An Act To Enhance Firefighter Safety
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1879
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: DUPLESSIE, BRYANT, BROWN, GERZOFSKY, GROSE, HANLEY, MAZUREK, PATRICK, SMITH, TUTTLE, BARTLETT, NASS
Amends: 25 MRSA §2466, 25 MRSA §2467

Legislative Document 
No. 1879 
H.P. l319 
House of Representatives, January 3, 2006 
An Act To Enhance Firefighter Safety 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative DUPLESSIE of Westbrook. 
Cosponsored by Senator BRYANT of Oxford and 
IY/~ 
/J7·711dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BROWN of South Berwick, BRYANT of Windham, GERZOFSKY of 
Brunswick, GROSE of Woolwich, HANLEY of Gardiner, MAZUREK of Rockland, 
PATRICK of Rumford, SMITH of Monmouth, TUTTLE of Sanford, Senators: BARTLETT of 
Cumberland, NASS of York. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 25 MRSA §2466 is enacted to read: 
§2466. 
Emblem for truss construction 
.l_. __ 
~.t iX!.i.t.igX!.s_. __ 
hS_'yS ed 
in 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following meanings. 
this 
sectio~n~,_~u~n~~~h~ 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
A. 
"Emblem" means a stgn of a mini.mum size of 5 by 4 inches 
constructed of aluminum or stainless steel stock plate with 
a minimum thickness of 1/16 inch. 
A white diamond grade or 
equivalent reflective capital letter T must be located at 
the center of the sign. 
This letter must have a minimum 
height of 2 1/2 inches. 
A diagram of a truss must be placed 
on the sign in accordance with the directions listed in this 
paragraph. 
The diagram of a roof truss must be similar to 2 
capital letter Ws placed side by side and connected to each 
other with a heavy or dual line drawn across the top and 
bottom of the capital letter Ws to create a drawing of a 
simple cord truss. 
The diagram for a floor truss must be 
similar to a capital letter V with a heavy or dual line 
drawn across the top and bottom of the capital letter V to 
create a drawing of a simple cord truss. 
(1) 
For structures where a truss or trusses are used 
in the roof construction, 
a 
diagram of a 
roof truss 
nrn.st be placed across the top--.9..L.J;.l)e reflective_capital 
letter T. 
(2) 
For structures where a truss or trusses are used 
in the floor construction, the diagram of a floor truss 
must be placed across the bottom of the capital letter 
h 
(3) 
Structures using a truss or trusses in both roof 
and floor must have the diagram of a roof truss placed 
across the top and the diagram of a floor truss placed 
across the bottom of the capital letter T. 
(4) 
When the truss material is made of wood, 
there 
must be a circle that is one inch in diameter placed 
alongside the capital letter T on the left-hand side. 
This circle must be of the same color and material as 
the capital letter T. 
(5) 
When the truss material is made of metal or steel, 
there must be a circle that is one inch in diameter 
placed alongside the capital letter T on the right-hand 
Page l-LR269l(l} 
" 
side. 
This circle must 
be 
of the 
same 
color 
and 
material as the capital letter T. 
(6) 
If b~aterials are used in any of the truss 
construction, then the circles that are one inch in 
diameter must be placed on both sides of the capital 
letter T. 
B. 
"Planned real estate development" or "development" means 
any 
real 
property 
situated 
within 
the 
State. 
whether 
contiguous or not. 
that consists of or will consist of 
separately owned. 
leased or rented areas. irrespective of 
form, including lots. parcels, units or interest, is offered 
or disposed of pursuant to a 
common promotional plan and 
provides for common or shared elements or interests in or 
use of real property. 
C. 
"Truss" means a roof or floor structure or a partial 
roof or floor structure consisting of a group of triangles 
arranged in such a manner that loads applied at the points 
of the intersections of the structural members will cause 
only direct stresses, 
tension or compression within the 
structural members. 
