REQUIRES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE
(§ 2 & NRS 477.031)
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 17, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 25
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SENATE BILL NO. 25–COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
(ON BEHALF OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL DIVISION
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY)
PREFILED NOVEMBER 8, 2024
____________
Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to fire protection.
(BDR 42-249)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to fire protection; revising the duties of the State
Forester Firewarden; revising the composition of the State
Fire Marshal Division within the Department of Public
Safety; expanding the list of facilities for which the State
Fire Marshal is required to enforce laws and adopt certain
regulations to include cannabis production facilities;
eliminating the requirement that the State Fire Marshal
cooperate with the State Forester Firewarden to mitigate
the risk of certain fires; revising provisions relating to the
investigation of certain fires by the State Fire Marshal to
include a fire that results in an injury or certain financial
losses; and providing other matters properly relating
thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the State Forester Firewarden, 1
which include a requirement to cooperate with the State Fire Marshal in the 2
enforcement of laws and the adoption of certain regulations relating to fire 3
prevention through the management of vegetation in this State. (NRS 472.040) 4
Section 1 of this bill removes this requirement. 5
Existing law establishes within the Department of Public Safety the State Fire 6
Marshal Division, which consists of the Fire Protection and Control Section, Fire 7
Investigation Section, Public Education Section, Fire Service Training Section and 8
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Fire Data Section. (NRS 477.010) Section 1.5 of this bill eliminates all of the 9
statutory sections comprising the State Fire Marshal Division. 10
Existing law requires, amongst other things, the State Fire Marshal to: (1) 11
enforce laws and adopt regulations related to the safety, access, means and 12
adequacy of exits in case of fire at certain institutions, facilities and buildings; (2) 13
cooperate with the State Forester Firewarden in mitigating the risk of fire hazard 14
from vegetation in the State; and (3) with certain exceptions, investigate in certain 15
counties any fire which results in a death or which is of a suspicious nature. 16
(NRS 477.030) Section 2 of this bill: (1) expands the list of facilities for which the 17
State Fire Marshal enforces laws and adopts regulations to include cannabis 18
production facilities; (2) removes the requirement that the State Fire Marshal 19
cooperate with the State Forester Firewarden in mitigating the risk of fire hazard 20
from vegetation in the State; and (3) expands the requirement that the State Fire 21
Marshal investigate certain fires in certain counties to include the investigation of 22
any fire which results in an injury or a financial loss greater than $2,000,000. 23
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 472.040 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
472.040 1. The State Forester Firewarden shall: 2
(a) Supervise or coordinate all forestry, rangeland and watershed 3
work on state-owned and privately owned lands, including fire 4
control, in Nevada, working with federal agencies, private 5
associations, counties, towns, cities or private persons. 6
(b) Administer all fire control laws and all forestry laws in 7
Nevada outside of townsite boundaries, and perform any other 8
duties designated by the Director of the State Department of 9
Conservation and Natural Resources or by state law. 10
(c) Assist and encourage county or local fire protection districts 11
to create legally constituted fire protection districts where they are 12
needed and offer guidance and advice in their operation. 13
(d) Purchase communication equipment which can use the 14
microwave channels of the state communications system and store 15
this equipment in regional locations for use in emergencies. 16
(e) Administer money appropriated and grants awarded for fire 17
prevention, fire control and the education of firefighters and award 18
grants of money for those purposes to fire departments and 19
educational institutions in this State. 20
(f) Determine the amount of wages that must be paid to 21
offenders who participate in conservation camps and who perform 22
work relating to fire fighting and other work projects of 23
conservation camps. 24
(g) [Cooperate with the State Fire Marshal in the enforcement of 25
all laws and the adoption of regulations relating to the prevention of 26
fire through the management of vegetation in this State. 27
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(h)] Ensure that any adopted regulations are consistent with 1
those of fire protection districts created pursuant to chapter 318 or 2
474 of NRS. 3
[(i)] (h) Upon the request of the State Engineer, review a plan 4
submitted with an application for the issuance of a temporary permit 5
pursuant to NRS 533.436. 6
[(j)] (i) Work collaboratively with and provide technical 7
assistance to federal, state and local agencies and property owners 8
to: 9
(1) Identify and mitigate the risks of wildfire to life, property 10
and ecosystems; 11
(2) Restore and maintain landscape resiliency; 12
(3) Create and maintain fire-adapted communities and 13
ignition-resistant communities; and 14
(4) Improve and support safe and effective responses to 15
wildfire. 16
2. The State Forester Firewarden in carrying out the provisions 17
of this chapter may: 18
(a) Appoint paid foresters and firewardens to enforce the 19
provisions of the laws of this State respecting forest, rangeland and 20
