The above captioned case was scheduled for hearing on October 23, 2001 at l:00 p.m.  At that time, Chairman Farrell and Commissioners Wahlberg, Pearson, Coutu, O’Connell, Richard, Burlingame, Filippi, Newbrook, and Evans.  The fire service was represented by Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Barrosso of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal’s Office.  A motion was made by Commissioner Newbrook and seconded by Commissioner Coutu to grant the Applicant relief as outlined herein.  The motion passed over the opposition votes of Commissioner Wahlberg and Commissioner Richard.

FINDING OF FACT
		
The numbers of the Decision below correspond with those of a July l4, l999 inspection report compiled by the Woonsocket Fire Marshal’s Office.  The above report was utilized by the Board, the Applicant and the Woonsocket Fire Marshal’s Office, during the October 23, 2001 hearing on this matter.  Accordingly, the Board hereby incorporates the July l4, l999 inspection report as its initial findings of fact.  Any modification of the Board’s findings, such as correction of a deficiency by the Applicant, shall be noted herein.

	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.	During the October 23, 2001 hearing on this matter.  The Board was advised that the Applicant was possibly planning to reconvert this facility to a three- (3) family occupancy.  However, these plans have not yet been finalized and the Board was asked to address this application as if the occupancy would remain.  Accordingly, the Applicant is hereby directed to either convert this facility to a three (3) family occupancy with a newly installed hardwired system of residential smoke detectors within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision or to bring this facility into compliance with the plan of action outlined below within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

Assuming the Applicant shall maintain the apartment occupancy of this facility, 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.  In granting this variance, the Board directs the Applicant to remove all locks and locking devices from those bedroom doors through which fire escape access is achieved.  The Board further directs the Applicant to reverse the fire escape ladder, at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal, within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

2.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-3 in order to allow the Applicant to maintain window access to the fire escape of this facility.

3.	A. 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 rating of the cited egress system walls of this facility.  In granting this variance, the Board directs the Applicant to provide the cited wainscoting of the lower portion of the walls with an approved Class “A” finish, installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal’s Office, within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

B.  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 stair treads within this facility.  This variance is granted on the basis of structural hardship.

4.	The Board hereby grants a variance in order to allow the Applicant to provide the existing apartment and basement 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 further equipped with spring-loaded hinges and installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal, within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.  The Board further grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-6 in order to allow the Applicant to provide the existing swing of the doors to the exterior of this facility.

5.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-l3 and NFPA Standard l0, l988 edition in order to allow the Applicant to provide each of the apartment units of this facility with an approved fire extinguisher.  It is the understanding of the Board that the Applicant has complied with the installation of fire extinguishers.

6.	The Board hereby grants a variance from the provisions of Section 23-28.l6-14 in order to allow the Applicant to provide the egress system of this facility with an approved domestically supplied system of sprinkler heads covering the common areas and both sides of the apartment doors.  The above system shall be properly engineered and maintain a back-flow preventor device.  Finally, the above system shall be installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal, within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

7.	As a condition of the variances granted herein, the Board directs the Applicant to provide this facility with approved fire alarm system, installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket 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.

8.	The Board hereby directs the Applicant to correct deficiency #8 by reconfiguring the fire escape ladders of this facility, at the direction and to the satisfaction of the Woonsocket Fire Marshal, within one hundred and twenty (l20) days from the date of this Decision.

9.	As outlined in item #l above, the Board has granted the Applicant an option of either bringing this four (4) unit facility into compliance with the above plan of action within one hundred and twenty (l20) days or to reconvert this facility into a three (3) unit facility within the same one hundred and twenty (l20) day time limit.  In the event the Applicant reconverts this facility to a three (3) family house, the Applicant is directed to provide this facility with an approved system of hardwired smoke detectors in accordance with the provisions of RIGL 23-28.34 within the same one hundred and twenty-- (l20) day time limit.

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 in 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)]