Section 210.10  Applicability

 

a)         This Part shall apply to all hearings conducted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and

 

1)         To review decisions, orders, rulings, recommendations or actions of the State Fire Marshal or his inspectors; and

 

2)         To all enforcement proceedings, investigations and inquiries into matters within the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal including, but not limited to, proceedings instituted by orders to show cause.

 

b)         As used in this Part, the word "person" means the same as in "AN ACT to revise the law in relation to common law" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 1, par. 1006) which includes bodies corporate and politic, corporations, partnerships and other legal entities, any owner, occupant or lessee of any building or other structure, public or private.

 

c)         Office means Office of the State Fire Marshal.

 

Section 210.20  Appeals

 

a)         Any person aggrieved by a decision, order or ruling of the Office may as a matter of right request a hearing before a Hearing Officer.  Such a hearing shall be a proceeding de novo.

 

b)         All requests for hearings

 

1)         must be in writing;

 

2)         must contain an address and telephone number where the appellant may be notified of the time and place of the hearing; and

 

3)         must set forth the reasons why the order of the State Fire Marshal should be reversed or modified.

 

c)         Appeals from orders of the State Fire Marshal or from orders of deputies of the Office of the State Fire Marshal issued pursuant to Section 9 of "AN ACT relating to the investigation and prevention of fire" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 127½, par. 9) shall be instituted by filing a written request for a hearing no later than ten (10) days following receipt of notice to remove or remedy a dangerous condition or fire hazard; all other appeals shall be made within 30 days.

 

d)         Requests for hearing must be filed in writing to the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 3150 Executive Park Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703.  Requests submitted by certified mail will be deemed to be timely if they are postmarked no later than the time period allowed.

 

Section 210.30  Definitions

 

"Contested Case" means an adjudicatory proceeding, not including rule-makings, quasi-legislative, informational or similar proceedings, in which the individual legal rights, duties or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined by the Office only after an opportunity for hearing.

 

"Hearing Officer" means the presiding officer or officers at the initial hearing before the Office and each continuation thereof.  A Hearing Officer must be an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in Illinois.

 

Section 210.40  Service of Papers

 

a)         Persons filing papers with the Office shall simultaneously serve copies on all parties to the proceeding in any manner authorized by the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 110, par. 1-101 et seq.).

 

b)         Papers required to be filed with the Office shall be accompanied by proof of service upon all those required to be served.

 

c)         All papers required to be filed with the Office must be filed at its principal office at 3150 Executive Park Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703, during business hours.

 

Section 210.50  Appearances

 

a)         A person who files an appeal need not be represented by an attorney.

 

b)         No one may appear before the Office in a representative capacity except:

 

1)         Those licensed to practice law.

 

2)         A partnership may be represented by a partner.

 

3)         A corporation may be represented by an officer.

 

4)         The Office may be represented by any employee authorized by the Fire Marshal.

 

Section 210.60  Conduct of Hearings

 

a)         The Hearing Officer shall designate the time and place of the hearing and shall preside at the hearing.

 

b)         The Hearing Officer shall designate a reasonable time following final agreements in which the parties may submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law orally and on the record prior to the adjournment of the hearing.

 

c)         After closing arguments, the Hearing Officer shall within 10 days after the close of the hearing make findings of fact and conclusions of law and may make a recommendation to the State Fire Marshal.

 

Section 210.70  Authority of Hearing Officer

 

A Hearing Officer shall:

 

a)         require prior submission of testimony and exhibits in writing;

 

b)         require all parties to state their position with respect to a proposal;

 

c)         administer oaths and affirmations;

 

d)         examine witnesses and direct witnesses to testify;

 

e)         regulate the course of the hearing, maintain order and develop a clear and complete record;

 

f)         limit the number of times a witness may testify, and limit repetitious or cumulative testimony;

 

g)         issue discovery orders;

 

h)         rule upon objections to subpoenas and discovery orders, and all motions presented during the course of the hearing.

 

Section 210.80  Continuances

 

The Hearing Officer may grant for good cause, e.g. unavailability of a witness or party or illness, a subsequent continuance at the request of a party or a continuance on his own motion.  A hearing may be adjourned by the Hearing Officer to permit further testimony or argument whenever this action is beneficial for the development of a clear and complete record. One continuance shall be granted to any party as a matter of right if the request is received by the Office at least one week prior to the scheduled hearing.  In determining whether to grant a subsequent continuance, the Hearing Officer will consider factors such as the number of continuances already granted to a party.

 

Section 210.90  Subpoenas

 

a)         Subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses from any place in Illinois or for the production of books, papers, accounts, records, or documents during or prior to a hearing held pursuant to these rules will be issued by the Hearing Officer upon his own motion, or upon application of a party showing that a subpoena is reasonably required.

 

b)         Applications for subpoenas to compel the production of books, papers, accounts, records or documents shall identify the material sought.

