Chapter SPS 314

SPS 314.01(13)(d) (d) Record keeping. The following fire department dues entitlement records shall be generated and maintained by each fire department:

SPS 314.01(13)(d)1. 1. Current roster of active fire department members.

SPS 314.01(13)(d)2. 2. Time, date, location, and number of firefighters responding, excluding the chief, for each first alarm for a building. For any of these responses that are in combination with another fire department under a mutual aid agreement, the record under this paragraph shall include the name of that department and the number of firefighters, excluding the chief, responding from that department.

SPS 314.01(13)(d)3. 3. Number and duration of, and attendance at, fire department meetings, if the fire department is a volunteer fire department. For the purposes of this requirement, a volunteer fire department does not have any member who is paid for 36 hours or more of work, on a weekly basis.

SPS 314.01(13)(d)4. 4. Number and duration of, topic of and attendance at fire department training sessions.

SPS 314.01(13)(d)5. 5. Number, type, and duration of, and attendance of fire department members at, public fire education related activities.

SPS 314.01(13)(e) (e) Availability of records. For at least 7 years, the records specified in par. (d) shall be maintained in written form or in another form capable of conversion into written form within a reasonable amount of time; and shall be made available to the department and to the public, upon request to the fire department.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: Section 19.32 (2) of the Statutes considers a record to be material containing written or electromagnetic information. The department will consider computer records to be equivalent to written reports.

SPS 314.01(14) (14) Fire department dues. These are department rules in addition to the requirements in NFPA 1 chapter 1:

SPS 314.01(14)(a) (a) Eligibility.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)1. 1.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)1.a. a. In order to be eligible to receive a fire department dues payment, a municipality shall be in substantial compliance with the requirements for fire protection, fire reporting and fire prevention services specified in ss. 101.14 (2), 101.141 (1) and (2), and 101.575, Stats., and this chapter, throughout the entire municipality.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)1.b. b. The training program required under s. 101.575 (3) (a) 3., Stats., shall be in accordance with ch. SPS 330 for public sector fire departments and in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.156 for private sector fire departments.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)2. 2.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)2.a. a. Fire protection and fire prevention services shall be provided by the fire department, except as provided in subd. 2. b. A municipality not maintaining a fire department shall have the services provided through contract. A fire department may use mutual aid agreements as a means of providing fire protection services.

SPS 314.01(14)(a)2.b. b. In first class cities, fire inspections may be provided by the neighborhood services department.

SPS 314.01(14)(b) (b) Compliance determination.

SPS 314.01(14)(b)1. 1. ‘General.’ The department shall determine substantial compliance with the fire department dues entitlement program through the processes specified in this paragraph and pars. (c) and (d).

SPS 314.01(14)(b)2. 2. ‘Multiple fire departments.’ Where a municipality is served by more than one fire department and any one of the fire departments is determined to be in noncompliance within that municipality, the entire municipality shall be determined to be in noncompliance.

SPS 314.01(14)(b)3. 3. ‘Notice of noncompliance.’ The department shall issue a notice of noncompliance to the municipality and the chief of the fire department that the department has determined to be in noncompliance. The determination shall be based on one or more of the following causes:

SPS 314.01(14)(b)3.a. a. The municipality fails to submit self-certification input on time.

SPS 314.01(14)(b)3.b. b. The municipality submits incomplete self-certification input.

SPS 314.01(14)(b)3.c. c. The municipality self-certifies noncompliance.

SPS 314.01(14)(b)3.d. d. An audit results in failure.

SPS 314.01(14)(c) (c) Self-certification.

SPS 314.01(14)(c)1. 1. A municipality shall annually complete and submit fire department dues entitlement self-certification input for the previous calendar year. The input shall be in a format prescribed by the department and shall be submitted to the department on or before April 1.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: Further information about the Department’s Web-based registration and self-certification process is available at the Department’s Web site at www.dsps.wi.gov, through links to the Industry Services Division’s Fire Prevention program and then Wisconsin’s fire program online system.

SPS 314.01(14)(c)2. 2. A municipality shall include in the self-certification input the name of every fire department and the chief of the fire department that provided fire protection services and fire prevention services, to the municipality in the last calendar year. This identification shall be used to determine which fire departments are entitled to receive fire department dues from the municipality.

