Fire prevention; public occupancies regulations.

A. For prevention and control of fires, pursuant to the State Rules Act [Chapter 14, Article 4 NMSA 1978], the state fire marshal shall formulate, adopt and promulgate, and amend or revise rules for fire prevention and safe conduct or use of public occupancies and rules concerning the sale, servicing or use of fire safety, prevention, detection or suppression equipment or materials. For the purposes of this provision, "public occupancies" consist of places of assembly, educational occupancies, institutional occupancies, residential occupancies consisting of four or more family units, mercantile occupancies, office occupancies, industrial occupancies, storage occupancies and miscellaneous structures consisting of towers, underground structures and windowless buildings and all buildings owned or occupied by the state government or any political subdivision thereof or by municipal governments. B. The rules shall follow nationwide standards except in the area of life safety codes, which shall be compatible with the Uniform Building Code, as revised from time to time, issued by the international conference of building officials. C. The rules shall allow reasonable provision under which facilities in service prior to the effective date of the rules and not in strict conformity therewith may be continued in service. Nonconforming facilities in service prior to the adoption of rules that are found by the state fire marshal to constitute a distinct hazard to life or property shall not be exempt from rules nor permitted to continue in service.