 

c)         Witness fees shall be the same as allowed in the Circuit Court of the State of Illinois pursuant to Section 47 of "AN ACT concerning fees and salaries, and to classify the several counties of this state with reference thereto" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 53, par. 65).

 

Section 210.100  Depositions and Interrogatories

 

a)         Upon application of a party showing that a deposition is required or would be expeditious and setting forth the facts to be proved or information sought, the Hearing Officer will allow the taking of depositions.  This rule may be waived by agreement of the parties provided that the taking of depositions shall not be cause for postponements of hearings or delay of the Office's disposition of the proceeding.

 

b)         Parties may serve interrogatories, requests to produce documents for inspection and copying, and requests for the admission or denial of material facts.  The Hearing Officer shall set a reasonable time based on factors such as volume of material sought, difficulty of obtaining such materials or answers, or number of interrogatories, for compliance with his order to answer or produce the requested material.

 

Section 210.110  Pre-Hearing Conferences

 

a)         Upon written notice by the Hearing Officer in any proceeding, parties or their attorneys may be requested to appear at a specified time and place for a conference, prior to or during the course of hearings for the purpose of formulating issues and considering:

 

1)         simplification of issues;

 

2)         the necessity or desirability of amending the pleadings for the purpose of clarification, amplification or limitation;

 

3)         the possibility of making admissions of certain averments of facts for stipulations concerning the use by any party of matters of public record to avoid unnecessary introduction of proof;

 

4)         the limitation of witnesses;

 

5)         such other matters as may aid in a simplification of the evidence and disposition of the proceedings.

 

b)         The action taken at the conference shall be recorded in an appropriate ruling, unless the parties enter upon written stipulation as to such matters, or agree to a statement thereof made on the record by the Hearing Officer.

 

Section 210.120  Order of Hearings

 

The following shall be the order of all hearings, subject to modification by agreement of the parties:

 

a)         presentation, argument and disposition of motions preliminary to a hearing on the merits of the matters raised in the complaint;

 

b)         presentation of opening statements;

 

c)         appellant's case in chief;

 

d)         respondent's case in chief;

 

e)         appellant's case in rebuttal;

 

f)         statements from interested citizens;

 

g)         appellant's closing argument;

 

h)         respondent's closing argument;

 

i)          appellant's rebuttal argument;

 

j)          presentation and argument of all motions, proposed findings and conclusions prior to final order.

 

Section 210.130  Stipulations

 

a)         It is the policy of the Office that the parties to a proceeding should, to the fullest extent possible, stipulate all matters which are not or fairly should not be in dispute.

 

b)         At the hearing the parties may file a stipulation setting forth

 

1)         All pertinent matters which are not in dispute;

 

2)         A list of all exhibits to which there are no objections;

 

3)         Matters that are in dispute;

 

Section 210.140  Evidence

 

a)         All witnesses testifying at hearings shall testify upon oath or affirmation.

 

b)         Admissibility of evidence shall be governed by Section 12 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 127, par. 1012).

 

c)         When objection is made to the admissibility of evidence, the Hearing Officer shall either receive the disputed evidence subject to ruling at a later time, or may exclude the evidence at that time.

 

d)         Upon his own motion or upon objection of any party, the hearing officer shall exclude inadmissible evidence.

 

e)         A party offering evidence that is ruled inadmissible shall be permitted to make a brief offer of proof.

 

f)         Writings shall be legible and exhibits shall be plainly marked and identified.  The hearing record shall reflect the identity of the party offering an exhibit and shall indicate whether it was admitted into evidence.

 

g)         The Hearing Officer and the State Fire Marshal may take official notice of:

 

1)         the customs, usages and traditions of fire safety;

 

2)         Fire Prevention and Safety (41 Ill. Adm. Code 100);

 

3)         matters within its specialized knowledge and expertise;

 

4)         all matters of which the Circuit Courts of this state may take judicial notice.

 

Section 210.150  Default

 

Failure of a party to appear on the date set for hearing, or failure to proceed as ordered by the State Fire Marshal, shall constitute a default. The State Fire Marshal shall enter such final order as shall be received from applicable motion.

 

Section 210.160  Closing Arguments

 

a)         When a hearing is held, the Hearing Officer shall allot a reasonable amount of time for closing arguments.

 

b)         The parties may with notice to the Hearing Officer file briefs in addition to or in lieu of closing arguments.  The Hearing Officer shall set a briefing schedule.

 

Section 210.170  Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

 

Orders disposing of contested matters upon the merits shall set forth the State Fire Marshal's findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall be served by certified mail.

 

Section 210.180  Transcripts

 

a)         Hearings shall be recorded either by mechanical or stenographic means as determined by the Hearing Officer.  The Office shall bear the cost of recording.  Parties to hearings conducted pursuant to these rules may provide their own recording or stenographer at such proceedings at their own cost in addition to that provided by the Office.

 

b)         Where no verbatim transcript is available, either through failure of mechanical recording devices or inadequate or incomplete stenographic recording, the appellant shall utilize the procedures for preparing a report of proceedings contained in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 323 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 110A, par. 322).