CHAPTER 5, SUBCHAPTER L, ARTICLE 5.96
Notice is given that the Commissioner of Insurance will consider a petition filed by the staff that requests amendments to the Texas Addendum to the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (Texas Addendum) which would simplify the language, change the storage of the safety education and exit drills reports, clarify the compressed air foam system criteria and revise the definition of the Firemen’s Training School (FTS).
A public hearing on this matter will not be held unless a separate request for a hearing is submitted to the Office of the Chief clerk during the comment period as defined herein.
The proposed amendments replace the lists that contain the nationally recognized enforcement codes used in fire prevention and local construction with the phrases "nationally recognized model fire code" and "nationally recognized model building code;" respectively. The proposed amendments require school districts to keep their Fire Safety Education and Exit Drill reports and make them available upon request. The proposed amendments reword some sentences within the Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) criteria to improve understandability. The proposal also allows specifically designed CAFS apparatus to have an injection or other system to enable it to switch between agents. The proposal requires that CAFS apparatus be used in accordance and compliance with the manufacturer’s specifications, that all foam agents be compatible with Class A foam, and that all foam agents be used in compliance with the manufacturer’s specifications. Additionally, the proposal amends the definition of FTS to include prevention or suppression courses, which are at least 36 hours in duration and taught by Texas A&M University within the last 3 years.
A copy of the petition, including exhibits with the full text of the proposed amendments to the Texas Addendum, is available for review in the office of the Chief Clerk of the Texas Department of Insurance, 333 Guadalupe Street , Austin , Texas . For further information or to request copies of the petition, please contact Angie Arizpe at 512-463-6326; refer to (Ref. No. F-0503-12-I).
Comments on the proposed changes must be submitted in writing no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 23, 2003 to the Office of the Chief Clerk, Texas Department of Insurance, P. O. Box 149104 , MC 113-2A, Austin , Texas 78714-9104 . An additional copy of the comments must be submitted simultaneously to G. Mike Davis, State Fire Marshal, Mail Code 108-FM, Texas Department of Insurance, P. O. Box 149104 , Austin , Texas 78714-9104.
This notification is made pursuant to the Insurance Code, Article 5.96, which exempts it from the requirements of the Government Code, Chapter 2001 (Administrative Procedure Act).