23.12.401    DEFINITIONS

Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply to the rules in ARM Title 23, chapter 12:

(1) "Building code" means the current version of the State Building Code adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry, Building and Commercial Measurements Bureau, including the International Building Code as amended by administrative rule. Copies of the building code may be obtained from the International Code Council at www.iccsafe.org.

(2) "Bureau of fire prevention" is treated as referring to the FPIS of the Department of Justice or, when made applicable by statute or rule or the context thereof, to the appropriate local certified jurisdiction.

(3) "Certificate of approval" means a letter of approval issued by the Fire Prevention and Investigation Section (FPIS), or its representative.

(4) "Chief," "fire chief," "fire marshal," and "fire prevention officer" all mean the state fire marshal or, when made applicable by statute or rule or the context thereof, the chief official of the appropriate local fire protection agency.

(5) "Department" means the Department of Justice.

(6) "District," as used in 50-61-114, MCA, means a rural fire district established under Title 7, chapter 33, part 21, MCA.

(7) "Entity" means any business, partnership, sole proprietorship, organization, association, corporation, firm, governmental organization, fire agency or any other business association.

(8) "Fire code" or "IFC" means the currently adopted edition of the International Fire Code (IFC), as published by the International Code Council, as modified by the FPIS. See ARM 23.12.601.

(9) "Fire extinguisher" means a portable device, carried or on wheels and operated by hand, containing an extinguishing agent that can be expelled under pressure for the purpose of suppressing or extinguishing a fire.

(10) "Fire extinguishing system" means a fire suppression system designed in accordance with nationally recognized standards that consists of an assembly of piping or conduits that conveys extinguishing agents to dispersal openings or devices to extinguish, control or contain fire and to provide protection from exposure to fire or the products of combustion. Included are underground and overhead piping, ponds, tanks, pumps, extra or special hazard applications and other related components or devices necessary for water supplies.

(11) "Fire Prevention and Investigation Section (FPIS)" is the Fire Prevention and Investigation Section in the state fire marshal's office of the Department of Justice.

(12) "Fire protection equipment" means the components of any fire alarm system, special agent fire suppression system, portable fire extinguisher, or fire extinguishing system.

(13) "Fire service area" means a local government unit established and operated pursuant to Title 7, chapter 33, part 24, MCA.

(14) "Fire sprinkler system" means a fire extinguishing system.

(15) "Fireworks stand" means a small, temporary, often open-air structure, booth, or other portable stand-alone structure designed and constructed of wood or metal, utilized for the express purpose of display and sale of fireworks at retail.

(16) "License" means the document issued by the Department of Labor and Industry which authorizes a person or entity to engage in the business of servicing fire extinguishers, fire alarms, fire sprinkler systems, and special agent suppression systems.

(17) "Local authority" means a fire agency, law enforcement agency or other governmental agency having jurisdiction in a given location.

(18) "Mechanical code" means the latest edition of the International Mechanical Code (IMC) adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry. Whenever a provision of the mechanical code is incorporated within the International Fire Code by reference, such provision is hereby adopted for application to all buildings within the jurisdiction of the FPIS, unless the state fire marshal determines otherwise. Copies of the mechanical code may be obtained from the International Code Council at www.iccsafe.org.

(19) "NICET" means National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies.

(20) "Ordinance" means state law, city or county ordinance, or rule adopted by the FPIS.

(21) "Pyrotechnic article" means a pyrotechnic device, other than a device classed as fireworks, for use in the entertainment industry.

(22) "Pyrotechnic composition" means a chemical mixture that, upon burning, produces visible, brilliant displays, bright lights, or sounds.

(23) "Sell," sale and associated words mean offering or contracting to transfer, lease, or rent any merchandise, equipment, or service at retail to the public or any member thereof for an agreed sum of money or other consideration.

(24) "Service" means:

(a) when referring to portable fire extinguishers and fire extinguisher cylinders, maintenance and includes breakdown for replacement of parts or agent, repair, recharging, or hydrostatic testing;

(b) when referring to alarm systems, fire extinguishing systems, and fire suppression systems, maintenance and testing required to keep the protective signaling, extinguishing, and suppression system and its component parts in an operative condition at all times, together with replacement of the system or its component parts with listed or approved parts, when, for any reason they become undependable, defective, or inoperative; and

(c) "Service" does not include resetting manual alarm systems which may be reset by properly trained building owners or their designated representative.

(25) "Single family private house" means a dwelling unit as the term dwelling unit is defined by IFC section 202, no part of which is rented to another person.

(26) "Smoke alarm" means a single or multiple-station alarm, responsive to smoke.  This is a general term that applies to self-contained smoke alarms that are not part of an automatic fire detection system.

(27) "Smoke detector" is a listed device that senses visible or invisible particles of combustion that activates a fire alarm system.

(28) "Special agent fire suppression system" means an approved system and components which require individual engineering in accordance with manufacturer specifications and includes dry chemical, carbon dioxide, halogenated, gaseous agent, foam, and wet chemical systems. The term includes a pre-engineered system but does not include a fire extinguishing system.

 

History: 50-3-102, MCA; IMP, 50-3-102, MCA; NEW, 1993 MAR p. 2953, Eff. 12/10/93; AMD, 1996 MAR p. 439, Eff. 2/9/96; AMD & TRANS, 1999 MAR p. 2860, Eff. 12/17/99; AMD, 2004 MAR p. 634, Eff. 3/26/04; AMD, 2005 MAR p. 260, Eff. 2/11/05; TRANS, from ARM 23.7.101A, 2008 MAR p. 1467, Eff. 7/18/08; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 395, Eff. 2/12/10; AMD, 2013 MAR p. 1338, Eff. 7/26/13; AMD, 2023 MAR p. 212, Eff. 3/11/23.