[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Town Council) of the Town of Phillipsburg as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 58.
Alarm systems — See Ch. 160.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 235.
Fire hydrants — See Ch. 299.
Fire insurance claims — See Ch. 305.
Hazardous materials cleanup — See Ch. 342.
[Adopted 4-24-1957 by Ord. No. 788 (Ch. 25 of the 1969 Code)]
[Amended 2-6-1962 by Ord. No. 875; 7-12-1966 by Ord. No. 951]
There is hereby adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg, for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, that certain code known as the "Fire Prevention Code" recommended by the National Board of Fire Underwriters, being particularly the 1965 Edition thereof and the whole thereof, of which code not less than three copies have been and now are filed in the office of the Clerk of the Town of Phillipsburg, and the same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, and from the date on which this chapter shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the Town of Phillipsburg.
A. 
The Fire Prevention Code shall be enforced by the Bureau of Fire Prevention in the Fire Department of the Town of Phillipsburg, which is hereby established and which shall be operated under the supervision of the Chief of the Fire Department.
B. 
The Chief in charge of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be appointed by the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg on the basis of examination to determine his qualifications. His appointment shall continue during good behavior and satisfactory service, and he shall not be removed from office except for cause after public trial.
C. 
The Chief of the Fire Department may detail such members of the Fire Department as inspectors as shall from time to time be necessary. The Chief of the Fire Department shall recommend to the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg the employment of technical inspectors who, when such authorization is made, shall be selected through an examination to determine their fitness for the position. The examination shall be open to members and nonmembers of the Fire Department, and appointments made after examination shall be for an indefinite term with removal only for cause.
D. 
A report of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be made annually and transmitted to the chief executive officer of the municipality; it shall contain all proceedings under this code, with such statistics as the Chief of the Fire Department may wish to include therein. The Chief of the Fire Department shall also recommend any amendments to the code, which, in his judgment, shall be desirable.
A. 
Hereafter the limits referred to in Section 15.201 of the Fire Prevention Code, in which storage of flammable liquids in outside aboveground tanks is prohibited, are hereby established in Chapter 625, Zoning, except in the Industrial Zones.
B. 
Hereafter the limits referred to in Section 15.401 of the Fire Prevention Code, in which new bulk plants for flammable liquids are prohibited, are hereby established as follows: All zones established in Chapter 625, Zoning, except in the Industrial Zones.
[Amended 4-18-1995 by Ord. No. O:95-13; 11-17-1997 by Ord. No. O:97-22]
A. 
Open burning. Open burning shall be permitted upon approval of the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg and upon receipt of a fire permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Forest Fire Management, and pursuant to the terms of said fire permit as agreed to by the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg. This chapter shall only apply to such ceremonial fires as may occur in observance and in celebration of the traditional Phillipsburg/Easton Thanksgiving Football Game.
The Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall have power to modify any of the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code upon application, in writing, by the owner or lessee, or his duly authorized agent, when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the code, provided that the spirit of the code shall be observed, public safety secured and substantial justice done. The particulars of such modification when granted or allowed and the decision of the Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention thereon shall be entered upon the record of the department and a signed copy shall be furnished the applicant.
Whenever the Chief of the Fire Department shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the code do no apply or that the true intent and meaning of the code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the Chief of the Fire Department to the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg within 30 days from the date of the decision of the appeal.
The Building Officials, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall act as a committee to determine and specify, after giving affected persons an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes or occupancies which shall require permits, in addition to those now enumerated in said code. The Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his office and distribute copies thereof to interested persons.
A. 
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the code hereby adopted or fail to comply therewith, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who shall fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the Bureau of Fire Prevention or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed herein, shall severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance, respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue; and all such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time; and when not otherwise specified, each 10 days that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense.
B. 
The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
[Adopted 6-20-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-26]
Outdoor fires are permitted within the Town of Phillipsburg, but only within the following guidelines:
A. 
No outdoor fire may be set on residential property within 10 feet of any main or accessory structure on the property, including, but not limited to, any dwelling, garage or shed.
B. 
Outdoor fires utilized for cooking must be contained in a manufactured metal grill or other similar manufactured device intended for such use and must be utilized strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements.
C. 
Outdoor fires utilized for any other recreational purposes must either be contained in a manufactured device designed for such purpose and utilized strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements or, alternatively, in a proper noncombustible stone, cement, brick, tile or metal fire pit of no more than three feet in diameter, built and intended for such purpose. Following the passage of this article, no new fire pits may be constructed without the proper permits and inspections. For all existing fire pits within the Town, should the Fire Chief or his designee determine that a fire pit is unsafe, he may order that said fire pit not be used until he or his designee deems said fire pit safe. Challenges to such an order may be brought before the Town of Phillipsburg Municipal Court within the time permitted by law to appeal municipal actions.
D. 
A fully functioning fire extinguisher or garden hose that is properly connected to an unlimited water source must be available for fire extinguishment purposes whenever any fire is ongoing.
E. 
No garbage, rubber, plastics, yard waste, green wood, leaves, or soft wood, such as pine and cedar which cause excessive smoke, may be burned outdoors at any time, as any smoke or odor from any outdoor fire must be kept minimal.
F. 
Flames may not exceed two feet at any time and, should the prevailing winds cause the smoke from said fire to blow into a neighboring dwelling or property, said fire must be extinguished immediately. The Fire Chief or his designee is authorized to require that any residential outdoor fire be immediately extinguished if he determines that said fire constitutes a hazardous condition. In addition, all members of the Phillipsburg Fire Department and Phillipsburg Police Department are authorized to require that any residential outdoor fire be immediately extinguished if smoke emissions are found to be offensive to occupants of surrounding properties.
G. 
Residential outdoor fires must be attended at all times by a competent adult owner or legal resident of the property from the time said fire is commenced through the time said fire is completely extinguished.
H. 
The Fire Chief may prohibit all outdoor fires within the Town of Phillipsburg when weather conditions or other local circumstances make such fires hazardous.
Each and every person failing to comply with any of the provisions in this article, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-14, and the Municipal Judge before whom any such person may be brought may impose such punishment by fine or imprisonment in the county jail as he or she may see fit, not exceeding the maximum herein.