The owner or operator of any of the following buildings
shall provide to persons entering those buildings specific emergency
procedures to be followed in the event of fire, including procedures
for handicapped and nonambulatory persons:
(a) In the case of privately owned highrise structures, as defined
in Section 13210, and office buildings two stories or more in
height, the emergency procedure information shall be made available
in a conspicuous area of the structure that is easily accessible to
all persons entering the structure, designated pursuant to
regulations of the State Fire Marshal.
(b) In the case of hotels and motels, as defined in subdivision
(b) of Section 25503.16 of the Business and Professions Code, the
emergency procedure information shall be posted in a conspicuous
place in every room available for rental in the hotel or motel, or,
at the option of the hotel or motel operator, it shall be provided
through the use of brochures, pamphlets, video recordings, or other
means, pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal.
(c) In the case of apartment houses two stories or more in height
that contain three or more dwelling units, and where the front door
opens into an interior hallway or an interior lobby area, the
emergency information shall be provided as follows:
(1) Information for exiting the structure shall be posted on signs
using international symbols at every stairway landing, at every
elevator landing, at an intermediate point of any hallway exceeding
100 feet in length, at all hallway intersections, and immediately
inside all public entrances to the building.
(2) Information shall be provided to all tenants of record,
through the use of brochures, pamphlets, or video recordings, if any
of these items is available, or this requirement may be satisfied
pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal.
(3) If the owner or operator, or any individual acting on behalf
of the owner or operator, of an apartment house, as described in this
subdivision, negotiates a lease, sublease, rental contract, or other
term of tenancy contract or agreement in any language other than
English, the information required to be provided pursuant to
paragraph (2) shall be provided in English, in international symbols,
and in the four most common non-English languages spoken in
California, as determined by the State Fire Marshal.
(d) On or before July 1, 1996, the State Fire Marshal shall adopt,
for use in apartment houses described in subdivision (c), a
consumer-oriented model brochure or pamphlet that includes general
emergency procedure information in English, in international symbols,
and in the four most common non-English languages spoken in
California, as determined by the State Fire Marshal.
(e) An owner, agent, operator, translator, or transcriber who
provides emergency procedure information pursuant to this section in
good faith and without gross negligence shall be held harmless for
any errors in the translation or transcription of that emergency
information. This limited immunity shall apply only to errors in the
translation or transcription and not to the providing of the
information required to be provided pursuant to this section.
(f) Unless expressly stated, nothing in this section shall be
deemed to require an owner or operator of any of the buildings listed
in this section to provide emergency procedure information in any
language other than English, or through the use of international
symbols.
The State Fire Marshal shall adopt regulations for the
furnishing of emergency procedure information according to this
chapter. Those regulations may include the general contents of
brochures, pamphlets, signs, or video recordings used in furnishing
emergency procedure information, but shall provide for at least the
following:
(a) A reference to the posting of exit plans for the structure.
(b) A general explanation of the operation of the fire alarm
system of the structure.
(c) Other fire emergency procedures.
Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter is
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be punished by a
fine of not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or imprisonment
in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both.