[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Westtown 12-2-1996 by Ord. No. 96-12. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A certain document, being marked and designated as the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," as published by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., be and is hereby adopted as the "Fire Prevention Code" of the Township of Westtown in the County of Chester, State of Pennsylvania, for the control of buildings and structures as herein provided, and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said BOCA National Fire Prevention Code are hereby referred to, adopted and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this chapter, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 87-2 of this chapter.
The following sections are hereby revised as follows:
A. 
Section F.101.1 (page 3) title shall have inserted therein "Westtown Township" as the name of jurisdiction.
B. 
Section F.107.2.3, Permit and Fee Requirements, to be determined by the Code Official.
C. 
Section F.112.3, Penalty for Violations:
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this code shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this code that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
Section F.3003.2 to be determined by the Code Official.
[Added 3-18-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-03]
A. 
Authority, findings and purpose.
(1) 
Authority. Under Section 1803(b) of the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 66803(b), the Township has the authority to make rules and regulations for the government of fire companies and their officers located within the Township.
(2) 
Findings. The Township recognizes that the duties of volunteer fire companies require specialized emergency rescue tools and equipment, emergency rescue materials, hazardous material abatement equipment and hazardous abatement materials during emergency responses. The Township recognizes that such tools and equipment place a financial burden on volunteer fire companies and the replacement of such materials and specialized training add to the additional financial burden for volunteer fire companies.
(3) 
Purpose. To grant each fire company operating in Westtown Township ("Fire Departments") the authority to seek reimbursement for the reasonable costs of responding to such incidents in their service area, either directly or in coordination with the Office of Emergency Management, as provided below.
B. 
Recovery of costs.
(1) 
The Township authorizes the Fire Departments serving Westtown Township to recover the reasonable costs of emergency rescue tools, equipment and materials; hazardous material abatement tools, equipment and materials; and personnel hours involving any hazardous material, environmental, fire safety and/or rescue incident or operation, including vehicular accidents which occur in their service area, as adopted by resolution of the Board.
(2) 
The reasonable costs outlined above may be recovered directly by the Fire Departments or through a third-party billing service as an authorized agent for the collection of such costs.
(3) 
The Fire Departments or third-party billing service shall only have the authority to recover the aforementioned costs in the Fire Department's service area from the applicable insurance company/carrier up to the limit of the applicable insurance company/carrier's policy limits.
(4) 
The reimbursement rates for the aforementioned tools, equipment and materials shall be set by the Fire Departments from time to time and shall be only applied to the recovery of costs arising out of incidents that occurred subsequent to the setting of the rates. These rates shall be approved by the Township and be kept on file in the Township building.
(5) 
In addition to the aforementioned reasonable costs, the Fire Departments or third-party billing service shall be authorized to collect reasonable interest, as well as a reasonable administrative fee for collecting the same, and any and all additional fees as may be authorized by the Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response Act[1] or authorized by any other statute or law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6022.101 et seq.
(6) 
Fire Departments who respond to a fire in another Fire Department's service area are not authorized to bill for their costs. Only the Fire Department in whose service area the fire occurs may bill for their costs.
C. 
Responsibility of the township.
(1) 
The Township shall not be responsible for any aspect of the recovery of costs under this section. The Township shall not take any steps to assist the Fire Departments or any third-party billing service in recovery of costs under this section.
(2) 
The Township shall not be responsible to reimburse the Fire Departments for any services rendered to the Township or Township personnel or vehicles while on duty.
D. 
Revocation of grant of authority. Any attempt by a Fire Department or third-party billing service to recover costs from any individual/entity other than the appropriate insurance company/carrier shall result in the immediate revocation of the authority to recover such costs granted under this section.