[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Middletown 4-9-1918 (Ch. 99 of the 1971 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall have charge of or operate a
steam boiler or engine in this City unless he holds a license or certificate
therefor as hereinafter provided; and no person owning or using a
steam engine or boiler shall allow the same to be operated for a period
of more than two weeks unless by a duly licensed engineer or certified
fireman. The words "have charge" or "in charge" in this chapter shall
designate the person under whose supervision a boiler or engine is
operated. The word "operating" shall designate any and all persons
who are actually engaged in generating steam in a boiler.
The Mayor shall annually appoint a Board of
Examining Engineers consisting of three members who shall be practical
steam and mechanical engineers of at least five years' experience
in operating steam engines and boilers in this City. Within one week
after such appointment, the Board shall meet and elect from its number
a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer; it shall convene for business
twice in each month for the purpose of examining into the qualifications
of applicants for licenses and certificates.
It shall keep a record of the transactions of
each meeting and make monthly reports stating the number of examinations
held, the names of candidates for license, the result of the examinations,
and the licenses issued, renewed or revoked. The Board shall determine
the requirements for each grade of license and the qualifications
necessary for each plant, and may make rules consistent with law and
this chapter regarding any matters within its jurisdiction. When deemed
necessary, it may permit an applicant to operate any plant without
license until it has passed upon his application. Any applicant may
appeal from the decision of the Board to the Mayor within 10 days
after receiving notice thereof, and the Mayor may thereupon confirm,
reverse or modify such decision.
A.Â
Engineers' licenses shall be divided into three grades:
(1)Â
The first-grade license shall entitle the licensee
to operate or have charge of a steam plant of unlimited capacity as
to horsepower of boilers.
(2)Â
Second-grade licenses shall entitle the licensee to
assist a first-grade engineer in any steam plant under the instructions
of first-grade engineers in charge thereof, and to have the charge
of and operate a steam plant limited to 350 horsepower of boilers.
(3)Â
Third-grade licenses shall entitle the licensee to
assist first- or second-grade engineers in any steam plant under the
instructions of such engineers in charge thereof and to have charge
of and operate a steam plant limited to 150 horsepower of boilers.
B.Â
Boilers shall be computed and estimated upon the basis
of 10 square feet of heating surface per horsepower.
A.Â
A person over 21 years of age desiring an engineer's
license or fireman's certificate may apply therefor to the Board,
in his handwriting on a blank furnished him, and specify therein the
particular engine, boiler or plant which he desires to operate or
have charge of. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50
for the license, and $5 for a certificate and a statement showing
his previous experience. The license or certificate if issued may
be revoked at any time for willful falsification in any matter contained
in the application therefor.
[Amended 12-27-2005; 11-2-2015]
B.Â
If a license or certificate is refused, 1/2 of the
fee shall be refunded and the applicant may not again apply therefor
within three months.
C.Â
If the applicant has capacity, skill, experience and
habits requisite to perform the duties required and shall pass such
examination satisfactorily, he shall be granted a license or certificate
to perform such duties for a term of one year, unless the same shall
be sooner revoked for cause, but said license or certificate shall
apply only to the plant for which it is issued, and before taking
charge of another plant a new license or certificate therefor shall
be required.
D.Â
When a person holding a license of a lower grade shall
apply for a license of a higher degree, an examination of the applicant
must be had before a license may be issued.
[Amended 11-2-2015]
Every person who is now in charge of or operating
any boiler or engine shall upon application accompanied by a fee of
$25 for license or $5 for certificate be entitled to a license or
certificate covering his position, without examination.
A.Â
All licenses and certificates must be displayed prominently
in the engine or boiler room during the period for which they are
issued.
B.Â
All licenses and certificates may be renewed from
year to year upon payment of a fee of $1, without further examination,
but every application for renewal must be made within 30 days of the
expiration of the license.
C.Â
Where engineers run days and nights, a licensed engineer
will be required on each running shift, and where boilers are used
days and nights, a certified fireman will be also so required.
D.Â
Men employed as watchmen who care for boilers during
the night, and also such employees as get up steam preparatory for
the day's work, are classed as firemen and must have a fireman's certificate.
Firemen will not be required to pass examinations except as to the
ordinary duties of a fireman.
Should the Board find that a person in charge
of or operating any boiler or apparatus be remiss in his duties to
such extent that the safety of any person is endangered thereby, or
if it be satisfied that the person so in charge of or operating the
same is not competent, safe and reliable or is addicted to the excessive
use of intoxicants, it shall be the duty of the Board to revoke any
license it may have issued to him and report the same to the Mayor
with the reasons therefor, but no license may be so revoked without
giving the licensee or certificate holder an opportunity to be heard
in his own defense.
A.Â
All fees and fines collected under this chapter shall
be paid to the Treasurer not later than the last day of each calendar
month and shall be kept by him or her as a separate fund to be known
as the "Stationary Engineers' Fund."
[Amended 1-7-2008]
B.Â
The balance of money, if any remains in said fund
on the first day of January of each year after all proper charges
have been paid therefrom, shall be divided pro rata among the members
of the said Board of Stationary Engineers in proportion to the number
of regular board meetings which each has attended, said payment to
be in lieu of compensation for their services, but in no case shall
such payment or compensation exceed $2 per member for each meeting
attended by him, and in no event shall the City be at any expense
in the carrying out of this chapter, and the members of the said Board
shall not be entitled to any compensation except from the fund hereby
created.
No person operating a steam boiler or engine
shall abandon it while in operation without leaving a competent person
in charge thereof.
Nothing in this chapter contained shall apply
to boilers or engines upon locomotives, motor road vehicles, boilers
in private houses used for heating purposes, nor boilers under the
jurisdiction of the state or federal authorities, boilers of less
than eight horsepower, or boilers used for heating purposes exclusively
which are provided with approved devices limiting the pressure to
10 pounds per square inch, and is not intended to in any way conflict
with federal or state laws.
[Amended 3-8-1999]
Any person violating any provisions of this
chapter shall be guilty of an offense within the meaning of the Penal
Law of the State of New York and shall be subject to a fine of not
less than $100 nor more than $500 and/or up to 15 days in jail, and
each day on which such violation occurs or continues shall constitute
a separate offense.
