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NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York City Council has approved an overhaul of the city's fire code. It's the first comprehensive update in nearly 100 years.
Since 1913, the fire code has been updated in pieces, but never given an entire review. The new code will impose an automatic three-year revision cycle so that it won't become outdated again.
New York City now joins a number of other local governing authorities that have adopted widely recognized regulations known as the International Fire Code.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to sign the code. It goes into effect in July along with the new building code, which recently got a similar update.
A public hearing on the fire code will be held Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium at the Fire Department headquarters in Brooklyn.
Bloomberg said the revised code will make the city safer for both New Yorkers and firefighters.
The fire code governs the use of building safety systems, the permit and inspection process, fire-detection and extinguishing systems, and emergency preparedness and planning.
Bloomberg said the new 645-page code adopts nationals standards, and reflects lessons from past fires and is also integrated and cross-referenced with the new building code.
"Together, the new Fire and Building Codes will improve safety while also making it easier for construction professionals, designers, property owners, businesses, and others to work here more efficiently and understand their obligations under the law," Bloomberg said in a statement.
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