other
evidence of competence as an installer from any person, firm or
corporation who or which holds a valid and current certificate
issued pursuant to this article, as a condition precedent to
permission for the performance of fire protection work in the
municipality, local government jurisdiction or county.
§29-3C-11. Disposition of fees, fines and other receipts.
All fees or other moneys received as a result of actions
under this article shall be paid to the state fire marshal. The
receipts shall be deposited by him in a special account with the
state treasurer for the use of the state fire marshal in
administering this article as provided in subsection (c), section
twelve-b, article three of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require certification
of persons who perform fire protection work. The State Fire
Marshal is required to ensure that people certified are competent
before issuing a certification. The bill establishes classes of
certification and requires that applicants pay a fee for
certification. The bill also provides penalties for
noncompliance with certification requirements.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.