SPS 314.01(14)(c)3. 3. The chief of the fire department that provided the fire protection and fire prevention services and the clerk of the municipality shall each provide the input required by this paragraph, as to whether or not the municipality is in substantial compliance with state regulations regarding the fire department dues entitlement program. In first class cities, the commissioner of the building inspection department shall also submit the self-certification input.

SPS 314.01(14)(d) (d) Audit.

SPS 314.01(14)(d)1. 1. In addition to the self-certification process, the department shall periodically conduct audits of fire department dues entitlement records to determine substantial compliance with the fire department dues entitlement program for the previous calendar year.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: The definition of “substantial compliance” in s. SPS 314.03 (1) (i) is not intended to infer that the Department must make a separate determination about substantial compliance in each of the fire-dues eligibility categories prescribed in ss. 101.14 (2) and 101.575 (3) and (6) of the Statutes. Nor is that definition intended to infer that a fire department could do virtually no inspections and still be in compliance. Instead, Department staff use their expert judgment, in looking at the overall performance of a fire department and the municipality, to make an overall determination of whether substantial compliance occurred.

SPS 314.01(14)(d)2. 2. The department shall periodically examine fire department dues entitlement records, including the records required in sub. (13) (b) 8. and (d), and in NFPA 1 section 1.11.2, to verify that the required fire prevention and fire protection services were provided within the territory served by the fire department and, within first class cities, by the building inspection department.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: The information required in the entitlement records is as specified in ss. 101.14 (2) and 101.575 of the Statutes. Under those sections, the fire incident reports that are addressed in sub. (11), and any records of fire prevention inspections beyond public buildings and places of employment, are not fire dues entitlement records.

SPS 314.01(14)(d)3. 3. The department shall write a report summarizing the results of each audit.

SPS 314.01(14)(e) (e) Appeals of audit determinations.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)1. 1. A department audit determination under this subsection may be appealed only in accordance with this paragraph or ch. 227, Stats.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)2. 2. ‘Filing an appeal.’

SPS 314.01(14)(e)2.a. a. The appeal shall be filed in writing, with the department.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)2.b. b. An appeal may be filed only by either a fire department that fails an audit conducted under par. (d), or by a municipality served by that fire department.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)3. 3. ‘Timing of an appeal.’ An appeal may only be filed after the department issues a written determination of failure, but no later than 30 business days after that issuance. If no appeal is received by the department within that time period, the initial determination of failure shall become effective.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)4. 4. ‘Processing an appeal.’ The department shall forward the appeal to the appeals board established under subd. 5.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)5. 5. ‘Appeals board.’ The department shall appoint an appeals board comprised of the following members: a volunteer fire chief, a paid fire chief, a fire inspector, a volunteer firefighter, a paid firefighter, a representative of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and a representative of the Wisconsin Towns Association.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)6. 6. ‘Support staff and resources.’ The department shall provide support staff and other resources needed for the functions of the appeals board.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)7. 7. ‘New information.’ New information submitted with an appeal may result in remanding the appeal back to a lower level.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)8. 8. ‘Hearing.’ If requested by the appellant, the board shall allow oral testimony in addition to the written material filed under subd. 2. a. Any oral testimony shall be presented either through a teleconference or at a hearing location determined by the department.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)9. 9. ‘Determinations of the board.’

SPS 314.01(14)(e)9.a. a. Four members of the board shall constitute a quorum. For the purpose of conducting business, a majority vote of the entire board, excluding any vacant positions, is required.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)9.b. b. Findings of the appeals board shall be forwarded to the secretary of the department no later than 30 business days after the department receives the appeal, unless a later deadline is agreed upon by both the appellant and the appeals board.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)10. 10. ‘Decision by the secretary.’ No later than 30 days after receipt of the findings of the appeals board, the secretary of the department shall consider the findings and, in writing, either uphold or overturn the department’s initial determination of failure.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)11. 11. ‘Completion of the appeal process.’ Any appeal filed under this paragraph shall progress through subd. 10. no later than August 1 in the year the appeal is filed, unless withdrawn by the appellant.

SPS 314.01(14)(e)12. 12. ‘Appeal of the secretary’s decision.’ A secretary decision under this paragraph may be appealed only through the contested-case provisions in ch. 227, Stats.

SPS 314.01(14)(f) (f) Fire department registration.

SPS 314.01(14)(f)1. 1. A fire department that provides fire prevention and fire protection services to a municipality shall register with the department on the form provided by the department.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: The Department sends form SBD-10638 upon request to the fire department. This form is also available from the Division of Industry Services through one or more of the following means: in the Appendix; at P.O. Box 2658, Madison, WI 53701–2658; or at the Department’s Web site at http://dsps.wi.gov through links to Division of Industry Services forms.

