Bill Text: NY S09038 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires fire fatality notifications by the fire chief for all fatalities occurring at the location of or as a result of the fire or explosion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-23 - referred to local governments [S09038 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S09038-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9038

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 4, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BROOKS  -- (at request of the Division of Homeland
          Security and Emergency Services) -- read twice  and  ordered  printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the penal law, in relation
          to requiring fire fatality notifications by the fire chief

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.  Section 204-d of the general municipal law, as amended  by
     2  section  44  of  part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    § 204-d. Duties of the fire chief. The fire chief of any fire  depart-
     5  ment or company shall, in addition to any other duties assigned to [him]
     6  them  by law or contract, to the extent reasonably possible determine or
     7  cause to be determined the cause of each fire  or  explosion  which  the
     8  fire  department  or  company has been called to suppress. [He] The fire
     9  chief shall file with the office of fire prevention and control a report
    10  containing such determination and any additional information required by
    11  such office regarding the fire or explosion including, but  not  limited
    12  to,  all  fatalities  occurring at the location of or as a result of the
    13  fire or explosion. Such fatality notification  to  the  office  of  fire
    14  prevention  and  control  shall  be  made  immediately upon suspicion or
    15  discovery of the fatality or as soon as practical thereafter, but in  no
    16  event  shall the fire scene be released prior to such notification.  The
    17  report shall be in the form designated by such  office.  [He]  The  fire
    18  chief  shall contact or cause to be contacted the appropriate investiga-
    19  tory authority if [he has] they have  reason  to  believe  the  fire  or
    20  explosion  is of incendiary or suspicious origin. For all fires that are
    21  suspected to have been ignited by  a  cigarette,  within  fourteen  days
    22  after  completing the investigation into such fire, the fire chief shall
    23  forward to the office of fire prevention and control information detail-
    24  ing, to the extent possible: (a) the specific brand  and  style  of  the
    25  cigarette  suspected  of having ignited such fire; (b) whether the ciga-
    26  rette package was marked as required by subdivision six of  section  one

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13642-01-2
        S. 9038                             2

     1  hundred  fifty-six-c  of  the  executive  law;  and (c) the location and
     2  manner in which such cigarette was purchased.
     3    §  2.  Section 265.26 of the penal law, as added by chapter 201 of the
     4  laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
     5  § 265.26 Burn injury and wounds to be reported.
     6    Every case of a burn injury  or  wound,  where  the  victim  sustained
     7  second  or third degree burns to five percent or more of the body and/or
     8  any burns to the upper respiratory tract or laryngeal edema due  to  the
     9  inhalation of super-heated air, and every case of a burn injury or wound
    10  which is likely to [or], may, or does result in death, shall be reported
    11  at  once  to  the  office of fire prevention and control. The state fire
    12  administrator shall accept the report and notify the proper investigato-
    13  ry agency. A written report shall also be provided to the office of fire
    14  prevention and control within seventy-two hours.  The  report  shall  be
    15  made  by  (a)  the  physician attending or treating the case; or (b) the
    16  manager, superintendent or other person in charge, whenever such case is
    17  treated  in  a  hospital,  sanitarium,  institution  or  other   medical
    18  facility;  or  (c)  the county medical examiner or coroner in the county
    19  where the death occurred.
    20    The intentional failure to make such report is a class A misdemeanor.
    21    § 3.  This act shall take effect immediately.