Title 23
Health and Safety

Chapter 28.19
Tents — Grandstands — Air-Supported Structures

R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-28.19-1

§ 23-28.19-1. Tents for which license required — Application and issuance.

(a) No tent exceeding three hundred fifty square feet (350 sq. ft.) in area shall be erected, maintained, operated, or used in any city or town in this state except under a license from the licensing authorities of the city or town. The license shall not be issued for a period exceeding thirty (30) days and shall be revocable for cause. Application shall be made on proper form and, when deemed necessary by the licensing authorities, shall include plans drawn to scale, showing exits, aisles, and seating arrangements and details of the structural support of tent, seats, and platforms, etc. No license shall be issued until the provisions of this chapter have been complied with, and approval has been obtained from the building department, the police department, the fire department, and, when tents are to be used for fifty (50) or more persons, from each and every department having jurisdiction over places of assembly.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the fire marshal shall have no jurisdiction over tents on the property of one-(1) or two-(2) family private dwellings. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the fire marshal from requiring a license for a tent smaller than three hundred fifty square feet (350 sq. ft.) where other sections of the fire code deem it necessary, including, but not limited to, use, occupancy, opening, exposure, an increase in occupancy of a commercial establishment, and any other similar factors.

(c) The state fire marshal shall provide training to all assistant deputy fire marshals as defined by § 23-28.2-9 as soon as practicable to ensure the consistent enforcement of the fire safety code pursuant to § 23-28.2-4.

History of Section.
P.L. 1976, ch. 271, § 15; P.L. 2014, ch. 229, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 328, § 1.