watershed management or the protection of lands from fire, subject 21
to the approval of the board of county commissioners of each county 22
concerned. 23
(b) Appoint suitable citizen-wardens. Citizen-wardens serve 24
voluntarily except that they may receive compensation when an 25
emergency is declared by the State Forester Firewarden. 26
(c) Appoint, upon the recommendation of the appropriate federal 27
officials, resident officers of the United States Forest Service and 28
the United States Bureau of Land Management as voluntary 29
firewardens. Voluntary firewardens are not entitled to compensation 30
for their services. 31
(d) Appoint certain paid foresters or firewardens to be arson 32
investigators. 33
(e) Employ, with the consent of the Director of the State 34
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, clerical 35
assistance, county and district coordinators, patrol officers, 36
firefighters, and other employees as needed, and expend such sums 37
as may be necessarily incurred for this purpose. 38
(f) Purchase, or acquire by donation, supplies, material, 39
equipment and improvements necessary for fire protection, fire 40
prevention and forest, rangeland and watershed management, 41
including, without limitation, cameras or other equipment necessary 42
for the early warning or detection of wildfires. 43
(g) With the approval of the Director of the State Department of 44
Conservation and Natural Resources and the State Board of 45
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Examiners, purchase or accept the donation of real property to be 1
used for lookout sites and for other administrative, experimental or 2
demonstration purposes. No real property may be purchased or 3
accepted unless an examination of the title shows the property to be 4
free from encumbrances, with title vested in the grantor. The title to 5
the real property must be examined and approved by the Attorney 6
General. 7
(h) Expend any money appropriated by the State to the Division 8
of Forestry of the State Department of Conservation and Natural 9
Resources for paying expenses incurred in fighting fires or in 10
emergencies which threaten human life. 11
3. The State Forester Firewarden, in carrying out the powers 12
and duties granted in this section, is subject to administrative 13
supervision by the Director of the State Department of Conservation 14
and Natural Resources. 15
Sec. 1.5. NRS 477.010 is hereby amended to read as follows: 16
477.010 [1.] The State Fire Marshal Division is hereby 17
established in the Department of Public Safety. 18
[2. The Division consists of the Fire Protection and Control 19
Section, the Fire Investigation Section, the Public Education 20
Section, the Fire Service Training Section and the Fire Data 21
Section.] 22
Sec. 2. NRS 477.030 is hereby amended to read as follows: 23
477.030 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 24
State Fire Marshal shall enforce all laws and adopt regulations 25
relating to: 26
(a) The prevention of fire. 27
(b) The storage and use of: 28
(1) Combustibles, flammables and fireworks; and 29
(2) Explosives in any commercial construction, but not in 30
mining or the control of avalanches, 31
under those circumstances that are not otherwise regulated by the 32
Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of Business and 33
Industry pursuant to NRS 618.890. 34
(c) The safety, access, means and adequacy of exit in case of fire 35
from mental and penal institutions, facilities for the care of children, 36
foster homes, residential facilities for groups, facilities for 37
intermediate care, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, cannabis 38
production facilities, all buildings, except private residences, which 39
are occupied for sleeping purposes, buildings used for public 40
assembly and all other buildings where large numbers of persons 41
work, live or congregate for any purpose. As used in this paragraph 42
[, “public] : 43
(1) “Cannabis production facility” has the meaning 44
ascribed to it in NRS 678A.125. 45
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(2) “Public assembly” means a building or a portion of a 1
building used for the gathering together of 50 or more persons for 2
purposes of deliberation, education, instruction, worship, 3
entertainment, amusement or awaiting transportation, or the 4
gathering together of 100 or more persons in establishments for 5
drinking or dining. 6
(d) The suppression and punishment of arson and fraudulent 7
claims or practices in connection with fire losses. 8
(e) The maintenance and testing of: 9
(1) Fire dampers, smoke dampers and combination fire and 10
smoke dampers; and 11
(2) Smoke control systems. 12
Except as otherwise provided in subsection [12,] 11, the 13
regulations of the State Fire Marshal apply throughout the State, but 14
except with respect to state-owned or state-occupied buildings, the 15
State Fire Marshal’s authority to enforce them or conduct 16
investigations under this chapter does not extend to a school district 17
except as otherwise provided in NRS 393.110, or a county whose 18
population is 100,000 or more or which has been converted into a 19
consolidated municipality, except in those local jurisdictions in 20
those counties where the State Fire Marshal is requested to exercise 21
that authority by the chief officer of the organized fire department of 22
that jurisdiction or except as otherwise provided in a regulation 23
adopted pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 2. 24
2. The State Fire Marshal may: 25
(a) Set standards for equipment and appliances pertaining to fire 26
safety or to be used for fire protection within this State, including 27
the threads used on fire hose couplings and hydrant fittings; and 28
(b) Adopt regulations based on nationally recognized standards 29
setting forth the requirements for fire departments to provide 30
training to firefighters using techniques or exercises that involve the 31
use of fire or any device that produces or may be used to produce 32
