§ 23-28.6-5. Admissions restricted and supervised.
(a) Admissions to all places of assembly shall be supervised by the responsible management
or by the person or persons delegated with the responsibility by the management, and
the responsible person shall not allow admissions in excess of the maximum occupancy
as provided in § 23-28.6-3 [repealed], provided, subsections (c), (d), and (e) below do not apply to churches
and places of worship, wherein patrons retain their outer clothing for immediate exit,
and where they are confined for a period not exceeding two (2) hours duration. Only
those portions of a building used exclusively for religious worship are included in
this exception.
(b) The maximum occupancy of all areas shall be conspicuously posted by means of a sign
furnished by the state fire marshal's office.
(c) All places of assembly with an occupancy load of greater than one thousand (1,000)
people shall have one uniformed fire fighter, and any additional uniformed fire fighters
on duty when deemed necessary by the chief of the local fire department or the designee
of the state fire marshal in the local fire department except as provided under subsection
(f) of this section.
(d) All places of assembly, with an occupancy load of greater than three hundred (300)
up to one thousand (1,000) people, of less concentrated use shall have a uniformed
fire fighter and any additional uniformed fire fighters on duty when deemed necessary
by the chief of the local fire department or the designee of the state fire marshal
in the local fire department.
(e) All places of assembly with occupancy loads of fifty (50) up to one thousand (1,000)
people of concentrated use shall have one uniformed fire fighter on duty when deemed
necessary by the chief of the local fire department or the designee of the state fire
marshal in the local fire department.
(f) On an event-by-event basis, in the absence of an unusual hazard, the chief of the
local fire department or the designee of the state fire marshal in the local fire
department may waive, in writing, the fire fighter on duty requirement of subsections
(c) and (e) when the actual occupancy of a building for a specific event is substantially
lower than the calculated occupancy of the building.
(g) All places of assembly with occupancy loads of fifty (50) up to one thousand (1,000)
people of concentrated or less concentrated use being utilized for activities of unusual
hazard shall have one uniformed fire fighter on duty during such activity, and any
additional uniformed fire fighters on duty when deemed necessary by the chief of the
local fire department or the designee of the state fire marshal in the local fire
department unless this requirement is specifically waived in writing for each such
event.
(h) The cost of all fire fighters on duty under subsections (c) through (f) of this section
shall be borne by the management of the facility.
(i) The above assigned fire fighter(s) shall be equipped with portable communication devices
which shall be provided for by the local fire department to allow direct communication
to the dispatcher of the local fire department.
(j) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not exceeding five
thousand dollars ($5,000) for each offense.
(k) The provisions of § 23-28.2-17 shall apply to any fire fighter assigned to a place of assembly pursuant to this
section.