FIRE AND PANIC ACT OF MAY 3, 1909. AN ACT For the safety of persons from fire or panic in certain buildings, not in cities of the first and second classes, by providing proper exits, fire-escapes, fire-extinguishers, and other preventatives of fire, by vesting jurisdiction for the enforcement of this act in the Department of Factory Inspection; and by providing proper penalties for any violation of the same. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That every building in this Commonwealth, other than buildings situated in cities of the first and second classes, having more than two stories, and buildings having one or more galleries above the first or ground floor, now used or hearafter to be used, in whole or in part, as a public building, office building, and not of fireproof construction, public or private institution, sanitorium, surgical institute, asylum, hospital, schoolhouse, academy, dormitory, college, theatre, public hall, lodge hall, or place of public resort; and every building in which persons are usually employed above the second story, in a factory, workshop, or mercantile establishment; every hotel, restaurant, apartment-house, boarding-house, or lodge-house, in which persons reside or lodge above the second story; and every tenement-house, apartment-house, or flat occupied by two or more families above the first story, shall be provided with proper ways of egress, or means of escape from fire, sufficient for the use of all persons accommodated, assembled, employed, lodged, or residing therein; and such ways of egress and means of escape shall be kept free from obstruction, in good repair, and ready for use, at all times; and all rooms above the second story in said buildings shall be provided with more than one way of egress, or escape from fire, which shall be placed as near as practical at opposite ends or sides of the room, and leading to fire-escapes on the outside of such buildings or to stairways on the inside. Where any of said buildings is designated for the use or occupancy of fifty or more persons, the external doors of the same shall open outward, and be so constructed or arranged as to afford, when open, an unobstructed external passage-way of not less than five feet in the clear, and shall have landings, inside of the external doorways of dimensions not less than four feet between the external doors and the adjoining stairways, said landings to be of a width not less than the stairway approaches thereto. Section 2. In all theatres, opera houses, or other buildings, where stage scenery, moving pictures or other apparatus is used, there shall be provided one or more direct exterior doorways from the stage, and for dressing-rooms under the stage a direct exterior doorway shall be provided; and all said doorways shall be not less than three feet in width, and the passage-ways to and from the same shall be unobstructed and properly lighted. Neither on or about the stage, auditorium, or galleries shall any inflammable or explosive oil be used for lighting purposes; and all lights on or about the stage, and electric wires and appliances for electric switches, shall be safely guarded. All drop-curtains and sky-borders shall be of an approved non-combustible substance; and on each side of the stage standpipes of at least two inches in diameter shall be provided, with hose and attachments of not less than one and one-half inches in diameter, and of proper and sufficient quantity. There shall also be provided, for each side of the stage, not less than two fire-extinguishers, and one cask of not less than forty-two gallons capacity, which shall be kept full of water, and two buckets for each cask; buckets and casks to be painted red and kept in readiness for immediate use. All auditoriums and galleries of said buildings, as described in this section, shall be provided with a center aisle and two side aisles, each of a width of not less than four feet in the clear, and providing a continuous unobstructed passage way to the main exits and to the exits leading to the fire-escapes; and the words "Exit to fire-escape," in large legible illuminated letters shall be posted and kept posted before each fire-escape exit; and all exits shall open outward, and shall be kept unlocked and ready for instant use, from the opening of said buildings to the close of each and every entertainment therein. Section 3. In addition to the foregoing means of escape from fire, all such buildings as are enumerated in section one of this act that are more than two stories in height, and buildings having one or more galleries above the first floor, shall have one or more fireescapes on the outside of said buildings, as may be directed by the Chief Factory Inspector or a deputy factory inspector, except in such cases as he may deem such fire-escape to be unnecessary, in consequence of adequate provision having been already made for safety in event of fire or panic; and in such cases of exemption, the said Chief Factory Inspector or a deputy factory inspector shall give the owner, lessee, or occupant of said building a certificate to that effect, and his reason therefor. And such fire-escapes as are provided for in this section shall be of wrought iron, constructed according to specifications to be issued or approved by the Department of Factory Inspection, and shall be connected with each floor above the first, firmly fastened and secured, and of sufficient strength to sustain a weight of not less than four hundred pounds per step, on a safety factor of four; each of which fire-escapes shall have landings or balconies at each story, capable of sustaining a weight of not less than eighty pounds per square foot, guarded by railings, not less than three feet in height, and embracing one or more windows or doors at each story, and connecting with the interior by easily accessible and unobstructed openings; and all the balconies or landings shall be connected by external iron stairways, placed at a slant of not more than forty-five degrees, protected by well secured handrails; the stairway steps to be not less than six inches in width and twenty-four inches in length. Fire-escapes now in use and hereafter erected must be painted once a year, and be kept in safe condition and up to the standard requirements of this section. Section 4. That where any of the aforementioned buildings are so constructed that a fire-escape cannot be erected upon the same without trespassing upon the property of the owner or owners of adjoining lands or buildings, and where permission to erect fireescapes has been refused by said owners of adjoining lands or buildings, it shall be the duty of the owner or owners of any of the aforementioned buildings, constructed as aforesaid, to erect an internal fireproof means of escape, the same to be located and erected under the direction of the Chief Factory Inspector. Should the construction of any of the aforesaid buildings be such as will neither permit of an external iron fire-escape nor of an internal fire-proof escape, it is hereby enjoined upon the Chief Factory Inspector to notify, in writing, the owner or owners of any building, so constructed, to discontinue the occupancy of the whole or of a part of said building for any of the purposes which make said building amenable to the fire-escape provisions of this act. Section 5. To better secure compliance with the provisions of the foregoing sections of this act, the