Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2453, 2nd ¶, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 384, §19, is amended to read:

Any Notwithstanding this section, any apartment building, boardinghouse or lodging house of 3 stories or less in its entirety is permitted to have a single exit under the condition that the building is protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system, meets the requirements of the applicable chapter of the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code 101 and every sleeping room has a 2nd means of escape.

SUMMARY

This bill permits a boardinghouse or lodging house of 3 stories or less to have a single exit from each story if it has a sprinkler system, meets the requirements of the applicable chapter of the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code 101 and every sleeping room has a 2nd means of escape. Current law contains a similar provision for an apartment building of 3 stories or less. Current law requires that each story above the first story of a boardinghouse or lodging house accommodating more than 6 persons have more than one exit, either by stairways on the inside or fire escapes on the outside of the building.