As if doing business in the state of Mass isn’t hard enough. We now have to pull hot work permits in every city or town in the state when we perform any type of hot work. To pull the permit you must get hot work certified by an approved school. Then pull a permit with the fire dept any where from 1-10 days in advance. IE cutting,welding, brazing,soldering, drilling where temperatures could start ignition.
And we have to renew this certificate every year. I am all for safe work practices but they are making it so expensive to do work in this state many small shops are going to start closing up in droves
The company I work for had to have a fire fighter on site the entire day while welding was being done on a commercial boiler replacement.
Sorry rant over.

MA is the most anti small business state in the republic !!!!

they will sell lots of propress in MA.

so this is my understanding.

If you are a licensed plumber, and is pulling a plumbing permit from the city on a kitchen renovation, then there is no need for a separate hot work permit from the fire department. However if you are a service plumber, and is there to repair a leaking copper supply pipe or change out a hose bib, which normally doesn't require a building permit, you will need a hot work permit from the fire department that takes 1 to 9 days? So in the mean time the pipe cannot really be properly repaired, unless you take a temp measure like sharkbites, then once the permit is issued, go back and do it with soldering?

Now the cost to the consumer is higher, and wait time is longer to do it properly. So the consumer will more likely choose to do it himself unpermitted with fingers crossed which is exactly what the new rules are trying to prevent improper and unsafe hot work performed by uneducated untrained people.

Not quite.

The certification 'certificate' is valid for 1 year and then can be renewed.

Similar to the principle of a driver's license.


In NYC it was called: 'fire watch certificate'

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

not quite like a drivers license..
a home owner IS allowed to do their own soldering without a permit or certification.
no one can drive a car without certification (license)..
so the one individual (homeowner with zero experience) is allowed to work but a licensed professional must be certified.
i would guess that the speaker of the MA house of representatives and the president of the MA senate both own stock in the propress business.
glad i'm half-arsed retired. now i have another excuse not to work..

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

From what plumberpalmer was saying...having an annual hot work certification is only part of the game, it is a prerequisite to applying for a hot work permit from the fire department, and on top of that have a firefighter on standby while you perform hot work.

Imagine changing out a water heater, two joints. Hose bib one joint, that soldering is now cost prohibitive.

sum, what we have to do now if installing a water heater is use propress. if there are adapters to be screwed into the water heater, take them outside and solder copper stubs in them them bring them in. install them and go propress or pex from there.
unless we have an 18 wheeler to bring to the job, there is not enough room in the van for all the different fittings and tools needed..

Packy I hear you. But the problem that caused the 2014 accident that prompted all these new rules was unlicensed unpermitted welding work by the untrained and uneducated. So how is this going to solve that problem? You still have the same carelessness and ignorance going on underground...may be more because the proper way is made too difficult and expensive.

Also does this finally end the age of pouring lead joints in MA?

I will add to this that we need more Big Brother. No end to Progressive $hit as we kick the can. Calif is just as bad, sorry to say. Time is not on America's side. End of rant.

Sum no it doesn’t end pouring lead joints I had 5 joints to pour at a down town Boston hotel 2 weeks ago. I fab up as much as I could outside but still had 2 joints to pour in the building.
Just to clarify you don’t always have to have a firefighter stand watch but in cases where combustibles are present and work like welding is being done they may require a firefighter on site.
1 permit for plumbing
1 for hot work



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Update
I had to pull a hot work permit today in the city of Salem. We are running DWV copper drains and oxygen for a animal hospital. They are making us have a fire fighter detail at a cost of $800 a day. Unfortunately this job has four phases so we will have at least four times we need the detail.

The swamp is deep, and full of rats. Things are done to serve the interests of the few. They hide the corruption behind "public safety", and if you dare to speak out against it, they'll label you a heart-less SOB that wants folks to be killed in fires. The only way to stop that is to get rid of the rats. In my state we had 2 small planes crash in a months time. Richard Blumenthal wanted to form a commission to investigate small plane crashes. SERIOUSLY!!!!! That's employment for 10 cousins.