Fire protection: privately contracted fire prevention resources: public water sources.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details about penalties or enforcement mechanisms.

Fire Protection: Rules for Private Fire Prevention Equipment

This law requires privately hired firefighting resources to have special permission and safety devices before using public water sources during fires.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Office of Emergency Services to develop regulations prohibiting privately contracted fire prevention resources from connecting their equipment to public water sources without approval from incident command or the authority having jurisdiction over an active fire incident.
• Specifies that private firefighting equipment must include a backflow prevention device when using public water sources.
• Ensures these rules do not affect how community water systems manage their own water distribution.

Who It Names or Affects

• Private companies providing firefighting services during emergencies.
• Public water system operators and community water systems.
• Incident commanders managing active fires.

Terms To Know

Backflow prevention device

A safety device used to stop dirty or contaminated water from flowing back into clean drinking water supplies.

Community water system

An organization that provides piped water to a community and is responsible for the operation of its water distribution system.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if private firefighting equipment uses public water without permission.
• It's unclear how these rules will be enforced in different situations.
• There are no details on penalties or consequences for violating the new regulations.

Official Summary Text

AB 1075, Bryan.
Fire protection: privately contracted fire prevention resources: public water sources.
Existing law establishes in state government, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law requires the office to be responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property. Existing law, the FIRESCOPE Act of 1989, requires the office to establish and administer a program, known as the FIRESCOPE program, to maintain and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of managing multiagency firefighting resources in responding to an incident. Existing law requires the office, in collaboration with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the board of directors of the FIRESCOPE program, to develop standards
and regulations for any privately contracted private fire prevention resources operating during an active fire incident in the state, as provided, and to develop regulations to govern the use of equipment used by privately contracted private fire prevention resources during an active fire incident, as provided.
This bill would additionally require the office to develop regulations prohibiting privately contracted private fire prevention resources from hooking up their equipment to public water sources, unless approved by incident command or the authority having jurisdiction over the active fire incident and unless the equipment includes a backflow prevention device.
The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes certain responsibilities on community water systems related to the operation of water distribution systems, as defined.
This bill would explicitly state that none of the above-described regulations governing the use of equipment used by privately contracted fire prevention resources during an active fire incident shall alter, impair, or interfere with the authority of a community water system to operate a water distribution system.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF