The above captioned case was scheduled for hearing on December 4, 2001 at l:00 p.m.  At that time, Chairman Farrell and Commissioners Wahlberg, O’Connell, Newbrook, Richard and Filippi were present.   The fire service was represented by Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal Susan Hawksley of the East Greenwich Fire Marshal’s Office.  A motion was made by Commissioner Filippi and seconded by Commissioner Newbrook to grant the Applicant relief as outlined herein.  The motion was unanimous.

FINDING OF FACT
		
The numbers of the Decision below correspond with those of an October 30, 2001 plan review report compiled by the East Greenwich Fire Marshal’s Office.  The above report was utilized by the Board, the Applicant and the East Greenwich Fire Marshal’s Office during the December 4, 200l hearing on this matter.  Accordingly, the Board hereby incorporates the above reports as its initial findings of fact. 

	Any deficiency, understood by the Board, to have been corrected which is not so corrected shall be immediately corrected by the Applicant.  The term approved as used 
herein is defined in Section 23-28.l-4(3) of the Rhode Island General Laws.


CONCLUSIONS AND VARIANCE REQUESTS

1.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-2 in order to allow the Applicant to maintain the egress system of this facility as modified herein.  Specifically, the Applicant shall address the interior egress system as modified below and shall be allowed to utilize the fire escape system provided it is maintained in good working order.

2.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-3, 5 & 7 in order to allow the Applicant to maintain the existing egress passageways as modified herein.  In granting this variance, the Board directs the Applicant to provide the existing egress system door jambs of this facility with approved solid core wood doors maintaining an approximate fire rating of twenty (20) minutes.  The above doors shall be equipped with approved spring-loaded hinges and installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the East Greenwich Fire Marshal’s Office within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

3.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-5 in order to allow the Applicant to maintain the existing unenclosed stairwell construction within this facility.

4.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-5(f) in order to allow the Applicant to maintain the existing winding stairs within this facility.  This variance is granted on the basis of structural hardship.

5.	There is no deficiency #5 in this report.

6.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-6 in order to allow the Applicant to maintain the existing swing of the cited egress doors with regard to the fire resistance rating, please see item #2 above.

7.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-13 and NFPA Standard l0, l988 edition, in order to allow the Applicant to provide each of the apartment units with an approved fire extinguisher, installed the direction and to the satisfaction of the East Greenwich Fire Marshal, within fifteen (l5) days from the date of this Decision.

8.	As a condition of the variances granted herein, the Board hereby directs the Applicant to provide this facility with an approved local fire alarm system without pull stations installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the East Greenwich Fire Marshal in accordance with the provisions of Section 23-28.25-4(a), within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision. 

9.	It is the understanding of the Board that the Applicant has corrected all remaining deficiencies cited by the East Greenwich Fire Marshal’s Office.

This Decision represents a comprehensive, integrated plan of fire safety for the above-captioned facility under the above-cited use or occupancy.  Accordingly, every variance granted is conditioned upon the Applicant’s timely and continued compliance with all of the directives of the Board.  Every variance granted is further conditioned upon the continued use or occupancy of this facility under the above-cited classification reviewed by the Board.

Failure of the Applicant to initially comply with the full Decision of the Board, within the stated time frame, shall void all variances granted herein.  In the event of complete, timely and continued compliance with the full Decision of the Board, the above-cited variances shall be deemed to have vested in the above-captioned facility.  As long as this facility is in continued compliance with the full Decision of the Board, the above-cited variances shall remain with this facility in the absence of any change in use or occupancy mandating review under a separate classification of the Fire Code or a revision of the above-cited classification.  Such changes in use or occupancy of this facility, or failure to continually comply with the Board’s Decision, shall void all variances granted under the above-cited use or occupancy.  If such changes creates a new use or occupancy as outlined in R.I.G.L. 23-28.l-6, all variances granted under the original use or occupancy are void and this facility shall be reviewed under the newly created use or occupancy.

	The Applicant may appeal the Board’s Decision within thirty (30) days of the mailing date of this Decision, by commencing an action against the State Fire Marshal within the Sixth Division of the District Court.  Commencement of such an action does not operate as an automatic stay of this Decision.  [RIGL 42-35-l5(c)]