[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Town Council)
of the Town of Phillipsburg as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Attorney for the Town of Phillipsburg.
The Town of Phillipsburg.
Hereafter the limits referred to in Section 19.06a of the Fire Prevention Code, in which bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted, are hereby established as follows: all zones established in Chapter 625, Zoning, except the Industrial Zones.
[Amended 4-18-1995 by Ord. No. O:95-13; 11-17-1997
by Ord. No. O:97-22]
A.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