SPS 314.01(14)(f)2. 2. The fire chief of a registered fire department shall annually review the information submitted under subd. 1. and then report any corrections to the department by February 1, through the department’s online registration system for fire departments.

SPS 314.01 Note Note: The Department’s online registration system for fire departments is available at the Department’s Web site at http://dsps.wi.gov, through links to the Industry Services Division’s Fire Prevention program and then Wisconsin’s fire program online system.

SPS 314.01 History History: CR 06-120: cr. Register February 2008 No. 626, eff. 3-1-08; CR 09-104: renum. (1) (a), (1) (c) (intro.) to 7., (2) (intro.), (a) 1. b., 2. to 4., (2) (c) to (f), (3), (4), (6) to (10), (11) (title), (intro.), (a), (b) (title), 1. to 5., 6. to 10., (c) to (e), (12) to be (1) (a) 1., (c) 1. and 3. to 9., (2) (a) (intro.), (1) (a) 2., (2) (a) 1. to 3., (6) (a), (b), (3), (5) (intro.) to (d), (4), (7) to (12), (13) (title), (intro.), (a), (b) (title), 1. to 5., 7. to 11., (c) to (e), (14), and am., cr. (1) (c) 2., (g), (2) (a) 4., (b) (intro.), (6) (title), (intro.), (11) (a), (b), (13) (b) 6., am. (1) (e), (f), r. (2) (a) 1. (intro.), a., (5), (9), (a), (b) Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11; correction in (13) (b) 7. c. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 14., Stats., Register January 2011 No. 661; correction in (2) (b) 4., (4), (14) (a) 1. b. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672; correction in (2) (b) 4. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2013 No. 696; CR 13-105: am. (1) (a), (c) 1., 2., 4., r. (1) (c) 5., renum. (1) (c) 6. to 9. to 5. to 8., am. (1) (f), (g) 1. (intro.), (2) (a) 1., renum. (2) (a) 3. a., b. to 3. c., d. and am. 3. d., cr. (2) (a) 3. a., b., am. (2) (b) 2., r. (2) (b) 4., cr. (7m), am. (9) (a), cr. (11m), r. (13) (b) 7. c., am. (14) (a) 1. a., (b) 1., 3. a., b., (c) 1. to 3., am. (14) (f) 2. Register August 2014 No. 704, eff. 9-1-14; correction in (2) (b) 3. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register August 2014 No. 704; CR 16-094: r. (2) (a) 3. a., b., renum. (2) (a) 3. c. and d. to (2) (a) 3. a. and b., am. (6) (b) 1. Register April 2018 No. 748 eff. 5-1-18; correction in (2) (a) 1. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register April 2018 No. 748.

SPS 314.03 SPS 314.03 Definitions.

SPS 314.03(1) (1) These are department definitions for this chapter in addition to the definitions in NFPA 1 chapter 3:

SPS 314.03(1)(a) (a)

SPS 314.03(1)(a)1. 1. “Administrative expenses,” for the appropriation under s. 20.165 (2) (La), Stats., means expenditures for the direct costs and indirect costs of administering ss. 101.14, 101.141 and 101.573, Stats.

SPS 314.03(1)(a)2. 2. In this paragraph:

SPS 314.03(1)(a)2.a. a. “Direct costs” means the cost of salaries, limited term employees, fringe benefits and supplies to administer ss. 101.14, 101.141 and 101.573, Stats.

SPS 314.03(1)(a)2.b. b. “Indirect costs” means the cost, determined on a pro rata basis, of management and administrative services provided to administer ss. 101.14, 101.141 and 101.573, Stats.

SPS 314.03(1)(a)2.c. c. “Supplies” means equipment, memberships, postage, printing, rent, subscriptions, telecommunications, travel, utilities and similar outfitting and services, directly related to administering ss. 101.14, 101.141 and 101.573, Stats.

SPS 314.03(1)(b) (b) “Department” means the department of safety and professional services.

SPS 314.03(1)(bm) (bm) “Design requirements” means any requirements that a designer would otherwise need to follow when specifying the permanent physical characteristics of a building. These include the materials of construction, structural members, fire-resistance and fire protection systems, means of egress and accessibility, energy efficiency, electrical systems, plumbing and other mechanical systems.