owner or owners of any building now used for other purpose than aforesaid, which is to be adapted to any of the aforesaid uses, or of any building to be erected for any of the aforesaid purposes, shall, before adapting or erecting any such building, submit to the Chief Factory Inspector architectural designs and specifications of such building, showing that compliance with the requirements of the foregoing sections is provided for therein, and such building shall not be so adapted or erected without the approval of the Chief Factory Inspector. Section 6. The owner or owners of any of the buildings mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this act, who shall wilfully fail or refuse to comply with the provisions of this act, or who shall wilfully fail or refuse to observe the orders for the enforcement of this act, issued to said owner or owners by the Chief Factory Inspector or a deputy factory inspector, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars, or six months imprisonment, or either or both, in the discretion of the court. And in case of fire occurring in any of said buildings, in the absence of such doorways, landings, exits, fire-escapes or fire preventatives, as provided for in this act, the owner or owners aforesaid shall be liable for damages, in case of death or personal injury, the result of fire or panic in any of said buildings; and such action for damages may be maintained by any person now authorized by law to sue, as in other case of loss by death or injuries. Section 7. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. FIRE DRILL ACT OF JUNE 7, 1911. AN ACT To require fire drills in factories and industrial establishments, where women or girls are employed; providing for the promulgation of rules in respect thereto, and providing penalties for the violation thereof. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That in all factories and industrial establishments where women or girls are employed, and where fireescapes, appliances for the extinguishment of fires, or proper and sufficient exits in case of fires or panic, either or all, are required by law to be maintained, fire drills shall be periodically conducted, not less than once a month, by the person or persons ons in charge, under rules and regulations to be promulgated, in cities of the first and second classes, by the Fire Marshal, and, elsewhere in the Commonwealth, by the Chief Factory Inspector, in which the persons employed in such factories or establishments shall be instructed in, and made thoroughly familiar with, the use of the said fire-escapes, appliances, and exits; which said drill shall include the actual use of the same, and the complete removal of the persons, in an expeditious and orderly manner, by means of such fire-escapes and exits, from the building to a place of safety on the ground outside. Section 2. The Fire Marshal and his assistants in cities of the first and second class, and the Chief Factory Inspector and several deputy inspectors elsewhere in the Commonwealth, are hereby required to see that the provisions of this act are faithfully carried out. Section 3. Any person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and to undergo imprisonment in the county jail for not less than ten days nor more than sixty days, either or both. FOUNDRY ACT OF JUNE 7, 1911. AN ACT Requiring foundries to be provided with toilet room and water closet; regulating same; and providing a penalty for violation thereof. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That every person, firm, or corporation, being the owner or lessee of any foundry for the casting of iron, steel, brass, or other metal, wherein ten or more men shall be employed, shall cause to be established and maintained in a place conveniently accessible, and connected with said foundry in such a manner that access thereto can be had without exposure to the open air, a toilet-room of suitable size, wherein said employes may change their clothes; such toilet-room shall be provided with wash-bowls, sinks, or other suitable fixed appliances, duly connected and supplied with running hot and cold water. There shall also be established and maintained, separate from said toilet-room, a suitable watercloset. It shall be the duty of the factory inspector or his duly authorized agent to enforce the provisions of this act. For that purpose the factory inspector or his duly authorized agent may enter at any reasonable time any foundry for the purpose of inspecting the same to ascertain whether the provisions of this act have been complied with. (The portion of the above appearing in italics was inserted by amendment of April 4, 1913. P. L. 42. No. 32.) Section 2. The said toilet room and the said water closet shall be connected with the foundry building in such a way that access thereto may be had without exposure to the open air and shall be properly heated, ventilated, cleaned and protected, so far as reasonably practicable, from the dust of such foundry. Section 3. Any person, firm, or corporation who or which shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof before any magistrate, alderman, or justice of the peace, shall be sentenced to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. LEAD POISONING ACT OF JULY 26, 1913. AN ACT To prevent occupational diseases; and to provide for the health of employes exposed to the danger of lead-poisoning and other occupational diseases, by regulating certain manufacturing establishments; providing for medical examinations and reports, and requiring sanitary precautions and appliances; and making violation of its provisions a misdemeanor, and providing penalties for violation thereof. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That every employer shall, without cost to the employes, provide reasonably effective devices, means, and methods to prevent the contraction by his employes of any illness or disease incident to the work or process in which such employes are engaged in the industries and occupations specified in section two of this act. Section 2. Every work or process in the manufacture of white lead, red lead, litharge, sugar of lead, arsenate of lead, lead chromate, lead sulphate, lead nitrate, or flua-silicate is hereby declared to be especially dangerous to the health of the employes who, while engaged in such work or process are exposed to lead dusts, lead fumes, or lead solutions. Section 3. Every employer shall, without cost to the employes, provide the following devices, means, and methods for the protection of his employes, who, while engaged in any work or process included in section two, are exposed to lead dusts, lead fumes, or lead solutions: (a). The employer shall provide and maintain work-rooms, adequately lighted and ventilated, and so arranged that there is a continuous and sufficient change of air; and all such rooms shall be fully separated by partition walls from all departments in which the work or process is of non-dusty character; and all such rooms shall be provided with a floor permitting an easy removal of dust by wet methods or vacuum cleaning, and all such floors shall be so cleaned daily. Every work or process referred to in section two, including the corroding or oxidizing of lead, and the crushing, mixing, sifting, grinding and packing of all lead salts or other compounds referred to in section two, shall be so conducted, and such adequate devices |