[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town
of Dover 9-11-1979 as Ord. No. 24-1979.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An audible signal indicating a fire condition.
Any of the following rating organizations:
An instrument meeting specifications set forth in Underwriters Laboratories
Inc. Standard 217-77 for the detection of abnormal rise in temperature.
All or any part of any structure utilized for human habitation.
Bedrooms or sleeping areas of a dwelling unit separated by use areas
other than bedrooms, such as a kitchen or living room, or bedrooms or sleeping
areas located on separate floors.
An instrument meeting specifications set forth in Underwriters Laboratories
Inc. Standard 217-77 for the detection of ionized gases or product of combustion
produced by burning or smoldering materials.
An indication distinctive from the alarm signal warning of a malfunction
or failure of the system.
An automatic smoke or heat detector, meeting the standards and conditions
herein, shall be installed and thereafter maintained in full operating condition
in any existing one-family attached or detached dwelling, hotel, motel, boardinghouse,
multiple-family dwelling and any other type of dwelling existing in the Town
of Dover.
A.
Alarm-sounding system. Each detection device shall cause
the operation of an alarm which shall be clearly audible in all bedrooms or
living areas over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed.
The tests of audibility level shall be conducted with all household equipment,
which may be in operation at night, in full operation. Examples of such equipment
are window air conditioners and room humidifiers.
B.
Power supply.
(1)
A/C primary power supply.
(a)
An A/C primary power source of electrical power use shall
be a dependable commercial light and power supply source and shall be provided
with a visual power indicator.
(b)
A cord-connected installation is acceptable, provided
that the installation makes use of a receptacle not subject to loss of power
by a wall switch. A restraining means shall be provided at the plug in.
(c)
Neither loss nor restoration of power shall cause an
alarm signal.
(2)
Monitored battery primary source. Smoke detectors may
be powered by a battery, provided that the battery is monitored to assure
that the following conditions are met:
(a)
All power requirements are met for at least one years'
life, including routine testing.
(b)
A distinctive audible trouble signal is given before
the battery is incapable (from aging, terminal corrosion and other causes)
of operating a device for alarm purposes.
(c)
For a unit employing a lock-in alarm feature, automatic
transfer is provided from alarm to a trouble condition. If a unit does not
have a lock-in feature, automatic transfer alarm to trouble is not required.
(d)
The unit is capable of providing an alarm signal for
at least four minutes at the battery voltage at which a trouble signal is
normally obtained, followed by seven days of trouble operation.
(e)
The audible trouble signal is produced at least once
every minute for seven consecutive days.
(3)
Combination system.
(a)
When common wiring is employed for a combination system,
the equipment for other than the fire warning signal system shall be connected
to the common wiring of the system so that short circuits, open circuits,
grounds or other faults in the equipment or interconnection between the equipment
and the fire warning system wiring shall not interfere with either the supervision
of the fire warning system or prevent alarm or trouble signal operation.
(b)
In a combination system, a fire signal shall take precedence
or be clearly recognizable over any other signal even when the nonfire alarm
system is initiated first. Distinctive alarm signals shall be obtained between
fire alarm and other functions such as burglar alarms.
(4)
Control equipment.
(a)
The control equipment shall be automatically restoring
on restoration of electrical power.
(b)
The control equipment shall be of a type that lock in
on an alarm condition. Smoke detectors circuits need not lock in.
(c)
Any reset switch shall be sold restoring.
(d)
No detector shall be equipped with an alarm silencing
switch unless its silenced position is indicated by a readily apparent signal.
(e)
Smoke detectors may be tested by subjecting the unit
to smoke instead of a test button or component.
(5)
Detection circuits.
(a)
The detectors circuit shall be such that a break in the
wiring shall not cause an alarm signal, but shall cause an audible trouble
signal, using either a closed loop detecting circuit or normally open contact
detectors with end of line resistor or equivalent.
(6)
Laboratory approval. Any such detector shall bear a seal,
tested and listed by an approved rating organization, and shall comply in
design to all state and federal requirements.
A.
Detectors shall be installed to protect each separate
sleeping area in any dwelling occupied by a single family at a location between
the bedrooms and other use areas. Detectors shall be installed to protect
inhabitants of each dwelling unit in a hotel, motel, boardinghouse, multiple-family
dwelling or similar dwelling, at a location between the bedrooms and other
use areas in the dwelling unit.
B.
The detectors shall be mounted in the ceiling and at
the point between walls of a hallway or stairway as the case may be.
C.
A smoke detector installed at the head of stairs shall
be so located as to ensure that smoke rising in that stairwell cannot be prevented
from reaching the detector by an intervening obstruction.
D.
Where a ceiling is open joists or beams, the detector
shall be mounted on the bottom of a joist or beam.
E.
In buildings having basements and cellars, an additional
smoke detector shall be installed in basements or cellars in an area approved
by the authority having jurisdiction.
In any residential dwelling of any kind, whether single-family or multiple-family,
where the dwelling units are customarily occupied by tenants for a period
of 30 days or longer, the tenant shall inspect and test, weekly, smoke detectors
installed in the dwelling units occupied by such tenants. Any malfunctions
of the device, battery power loss or other problem shall be reported immediately
to the landlord, both verbally and in writing.
A.
Any person, purchaser under installment contract, partnership,
corporation or other legal entity who or which owns or purports to own any
building or structure or complex of buildings or structures within the Town
of Dover, in which there is rented or offered for rent housing space for living
or dwelling purposes under written or oral lease, shall file between January
1 and January 31 of each year beginning the year 1980, with the appropriate
Housing Inspection Agency which will forward copies to the Bureau of Fire
Prevention within 10 days, a signed certified statement indicating the following
information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner of
record of the premises.
(2)
The number and identification marking of each dwelling
unit and the street address of each rental premises.
(3)
A certification whether or not each such dwelling unit
is serviced by fully operational smoke detectors as required by this chapter.
B.
No residential dwelling unit shall be sold, rented or
occupied unless and until the residential dwelling unit has been brought into
compliance with this section.
C.
No certificates of habitability shall be issued by the
Director of Rehabilitation (housing) unless the applicant shall at first have
complied with all of the conditions of this chapter.
A.
This chapter shall not apply to single-family detached
residences occupied by their owner.
B.
In order to provide adequate safety for the inhabitants
of mixed-use nondetached structures, additional detectors shall be so installed
as required by the authority having jurisdiction and be interconnected to
each and every alarm-sounding system contained within the entire structure
as previously set forth in this chapter so as to provide a simultaneous audible
alarm to be sounded throughout the entire structure.
This chapter shall be administered by the appropriate Housing Inspection
Agency and enforced concurrently by the Housing Inspection Agency and the
Bureau of Fire Prevention of the Fire Department of the Town of Dover.
A.
Any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity
who or which shall violate any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction,
be subject to one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,000, a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service
not exceeding 90 days. Each day shall constitute a separate violation.
B.
Any person or persons who shall obstruct, remove, tamper,
deface or cause to render inoperative or attempt to or conspire to obstruct,
remove, tamper, deface or cause to render inoperative any devices covered
in this chapter in total or in part thereof, except for the purpose of testing
or making necessary repairs or when permitted by the enforcing agencies, shall,
upon conviction, be subject to one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding
$1,000, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days.
