The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal's (SFM) "Petition and Comment Form" may be submitted by any person to request changes to the Ohio Fire Code (OFC).  

The online form may be completed and submitted at any time.  If the SFM is not actively in the process of updating the OFC, the Petition and Comment Form will be logged and kept until the next update.

Under Ohio law, the SFM is required to review and update the OFC at least every five years.  This is called '5-year rule review' and ensures that the rules in the OFC are necessary, relevant and up to date with the most current industry standards and best practices.  Five-year rule review involves a review of all OFC rules.

In addition, the SFM may conduct 'interim' rule updates.  Interim rule updates are more limited in scope and generally involve only one rule or OFC section.  These updates are usually done as a result of a legislative directive, a large industry change that needs to be addressed prior to the next 5-year rule review, or pursuant to an emergency.  

Via the online form, a person may submit a 'petition' to propose changes to OFC provisions or a 'comment' on a petition that another interested party submitted.  Instructions for completing and submitting the form are contained within the form itself.  Once the form is submitted, a confirmation email will be sent to the submitter verifying that the SFM received the submission.

The form is available online by clicking on the Launch Button