By Bob Katzen
The Senate, on a voice vote without a roll call vote, approved and sent to the House legislation that would create a public database of violations of the state’s fire prevention laws and a public notification system to alert workers of violations. The bill would require the state to track written notices of code violations related to “hot work”—welding, plasma cutting and spark-producing construction—and make the information available to the public through an online database and an automated notification system.
The measure is designed to boost safety for firefighters and people conducting hot work. The proposed law has been 12 years in the making and was first prompted by the March 2014 deaths of firefighters Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy who perished while fighting a fire that was caused by welders, working without a city permit, on a building next door to the brownstone in which they died.
The Senate approved the same bill last tear on March 28, 2024 and sent it to the House Committee on Ways and Means where it was stuck for nine months and died from inaction when the 2024 session ended.
“The Senate’s action this week advances critical reforms shaped by the work of the Walsh-Kennedy Commission,” said chief sponsor Sen. Nick Collins (D-Boston). “The loss of Boston Fire Lieutenant Ed Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy is still felt deeply today, and the work to improve our laws continues in their memory. By strengthening training, oversight and accountability around hot work and welding, we are creating safer conditions for our firefighters, the building trades, and the public. While we have made progress in our state and local regulations, this legislation would build upon that progress and codify these enhanced protections into state law.”
“This legislation isn’t just a precaution—it is a commitment to the wellbeing and protection of our first responders and residents,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Our firefighters, and anyone whose job includes hot work, should have confidence in the safety of their workplace, and know that they are protected from a tragic situation like the one that took the lives of Lt. Edward Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy far too soon.”
“The passage of this legislation will bring long needed accountability to the hot works and welding industry here in the commonwealth, institute common sense reforms and honor the calls of firefighters and first responders who put their lives on the line every day,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “By creating a public database to track fire code violations and alert workers, the state will help prevent tragedies like the Back Bay fire of 2014 with appropriate oversight and respectful honoring of the two fallen firefighters’ legacy by passing this bill.”