{"id":9755,"date":"2015-03-10T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=9755"},"modified":"2015-03-10T00:17:14","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T05:17:14","slug":"tenenssee-state-fire-marshals-office-marina-and-dock-inspections-bring-greater-safety-to-tennesseans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2015\/03\/10\/tenenssee-state-fire-marshals-office-marina-and-dock-inspections-bring-greater-safety-to-tennesseans\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenenssee State Fire Marshal’s Office Marina and Dock Inspections Bring Greater Safety To Tennesseans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TennesseeNashville, TN<\/strong> – Swimmers and boaters can be assured of increased safety at Tennessee\u2019s public marinas and docks thanks to new regulations that took effect January 1st.<\/p>\n

Approved last year by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law May 16th, 2014 by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Senate Bill No. 1954\/House Bill No. 1892 \u2013 known as the Noah Dean and Nate Act \u2013 makes it mandatory that State Fire Marshal\u2019s Office (SFMO) inspectors examine the electrical wiring and equipment of all Tennessee public marinas and docks.The law is intended to prevent accidents such as the one that occurred on July 4th, 2012 when the lives of Noah Dean Winstead, 10, and Nate Lynam, 11, were tragically cut short after the boys were electrocuted while swimming at the Cherokee Lake marina near Morristown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so very thankful that Tennessee acted so swiftly in the adoption of legislation in last year\u2019s legislative year to put measures in place to make Tennessee marinas safer,\u201d said Jessica Winstead, mother of Noah Winstead. \u201cIt is our hope an impact will be made to prevent a tragedy like our family experienced on July 4th, 2012. Senator Steve Southerland and Representative Tilman Goins were very supportive during this process as was the Tennessee State Fire Marshal\u2019s Office who all saw the need for marinas to be regulated and fall under someone\u2019s jurisdictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

An SFMO electrical inspector began inspecting Tennessee\u2019s more than 300 public marinas and docks earlier this year. Inspections will be conducted every five years thereafter.<\/p>\n

As part of the Noah Dean and Nate Act, all boat dock or marina operators must comply with new equipment requirements preventing possible electrical shocks and electrocution. Additionally, permanent signage warning swimmers of electrical shock hazards must be installed near marinas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe families of Noah Dean Winstead and Nate Lynam were instrumental in bringing attention to a crucial safety need that is addressed by this law,\u201d said Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. \u201cIt is our hope that the marina inspection rules will prevent future tragedies from occurring.<\/p>\n

Based on the severity of an infraction, violators of the Noah Dean and Nate Act could face a range of punishments, starting with a Class A misdemeanor and $500 fine and increasing to a Class E felony and a possible fine of $50,000. Inspectors will have the authority to close any boat dock or marina found to be in violation until the infractions are corrected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State Fire Marshal\u2019s Office is committed to creating a safer environment for Tennesseans both on land and on water,\u201d said Gary West, deputy commissioner for the Fire Prevention Division. \u201cThe Noah Dean and Nate Act helps us with our mission of protecting lives and property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioner McPeak and Deputy Commissioner West credited Sen. Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) and Rep. Tilman Goins (R-Morristown) in helping ensure the bill\u2019s passage into law by the General Assembly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very pleased that these inspections are taking place,\u201d said Southerland. \u201cNo parent should have to suffer this kind of tragedy. This law implements safety measures that will save lives and ensure that the waters around boat docks and marinas are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Noah Dean and Nate Act is a big step forward for safety in and around Tennessee’s lakes and waterways,\u201d said Goins. \u201cOur citizens, as well as tourists who come to Tennessee to enjoy the recreation these lakes offer, need to know that their safety is our utmost priority.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nashville, TN – Swimmers and boaters can be assured of increased safety at Tennessee\u2019s public marinas and docks thanks to new regulations that took effect January 1st. Approved last year by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law May 16th, 2014 by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Senate Bill No. 1954\/House Bill No. 1892 \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[3359,10102,8495,2958,10097,5593,284,10101,10099,10100,10098,9936,2973,10103,261,2288,233,3350,7212,6419,6416,10104],"class_list":["post-9755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-bill-haslam","tag-cherokee-lake","tag-gary-west","tag-julie-mix-mcpeak","tag-marina","tag-morristown-tn","tag-nashville-tn","tag-nate-lynam","tag-noah-dean-and-nate-act","tag-noah-dean-winstead","tag-senate-bill-no-1954","tag-sfmo","tag-shock-hazard","tag-steve-southerland","tag-tennessee","tag-tennessee-department-of-commerce-and-insurance","tag-tennessee-general-assembly","tag-tennessee-governor","tag-tennessee-state-fire-marshals-office","tag-tennessee-state-representative","tag-tennessee-state-senator","tag-tilman-goins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9756,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9755\/revisions\/9756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}