2023 New York Laws › EXC - Executive › Article 18 - New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Act › 371 - Statement of Legislative Findings and Purposes.

§  371.  Statement  of  legislative  findings  and  purposes.  1.  The
legislature hereby finds and declares that:
a. The present level of loss of life, injury to persons, and damage to
property as a result of fire demonstrates that the people of  the  state
have  yet  to  receive  the  basic level of protection to which they are
entitled  in  connection  with  the  construction  and  maintenance   of
buildings;
b. There does not exist for all areas of the state a single, adequate,
enforceable  code establishing minimum standards for fire protection and
construction, maintenance and use of materials  in  buildings.  Instead,
there  exists a multiplicity of codes and requirements for various types
of  buildings  administered  at  various  levels  of  state  and   local
government.  There  are,  in  addition,  extensive areas of the state in
which no code at all is in effect for the general benefit of the  people
of the state;
c.  The  present system of enforcement of fire protection and building
construction codes is characterized by  a  lack  of  adequately  trained
personnel,  as  well  as  inconsistent  qualifications for personnel who
administer and enforce those codes;
d. Whether because of the absence of applicable codes, inadequate code
provisions or inadequate enforcement of codes, the threat to the  public
health  and  safety  posed by fire remains a real and present danger for
the people of the state; and
e. The multiplicity of fire protection and building construction  code
requirements  poses  an  additional  problem for the people of the state
since  it  increases  the  cost  of  doing  business  in  the  state  by
perpetuating multiple requirements, jurisdictional overlaps and business
uncertainties,  and,  in  some  instances, by artificially inducing high
construction costs.
2. The legislature declares that it shall be the public policy of  the
state of New York to:
a.  Immediately  provide  for  a  minimum level of protection from the
hazards of fire in every part of the state;
b. Provide for the promulgation of a uniform code addressing  building
construction  and  fire  prevention  in order to provide a basic minimum
level of protection to all people of the state from hazards of fire  and
inadequate  building construction. In providing for such a uniform code,
it is declared to be the policy of the state of New York to:
(1)  reconcile  the  myriad  existing  and   potentially   conflicting
regulations which apply to different types of buildings and occupancies;
(2)  recognize  that  fire  prevention  and  fire prevention codes are
closely related to the adequacy of building construction codes, that the
greatest portion of a  building  code's  requirements  are  fire  safety
oriented,  and  that  fire prevention and building construction concerns
should be the subject of a single code;
(3) recognize that the decarbonization of new and  existing  buildings
is  closely  related  to  the state's clean energy and climate agenda as
described in the New York climate leadership  and  community  protection
act  set  forth  in  chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand
nineteen, and that the uniform  code  shall  enable  the  state's  clean
energy objectives;
(4)  place public and private buildings on an equal plane with respect
to fire prevention and adequacy of building construction;
(5) require new  and  existing  buildings  alike  to  keep  pace  with
advances   in   technology   concerning  fire  prevention  and  building
construction, including, where appropriate, that provisions apply  on  a
retroactive basis; and
(6)   provide  protection  to  both  residential  and  non-residential
buildings;
c.  Insure  that the uniform code be in full force and effect in every
area of the state;
d. Encourage local  governments  to  exercise  their  full  powers  to
administer and enforce the uniform code; and
e.  Provide  for  a  uniform,  statewide  approach to the training and
qualification of personnel engaged in the administration and enforcement
of the uniform code.