CTA Report, Draft 1, ISP Review - US Chemical Safety and Hazard ...

facilities, including combustible dust-handling operations. The State Fire Marshal enforces the standards,
including approving new construction permits and conducting inspections.
The Standards of Safety in effect in 1972—when CertainTeed constructed the facility—incorporated the
National Building Code (NBC, published by the American Insurance Association), 1967 edition; National
Fire Codes (NFC, published by NFPA), 1970-71 edition (all 10 volumes); and NEC, 1968 edition. The
CertainTeed process for which the facility was constructed used a phenolic resin that was a combustible
dust.
NFC includes dust fire and explosion prevention standards, such as NFPA 654, though they are not
specifically referenced in the Standards of Safety. The State Fire Marshal permitted construction of the
facility in 1972, even though CertainTeed had not incorporated combustible dust protection into the
design.
In 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky, killed 165 people and injured another
70. This incident prompted major changes in State enforcement of building construction and inspection.
A team of investigators commissioned by the governor of Kentucky concluded: “During the period of
time from December 1970 until May 28, 1977, the fire marshal’s office did not implement a proper
inspection program which would have revealed code violations.”
In the aftermath of the Supper Club fire, Kentucky adopted a State building code (815 Kentucky
Administrative Regulation 7:120) and created the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction to
regulate the construction and use of buildings. The Office of State Fire Marshal became a division of the
new department, with responsibility limited to the safety of existing buildings. Another division within
the department—Building Codes Enforcement—regulated the Kentucky Building Code as it pertained to
the construction of new buildings and alterations, additions, and changes of occupancy to existing
buildings. In 2004, the Department was renamed the Office of Housing, Buildings, and Construction.
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