N.Y. Education Law § 807-a: Fire inspections

§ 807-a. Fire inspections. 1. It shall be the duty of the school

authorities in general charge of the operation of any public or private

school to cause the buildings of such school containing classroom,

dormitory, laboratory, physical education, dining or recreational

facilities for student use to be inspected at least annually for fire

hazards which might endanger the lives of students, teachers and

employees therein.

2. The annual fire inspection shall be made prior to the first day of

December of every school year and the report thereof shall be filed by

the school authorities in the places required by subdivision five of

this section no later than the sixteenth day of December of every such

year.

3. a. The school authorities shall cause any fire inspection pursuant

to this section to be made by one of the following methods, or any

combination of such methods:

(1) Requesting inspection by the fire department of any city, town,

village or fire district in which the building is located.

(2) Requesting inspection by a fire corporation which is subject to

the provisions of section fourteen hundred two of the not-for-profit

corporation law, if such building is located within the area described

in the certificate of incorporation of any such corporation.

(3) Requesting inspection by the county fire coordinator, or the

officer performing the powers and duties of a county fire coordinator

pursuant to a local law, of the county in which the building is located,

or by any deputy county fire coordinator or deputy of such other officer

so performing the powers and duties of a county fire coordinator

designated to make the inspection by the county fire coordinator or such

other officer so performing the powers and duties of a county fire

coordinator, if the building is located outside a city, town, village,

or fire district, which has its own fire department and outside the area

described in the certificate of incorporation of any fire corporation

which is subject to the provisions of section fourteen hundred two of

the not-for-profit corporation law.

(4) Requesting inspection by a fire inspector, who holds a valid

certification.

b. If any fire department, certified fire inspector or fire

corporation described in subparagraphs one, two, and four of paragraph a

of this subdivision shall fail or refuse to make a fire inspection

promptly after having been requested to do so by the school authorities,

the request shall be denied in writing to the school authorities with an

explanation of why such request was denied. In no event may an authority

who is otherwise required by law to conduct fire inspections in such

municipality or a county fire coordinator refuse a request by a school

authority for such inspection.

c. Regardless of the method or methods used to accomplish the

inspection required by this section, the authority making the inspection

shall file the report thereof with the school authorities no later than

the first day of December.

4. The state fire administrator shall prescribe the form of the fire

inspection report and the commissioner shall furnish a supply of such

form to school authorities annually, either by mail or electronically.

In prescribing such form the state fire administrator shall consider

standards for fire safety set forth in the state building construction

code, the state building conservation and fire prevention code, the

regulations of the commissioner and other safety standards.

5. a. The report of any fire inspection shall be filed in the office

of the school authorities and with the commissioner. All such reports

filed in any public office shall be kept as public records for at least

three years after which period they may be destroyed.

b. Within twenty days after the report is filed with the school

authorities, the school authorities shall cause public notice of the

filing of such report to be given in substantially the following form:

"Notice is hereby given that the annual inspection for (year) of

the school building (or of the

and school buildings) of (name of school district or private

school) for fire hazards which might endanger the lives of students,

teachers and employees therein, has been completed and the report

thereof is available at the office of (school district or private

school) at for inspection by all interested persons". If the

inspection was not made for the school authorities by the fire

department or fire company responsible for fire protection of the

building, such authorities shall cause a copy of such notice to be

mailed or electronically transmitted to the chief of such fire

department or company.

c. The school authorities of public schools shall cause such notice to

be published on the school's website or at least once in the official

newspaper, or if there is no official newspaper, in a newspaper having

general circulation in the school district, and if there is no newspaper

having general circulation in the district, shall cause such notice to

be posted in ten conspicuous places in the district. Proof of

publication or posting of such notice and of the mailing of a copy of

such notice to the fire chief shall be filed in the office of the

district.

d. The school authorities of private schools shall cause such notice

to be published on the school's website or at least once in a newspaper

having general circulation in the postal area in which the school

building is located, and if there is no newspaper having general

circulation in such postal area, shall cause such notice to be posted in

ten conspicuous places in such postal area. Proof of posting or

publication of such notice and of the mailing of a copy of such notice

to the fire chief shall be filed in the school office.

e. If the report shows any alleged deficiencies, the school

authorities shall provide the details of such deficiencies and the

proposed actions to be taken to correct such deficiencies to the local

government that administers and enforces the uniform fire prevention and

building code for the municipality in which the building is located.

6. a. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to ascertain annually

whether the inspections of school buildings required by this section

have been made and the reports of the inspection have been filed in

their respective offices. The commissioner shall review the reports of

inspection filed pursuant to this section and may make recommendations

to the school authorities with respect to any problems relating to

school fire safety noted in such reports. The commissioner shall require

a re-inspection of school buildings where a report of inspection

identified violations until it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of

the commissioner that said violations have been corrected. In the event

that a public school fails to correct violations following a

re-inspection, the commissioner may deny an annual certificate of

occupancy to such school building. The commissioner may inspect or cause

to be inspected at any reasonable time for fire prevention and fire

protection purposes the school buildings required to be inspected by

this section.

b. In the event a private school has failed to file an annual fire

safety report with the department within ninety days of the sixteenth of

December, the commissioner shall inspect or request an appropriate local

authority, described in subdivision seven of this section, to inspect

the school. If a private school either refuses access for an inspection

pursuant to this paragraph, or does not correct violations identified in

such report in a timely manner, the commissioner shall immediately

notify, in writing, the local government who issues the certificate of

occupancy for the school of their failure to file a fire safety report.

7. a. Every public or private school required to be inspected as

hereinabove provided may be inspected for fire prevention and fire

protection purposes at any reasonable time by:

(1) the chief of the fire department of the city, town, village or

fire district in which the school is located,

(2) the chief of a fire corporation having its headquarters outside a

village or fire district, if the school is located in the area described

in the certificate of incorporation of such company,

(3) the chief of the fire department or fire company affording fire

protection to a fire district, fire protection district, or fire alarm

district pursuant to a contract, if the school is located in any such

district,

(4) the member of any fire department or fire company listed in

subparagraph one, two or three of this paragraph assigned by the chief

thereof the duty of inspecting school buildings,

(5) the fire inspector, who holds a valid certification, of any city,

town, village or fire district in which the building is located.

b. In no event shall the school authorities of any public or private

school, required to be inspected as hereinabove provided, refuse access

at any reasonable time to any person described in subparagraphs one,

two, three, four or five of paragraph a of this subdivision, who appears

for the purpose of conducting an inspection for fire prevention or fire

protection purposes; provided, however, that the administrator or the

designee of the administrator of the school to be inspected shall be

given the opportunity to be present during the inspection.

8. The term "school authorities", as used in this section, means, in

relation to public schools, the trustees, or board of education, or

corresponding officers, whether one or more, and by whatever name known

of a city school district, or other school district however created, or,

in relation to private schools, the board of trustees, board of

directors, or other governing board in general charge of the operation

of any such school.

9. The term "private school", as used in this section, means:

a. Any nursery school or kindergarten attended by six or more pupils

three years of age or older which may apply for registration by the New

York state education department pursuant to part one hundred twenty-five

of title eight of the official compilation of codes, rules and

regulations of the state of New York; provided, however, that this

section shall not apply to day care facilities possessing a valid permit

as required by section three hundred ninety of the social services law;

or

b. Any establishment, other than a public school, attended by

twenty-five or more pupils for the purpose of receiving the instruction

of academic grade at the elementary or secondary level required by part

one of article sixty-five of this chapter.

10. This section shall not apply to the school authorities in the

cities of New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers or to

colleges and universities.