The owner or operator of any building or structure that stores
any highly toxic materials, poisonous gases and/or ethnology agents
are required to have at their site, at their expense, any special
equipment needed to handle these items, which would include, but not
be limited to, repair kits, special garments and antidotes.
Permits or licenses shall be required from the Bureau of Fire
Safety as hereinafter set forth:
13-3.1. Permits. A permit shall constitute permission to establish, maintain,
store or handle materials or conduct processes which produce conditions
hazardous to life or property.
13-3.2. Licenses. A license shall be the authority issued by the Bureau of
Fire Safety, independently or jointly with any other municipal authority,
for the conducting of a business, trade, occupation or calling for
the calendar year. The license in each case shall run for a period
of one year, commencing January 1 or the date of issuance, whichever
is later, and ending December 31 of the year of issuance.
13-3.3. Fees. Fees in connection with the provisions of this chapter and
the Fire Prevention Code shall be as set by N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.9(b) of
the Uniform Fire Code, and set forth in Subsection 4-7.1 of this revision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 et seq. of
the Uniform Fire Safety Act, any person aggrieved by any order of
the Bureau of Fire Safety shall have the right to appeal to the Bergen
County Construction Board of Appeals.
Penalties for violations of this chapter shall be in conformity
with the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Rules and Regulations of
the State Department of Community Affairs, where applicable. Otherwise,
the provisions of Section 1-7 of this revision shall apply.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
a. Intent
and purpose. Fire safety compliance has always been and continues
to be a high priority for the Borough of Carlstadt. Borough officials
frequently assess what can be done to assure the safety of all Borough
residents. The Borough deems it necessary to implement fire watch
procedures when there are substantial risks to life, safety and property,
including when all or part of the required fire protection systems
in Borough structures are intentionally interrupted for repairs and
maintenance, not functioning properly, not functioning at all, or
when they are damaged or destroyed by fire or other disaster. In certain
circumstances detailed herein, the Fire Official, or his designee,
is hereby authorized to order a fire watch for the affected structure
in order to ensure continued safety of residents and/or occupants
during this period.
b. Definitions.
FIRE WATCH
Is defined as a temporary measure, ordered by the Fire Official
or his/her designated representative, intended to ensure continuous
and systematic surveillance of a building or portion thereof, by one
or more qualified individuals, for the purpose of reporting fires,
controlling fires, effecting occupant evacuation, coordinating Fire
Department response and other functions deemed appropriate by the
Fire Official or Fire Chief.
c. Fire
watch, when required. A fire watch may be ordered by the Fire Official
or his designated representative under the following circumstances:
1. Required
building fire protection systems are impaired or out of service;
2. An
"imminent hazard," as defined by N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.16, exists;
3. Hot
work or the use of an open flame during the performance of construction
in an occupied building or the use of open flame or pyrotechnics before
a live audience;
4. Any
public or private event where more than 499 people are in attendance
when required by the Fire Official or his/her designated representative.
This shall be determined in coordination with the Fire Chief of the
Carlstadt Fire Department;
5. A
fire watch is requested by the building owner, tenant, or lessee;
6. Public
and private events where 250 people or more are in attendance;
7. Any
other condition or event that may pose unusual hazards or risk to
the public or fire service when deemed necessary by the Fire Official
or his/her designated representative.
8. A
fire watch may include the maintaining of posted fire lanes, means
of egress, posted occupancy loads, enforcement of no smoking in posted
areas, building surveillance for signs of smoke or fire, checking
for proper permits, inspecting for proper safety precautions of cooking
equipment, and other functions as required by the Fire Official or
his/her designated representative.
d. Fire
watch personnel. Fire Watch Shall be performed by any of the following:
1. A
member of the Carlstadt Fire Department;
2. Employees
of the Borough of Carlstadt, Bureau of Fire Safety;
3. Firefighters
or fire inspectors from any Fire Department that has a mutual aid
agreement with the Carlstadt Fire Department;
4. In
the event a required fire watch cannot be fulfilled with any personnel
as detailed above, the Fire Official is permitted to fill the fire
watch with other authorized personnel;
5. Fire
watchers for the purposes of a fire watch shall report directly to
the Fire Official or his/her designed representative.