fire. 33
3. [The State Fire Marshal shall cooperate with the State 34
Forester Firewarden in the mitigation of the risk of a fire hazard 35
from vegetation in this State pursuant to paragraph (g) of subsection 36
1 of NRS 472.040. 37
4.] The State Fire Marshal shall cooperate with the Division of 38
Child and Family Services of the Department of Health and Human 39
Services in establishing reasonable minimum standards for 40
overseeing the safety of and directing the means and adequacy of 41
exit in case of fire from foster homes. 42
[5.] 4. The State Fire Marshal shall coordinate all activities 43
conducted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 2201 et seq. and receive and 44
distribute money allocated by the United States pursuant to that act. 45
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[6.] 5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [10,] 9, the 1
State Fire Marshal shall: 2
(a) Investigate any fire which occurs in a county other than one 3
whose population is 100,000 or more or which has been converted 4
into a consolidated municipality, and from which [a] an injury or 5
death or financial loss greater than $2,000,000 results or which is 6
of a suspicious nature. 7
(b) Investigate any fire which occurs in a county whose 8
population is 100,000 or more or which has been converted into a 9
consolidated municipality, and from which [a] an injury or death or 10
financial loss greater than $2,000,000 results or which is of a 11
suspicious nature, if requested to do so by the chief officer of the 12
fire department in whose jurisdiction the fire occurs. 13
(c) Cooperate with the Commissioner of Insurance, the Attorney 14
General and the Fraud Control Unit for Insurance established 15
pursuant to NRS 228.412 in any investigation of a fraudulent claim 16
under an insurance policy for any fire of a suspicious nature. 17
(d) Cooperate with any local fire department in the investigation 18
of any report received pursuant to NRS 629.045. 19
(e) Provide specialized training in investigating the causes of 20
fires if requested to do so by the chief officer of an organized fire 21
department. 22
[7.] 6. The State Fire Marshal shall put the National Fire 23
Incident Reporting System into effect throughout the State and 24
publish at least annually a summary of data collected under the 25
System. 26
[8.] 7. The State Fire Marshal shall provide assistance and 27
materials to local authorities, upon request, for the establishment of 28
programs for public education and other fire prevention activities. 29
[9.] 8. The State Fire Marshal shall: 30
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection [12] 11 and NRS 31
393.110, assist in checking plans and specifications for construction; 32
(b) Provide specialized training to local fire departments; and 33
(c) Assist local governments in drafting regulations and 34
ordinances, 35
on request or as the State Fire Marshal deems necessary. 36
[10.] 9. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in a 37
county other than one whose population is 100,000 or more or 38
which has been converted into a consolidated municipality, the State 39
Fire Marshal shall, upon request by a local government, delegate to 40
the local government by interlocal agreement all or a portion of the 41
State Fire Marshal’s authority or duties if the local government’s 42
personnel and programs are, as determined by the State Fire 43
Marshal, equally qualified to perform those functions. If a local 44
government fails to maintain the qualified personnel and programs 45
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in accordance with such an agreement, the State Fire Marshal shall 1
revoke the agreement. The provisions of this subsection do not 2
apply to the authority of the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations 3
pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 2. 4
[11.] 10. The State Fire Marshal may, as a public safety officer 5
or as a technical expert on issues relating to hazardous materials, 6
participate in any local, state or federal team or task force that is 7
established to conduct enforcement and interdiction activities 8
involving: 9
(a) Commercial trucking; 10
(b) Environmental crimes; 11
(c) Explosives and pyrotechnics; 12
(d) Drugs or other controlled substances; or 13
(e) Any similar activity specified by the State Fire Marshal. 14
[12.] 11. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any 15
regulations of the State Fire Marshal concerning matters relating to 16
building codes, including, without limitation, matters relating to the 17
construction, maintenance or safety of buildings, structures and 18
property in this State: 19
(a) Do not apply in a county whose population is 700,000 or 20
more which has adopted a code at least as stringent as the 21
International Fire Code, the International Building Code and 22
the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, published by the 23
International Code Council. To maintain the exemption from the 24
applicability of the regulations of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to 25
this subsection, the code of the county must be at least as stringent 26
as the most recently published edition of the International Fire Code, 27
the International Building Code and the International Wildland-28
Urban Interface Code within 2 years after publication of such an 29
edition. 30
(b) Apply in a county described in paragraph (a) with respect to 31
state-owned or state-occupied buildings or public schools in the 32
county and in those local jurisdictions in the county in which the 33
State Fire Marshal is requested to exercise that authority by the chief 34
executive officer of that jurisdiction. As used in this paragraph, 35
“public school” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 385.007. 36
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 37
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