Trusses may include but are not limited 
to 
the 
following 
constructions: 
bowstring; 
warren: 
sawtooth; scissors; cambered fink; hammer beam; pratt; fink; 
inverted gueen posts; and floor truss. 
2. 
Embl~~ired. Except as provided in subsection 3. an 
emblem must be affixed to a structure with a truss or trusses 
used in the construction or partial construction of roof or floor 
structures. 
The emblem must be permanently affixed to the left 
of the main entrance of the structure and at each series of 
~l).trance doors at a height from 4 to 6 feet above the ground. 
Additional emblems may be reguired by the fire chief for the 
jurisdiction in which the building is located when the distance 
between 
entrances 
or 
the 
length 
of 
a 
series 
of 
entrances 
necessitates 
additional 
emblems 
for 
visibility 
for 
fire 
departments. 
The 
owner 
of 
the 
structure shall install 
and 
maintain the emblem. 
3. 
Exceptions. 
Subsection 2 does not apply to: 
A. 
Detached one-family and 2-family residential structure§ 
:l'[;ith truss construction built before the effective date o( 
.this section that are not part of a planned real estate 
development; however, the governing body of a municipality 
may reguire by local ordinance that emblems be affixed to 
these structures: and 
B. 
Individual structures and dwelling units with 
construction 
that 
are 
part 
of 
a 
planned 
real 
truss 
estate 
development, 
as 
long 
as 
an 
emblem 
is affixed at 
each 
entranceway to the development. 
4. 
Violation. 
A violation of this section is a Class E 
crime. 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2467 is enacted to read: 
§2467. 
Voluntary standards for identification of hazardous and 
vacant buildings 
1. 
Vol~ta~tandards. A governing body of a municipality 
may adopt the standards established in this section to provide a 
uniform method to 
identify hazardous 
or vacant buildings to 
lessen the freguency and severity of injuries that can occur in 
these buildings, especially in the course of fighting fires. 
2. 
State 
standards; 
elements. 
The 
standards 
are 
recommended by the State and include the physical posting by a 
fire department within a municipality that adopts the standards 
of vacant buildings that may be hazardous. 
3. 
Posting requirements. 
Signs to be posted must be 2 feet 
sguare with a reflective background that is readily visible from 
the street. 
Signs must be located on the front of the building 
at or above the 2nd floor level and between openings. 
Signs mgy 
not be located over doors, windows or other openings, where they 
may be obscured by smoke or fire. 
All markings on the signs must 
be readily visible from the street and, if determined necessary 
by the fire department, signs must be located on the sides and 
rear of the building as needed. 
In addition, 
signs must be 
located adjacent to all entrances and on penthouses. 
The posting of a vacant building must use signs containing one of 
the following symbols. 
A. 
A vacant building that has interior hazards 
degree 
that 
interior 
fire-fighting 
operations 
conducted with extreme caution is indicated as 
sguare 
that has 
a 
diagonal 
line 
running 
from 
right-hand corner to the bottom left-hand corner. 
to such a 
must 
be 
such by a 
the 
top 
B. 
A vacant building for which fire-fighting operations 
must be conducted from the exterior of the building is 
indicated as such by a sguare that has 2 crossed diagonal 
lines, one running from the top right-hand corner to the 
bottom 
left-hand 
corner 
and 
one 
running 
from 
the 
top 
left-hand corner to the bottom right-hand corner. 
.. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires structures that use trusses in the floor 
or roof or parts of the floor or roof to display an emblem on the 
building signifying that construction and the materials used in 
the 
truss 
construction. 
The 
purpose 
is 
to 
increase 
the 
protection to firefighters by informing them that trusses are 
present. 
A violation for noncompliance is a Class E crime. 
The bill 
for 
uniform 
properties to 
also provides a voluntary statewide recommendation 
standards 
of 
identifying 
dangerous 
or 
vacant 
further protect firefighters.