SPS 314.03(1)(c) (c) “Fire chief” means the chief or authorized representative of the fire department serving the unit of government having authority over the public building or place of employment. Fire chief also means the representative designated by the local unit of government to carry out the duties of this chapter.

SPS 314.03(1)(d) (d) “Fire department” means a municipal fire department, public safety department, or public or private organization, such as a fire association, fire district, fire company or fire corporation, organized or created for the purpose of extinguishing fires and preventing fire hazards.

SPS 314.03(1)(dm) (dm) “Governing authority” means the department of safety and professional services.

SPS 314.03 Note Note: Under NFPA 1 section 1.6, any local unit of government adopting local fire prevention requirements that apply in addition to this chapter is the “governing authority” for those requirements.

SPS 314.03(1)(e) (e) “Municipality” means a city, village or town.

SPS 314.03(1)(f) (f) “NFPA 1” means the 2012 edition of NFPA 1, Fire Code, as adopted and modified in this chapter.

SPS 314.03(1)(g) (g) “Place of employment” has the meaning as defined in s. 101.01 (11), Stats.

SPS 314.03 Note Note: See Appendix for a reprint of s. 101.01 (11) of the Statutes.

SPS 314.03(1)(h) (h) “Public building” has the meaning as defined in s. 101.01 (12), Stats.

SPS 314.03 Note Note: See Appendix for a reprint of s. 101.01 (12) of the Statutes.

SPS 314.03(1)(i) (i) “Substantial compliance,” for the purposes of s. 101.575 (4) (a) 1. and 2., Stats., means an ample amount of the required activity was performed through a concerted effort aimed at total compliance. A determination of substantial compliance is obtained through a common-sense approach to evaluating whether enough effort was made to comply with the applicable statute or code requirements. Substantial compliance is not a specific number or percent of compliance. A determination of substantial compliance in any one year or regulatory standard does not mean that the same amount of compliance or effort in the following year or in another area of the code automatically equals substantial compliance.

SPS 314.03 Note Note: Under s. 101.575 (4) (a) 1. of the Statutes, the Department may not pay fire department dues to a city, village, town or fire department, unless the Department determines that the city, village, town or fire department is in substantial compliance with ss. 101.575 (6), 101.14 (2), and 101.141 (1) and (2) of the Statutes.

SPS 314.03(2) (2) Substitute the following definition for the definition in NFPA 1 section 3.3.182.22: “One- and 2-family dwelling” has the meaning as defined for dwelling in s. 101.61 (1), Stats.

SPS 314.03 Note Note: Section 101.61 (1) of the Statutes reads as follows: “‘Dwelling’ means any building that contains one or 2 dwelling units. ‘Dwelling unit’ means a structure or that part of a structure which is used or intended to be used as a home, residence or sleeping place by one person or by 2 or more persons maintaining a common household, to the exclusion of all others.”

SPS 314.03 History History: CR 06-120: cr. Register February 2008 No. 626, eff. 3-1-08; CR 09-104: renum. (intro.), (1) to (6), (8) to (10), (7) to be (1) (intro.), (a) to (i), (2) and am. Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11; correction in (1) (a) 1., (b) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 6., 7., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672; CR 13-105: am. (1) (a) 2., cr. (1) (bm), (dm), am. (1) (f), (2) Register August 2014 No. 704, eff. 9-1-14.

SPS 314.10 SPS 314.10 General fire safety.

SPS 314.10(1) (1) NFPA 101®, Life safety code®. This is a department informational note to be used under NFPA 1 section 10.1.2:

Note: Under section SPS 314.01 (2) (a) 1., the design requirements that are included in NFPA 1, Fire Code, either directly, or indirectly through cross-references to other standards and codes such as NFPA 101, are not included as part of this chapter, except as provided in sections SPS 314.01 (2) (a) 3. a. and 4.

SPS 314.10(2) (2) Emergency plans. This is a department informational note to be used under NFPA 1 section 10.9.2.2:

Note: The Department of Health Services may have additional rules requiring nursing home operators to have emergency plans that are reviewed by fire departments or other fire and safety experts.

SPS 314.10(2m) (2m) Open flames. Substitute the following wording for the requirements in NFPA 1 section 10.11.2: The AHJ shall have the authority to prohibit any or all open flames, and open, recreational, and cooking fires or other sources of ignition, or establish special regulations on the use of any form of fire or smoking material where circumstances make such conditions hazardous.