6. In
the event of a fire incident, the fire watchers shall report to the
Fire Chief or Fire Department Incident Commander.
e. Terms.
The Fire Official or his/her designated representative shall stipulate
the terms and duration of the fire watch, including, but not limited
to:
3. Additional
or secondary fire protection based on the specific conditions requiring
the fire watch.
f. Fees.
Fire watch services authorized and/or required by this section and
deemed necessary by the Fire Official or his/her designated representative
shall be subject to the following:
1. A
fire watch shall be paid for by the building owner, tenant, lessee,
or organization for which the fire watch is requested and/or required,
as appropriate;
2. All
fire watch services not incurred by the Borough of Carlstadt shall
be paid at the rate of $45 per hour per person;
3. There
shall be a minimum payment of four hours per person;
4. There
shall be a $25 per hour fee for the use of each Borough vehicle utilized;
5. An
administrative fee of 15% shall be added to the total hourly compensation;
6. All
payments shall be made within 10 days after service is provided;
7. Payments
shall be made payable to the Borough of Carlstadt.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
A construction permit for the installation of or modification
to emergency responder radio coverage systems and related equipment,
for both newly constructed and existing buildings, is required as
specified in IFC Section 105.7.5. Maintenance performed in accordance
with this code is not considered a modification and does not require
a permit.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
a. Systems,
components and equipment required to provide the emergency responder
radio coverage system shall comply with the following:
b. Radio
signal strength. The building shall be considered to have an acceptable
emergency responder radio coverage when signal strength measurements
in 95% of all areas on each floor of the building meet signal strength
requirements in paragraphs b1 and 2 below.
1. Minimum signal strength into the building. A minimum signal strength
of -95dBm shall be receivable within the building.
2. Minimum signal strength out of the building. A minimum signal strength
of -95dBm shall be received by the Bureau of Fire Safety's radio
system when transmitted from inside the building.
c. System
design. The emergency responder radio coverage system shall be designed
in accordance with the below paragraphs.
1. Amplification system allowed. Buildings and structures that cannot
support the required level of radio coverage shall be equipped with
a radiating cable system, a distributed antenna system with Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) certified signal boosters, or other
system approved by the Fire Official in order to achieve the required
adequate radio coverage.
2. Technical criteria. The Fire Official shall maintain a document providing
technical information and requirements for the emergency responder
radio coverage system. This document shall contain, but not be limited
to, the various frequencies required, the location of radio sites,
and other supporting technical information.
3. Standby power. The standby power supply shall be capable of operating
the emergency responder radio system for a duration of not less than
24 hours.
4. Signal booster requirements. If used, the signal boosters shall meet
the following requirements:
(a) All signal booster components shall be contained in a National Electrical
Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) 4 type waterproof cabinet.
(b) Battery systems used for the emergency power source shall be contained
in a National Electrical Manufacturer's Association 4 type cabinet.
(c) The signal booster system and battery system shall be electrically
supervised and monitored by a supervisory service, or when approved
by the Fire Official or designee, shall sound an audible signal at
a constantly attended location.
(d) Equipment shall have Federal Communications Commission certification
prior to installation.
5. Additional frequencies and change of frequencies. The emergency responder
radio coverage system shall be capable of modification or expansion
in the event frequency changes are required by the Federal Communications
Commission or additional frequencies are made available by the Federal
Communications Commission.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
a. The
installation of the public safety radio coverage system shall be in
accordance with the following:
1. Approval prior to installation. Amplification systems capable of
operating on frequencies licensed to any public safety agency by the
Federal Communications Commission shall not be installed without prior
coordination and approval of the Fire Official.
2. Minimum qualifications of personnel. The minimum qualifications of
the system designer and lead installation personnel shall include
both of the following:
(a) A valid Federal Communications Commission-issued general radio operator's
license.
(b) Certification of in-building system training issued by a nationally
recognized organization, school or a certificate issued by a manufacturer
of the equipment being installed.
