The standards embodied in said code shall be based upon and shall be not less stringent than the standards established by the standard fire prevention code as promulgated by the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc., and as the same may be revised or amended; however, the state fire marshal shall have the authority to deviate from the minimum requirements of such standard fire prevention code when the imposition and enforcement of a specific requirement of the standard fire prevention code would cause unnecessary hardship or when such deviation would enable builders to take advantage of new methods, materials or equipment which is of recognized adequacy.

The Mississippi Fire Prevention Code shall include provisions that every new building over seventy-five (75) feet in height in the State of Mississippi for which a permit is issued after July 1, 1978, shall be equipped throughout the building with a totally automatic sprinkler system designed for life safety and fire prevention and protection. This provision shall include every building over seventy-five (75) feet in height constructed after July 1, 1978, or to any existing building in which twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the floor space is being reconstructed or added thereto. However, public utility company buildings in which water would cause severe damage to equipment such as telephone equipment, computers or electric services, and silos, grain elevators and other structures utilized solely for the storage of agricultural products are exempt from the automatic sprinkler system provisions of the code.