2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 50. Health and Safety › Chapter 39. Fire Protection Equipment › Part 1. Regulation of Sales, Installation, and Servicing › 50-39-108. Definitions

50-39-108. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Apprentice" means a person who is working in a training capacity to service or install fire alarm systems, special agent fire suppression systems, or fire extinguishing systems and who is studying in accordance with a program approved by the department of labor and industry.
(2) "Endorsement" means a document, issued by the department of labor and industry to an individual who has met qualifications, that authorizes the individual to sell, service, and install fire alarm systems, special agent fire suppression systems, or fire extinguishing systems.
(3) "Entity" means any business, partnership, sole proprietorship, organization, association, corporation, firm, governmental organization, fire agency, or any other business association.
(4) (a) "Fire alarm system" means a combination of approved compatible devices with the necessary electrical interconnection and energy to produce an alarm signaling the event of fire or system activation.
(b) The term does not include single station smoke or heat detectors.
(5) "Fire extinguisher" means a portable device containing an extinguishing agent that can be expelled under pressure for the purpose of suppressing or extinguishing a fire.
(6) "Fire extinguishing system" means a fire sprinkler system designed in accordance with nationally recognized standards that consists of an assembly of piping or conduits that conveys water, foam, or air with or without other agents to dispersal openings or devices to extinguish, control, or contain fire and to provide protection from exposure to fire or the products of combustion. The term includes underground and overhead piping, ponds, tanks, pumps, extra or special hazard applications, and other related components or devices necessary for water supplies.
(7) "Inspection" means the periodic examination of premises, equipment, or procedures or of a licensed or endorsed person or entity to determine whether the person's or entity's business or profession is being conducted in a manner consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare. The term includes the inquiry, analysis, audit, or other pursuit of information, with respect to a written complaint or other information before the department of labor and industry, that is carried out for the purpose of assisting the department of labor and industry in determining:
(a) whether a person has violated a provision of law justifying discipline against the person;
(b) whether a license should be granted or denied; or
(c) whether the department of labor and industry should seek an injunction against unlicensed practice.
(8) (a) "Install" means the technical work that may be performed only by an endorsed individual or an apprentice in the assembly of a fire alarm system, special agent fire suppression system, or fire extinguishing system.
(b) The term does not include the delivery of supplies or the offsite cutting or threading of pipe.
(c) The term does include the following tasks:
(i) inspection of job sites to determine the presence of obstructions and to ascertain that holes will not cause structural weaknesses;
(ii) determination of the course or plan of installation;
(iii) any job site bending of pipe or electrical conduit as part of the installation;
(iv) job site assembly and installation of metal or nonmetal pipe fittings, including but not limited to those made of brass, copper, lead, glass, and plastic;
(v) job site assembly and installation of wiring systems;
(vi) joining of piping by any means, including pipes joined by threaded, caulked, wiped, soldered, brazed, fused, or cemented joints;
(vii) securing of pipe, wire, or electrical conduit to the structure by any means, including but not limited to clamps, brackets, hangers, and welds; and
(viii) testing the installed system for electrical or mechanical malfunctions.
(9) "License" means the document issued by the department of labor and industry that authorizes a person or entity to engage in the business of servicing fire extinguishers or to engage in the business of selling, servicing, or installing fire alarm systems, special agent fire suppression systems, or fire extinguishing systems.
(10) "Sell", "sale", and associated words mean offering or contracting to transfer, lease, or rent any merchandise, equipment, or service at retail to the public or any member of the public for an agreed sum of money or other consideration.
(11) (a) "Service", when referring to portable fire extinguishers and fire extinguisher cylinders, means maintenance and includes breakdown for replacement of parts or for agent, repair, recharging, or hydrostatic testing.
(b) When referring to alarm systems, fire extinguishing systems, and fire suppression systems, the term means maintenance and testing required to keep the protective signaling, extinguishing, and suppression system and its component parts in an operative condition at all times, together with replacement of the system or its component parts with listed or approved parts when for any reason they become undependable, defective, or inoperative.
(c) The term does not include resetting manual alarm systems that may be reset by a properly trained building owner or the owner's designated representative.
(12) "Special agent fire suppression system" means an approved system and components that require individual engineering in accordance with manufacturer specifications and includes dry chemical, carbon dioxide, halogenated, gaseous agent, foam, and wet chemical systems. The term includes a preengineered system but does not include a fire extinguishing system.
History: En. Sec. 39, Ch. 481, L. 1997; amd. Secs. 165, 221(1), Ch. 483, L. 2001.