3. These qualifications shall not be required where demonstration of
adequate skills and experience satisfactory to the Fire Official or
designee is provided.
4. Acceptance test procedure. Where an emergency responder radio coverage
system is required, and upon completion of installation, the building
owner shall have the system tested to verify that two-way coverage
on each floor of the building is not less than 90%. The test procedure
shall be conducted as follows:
(a) Each floor of the building shall be divided into a grid of 20 approximately
equal test areas.
(b) The test shall be conducted using a calibrated portable radio of
the latest brand and model used by the Bureau of Fire Safety talking
through the Bureau of Fire Safety's radio communication system.
(c) Failure of not more than two nonadjacent test areas shall not result
in failure of the test.
(d) In the event that three of the test areas fail the test, in order
to be more statistically accurate, the floor shall be permitted to
be divided into 40 equal test areas. Failure of not more than four
nonadjacent test areas shall not result in failure of the test. If
the system fails the forty-area test, the system shall be altered
to meet the 90% coverage requirement.
(e) A test location approximately in the center of each test area shall
be selected for the test, with radio enabled to verify two-way communications
to and from the outside of the building through the public agency's
radio communication system. Once the test location has been selected,
the location shall represent the entire test area. Failure in the
selected test location shall be considered failure of that test area.
Additional test locations shall not be permitted.
(f) The gain values of all amplifiers shall be measured, and the test
measurement results shall be kept on file with the building owner
so that the measurement results can be verified during annual tests.
In the event that the measurement results become lost, the building
owner shall be required to rerun the acceptance test to reestablish
the gain values.
(g) As part of the installation, a spectrum analyzer or other suitable
test equipment shall be utilized to ensure spurious oscillations are
not being generated by subject signal booster. The test shall be conducted
at the time of installation and subsequent annual inspections.
5. Federal Communications Commission compliance. The emergency responder
radio coverage system installation and components shall also comply
with all federal regulations including, but not limited to, FCC 47
CFR Part 90.219.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
a. The
emergency radio coverage system shall be maintained operational at
all times in accordance with the following:
1. Testing and proof of compliance. The emergency responder coverage
system shall be inspected and tested annually or where structural
changes occur, including additions or remodels that could materially
change the original field performance tests. Testing shall consist
of the following:
(a) In-building coverage test as described in Subsection 13-7.4a4.
(b) Signal booster shall be tested to verify that the gain is the same
as it was upon initial installation and acceptance.
(c) Backup batteries and power supplies shall be tested under a load
of a period of one hour to verify that they will properly operate
during an actual power outage. If within the one-hour test period
the battery exhibits symptoms of failure, the test shall be extended
for additional one-hour periods until the integrity of the battery
can be determined.
(d) Other active components shall be checked to verify operation within
the manufacturer's specifications.
(e) At the conclusion of the testing, a report, which shall verify compliance
with this chapter shall be submitted to the Fire Official.
2. Additional frequencies. The building owner shall modify or expand
the emergency responder radio coverage system at his/her expense in
the event frequency changes are made by the FCC. Prior approval of
a public safety radio coverage system on previous frequencies does
not exempt this section.
3. Field testing. Bureau of Fire Safety personnel shall have the right
to enter onto the property at any reasonable time to conduct field
testing to verify the required level of radio coverage.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
Any person or entity found to be in violation of the requirements
of § 13-7 of this chapter shall, upon certification of said
violation by the Borough of Carlstadt Fire Official, be subject to
a penalty. Such penalties shall not exceed a rate of $1,000 a day
per day for failure to abate the violation. If the violation is not
remedied within three months, the certificate of occupancy for the
building in violation may be revoked.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
The applicant for a permit under this section shall be responsible
for all fees for review and inspection of the radio amplification
system incurred by the Borough's public safety radio engineer
and/or the Borough's public safety radio engineer vendor and
shall be charged the hourly rate approved by the Borough.
[Added 1-1-2023 by Ord. No. 22-13]
If any provision or portion of this chapter is held to be unconstitutional,
preempted by federal or state law, or otherwise invalid by any court
of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the chapter
shall not be invalidated and shall remain in full force and effect.