[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Newton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alarms — See Ch. 45.
Unfit buildings — See Ch. 70.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 85.
Flood damage prevention — See Ch. 120.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 213.
[Adopted 6-8-1970 as Ch. 13 of the Revised General Ordinances]
A. 
Adoption by reference. There is hereby adopted for the purpose of providing for fire protection and prevention and prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire those certain codes known as the "New Jersey Uniform Fire Code" and the "Fire Prevention Code," which are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, and the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the corporate limits of the Town. Pursuant to P.L. 1983, c. 383,[1] and N.J.S.A. 40:49-5.1 et seq., the aforesaid codes, which are printed in book form, are adopted by reference thereto, and a copy of the printed codes so plainly marked as to indicate deletions, modifications, changes and amendments thereto, as hereinafter shown, are annexed to this chapter and shall be a part thereof as fully as though set forth at length herein.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq.
B. 
Public record. Ten copies of the Uniform Fire Code have been placed on file in the office of the Town Clerk and shall remain on file there for the examination of the public according to law.
C. 
Amendments to the Fire Prevention Code. The aforesaid code is amended and changed in the following respects:
(1) 
Whenever the word "municipality" is used in the code, it shall mean the Town of Newton.
(2) 
Whenever the words "corporation counsel" are used in the code, they shall mean the Town Attorney.
(3) 
Whenever the term "chief of the bureau of fire prevention" is used in the Fire Prevention Code, it shall mean the Chief Inspector of the Fire Prevention Bureau.
D. 
Permit fees. Whenever a storage or use permit is required by N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.7, application shall be made by the applicant upon blank forms to be furnished by the Fire Prevention Bureau. Such forms may be obtained from the construction department secretary and shall be fully completed and signed by the applicant and filed with the construction department secretary together with a fee as provided for in § 100-18A. No storage or use permit shall be issued until the application has been approved by the Fire Prevention Bureau.
E. 
Duties. The local enforcement agency shall enforce the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the codes and regulations adopted under it in all buildings, structures and premises within the established boundaries of the Town of Newton, other than owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements of the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Uniform Fire Code.
F. 
Enforcement.
(1) 
The Fire Prevention Code and the Uniform Fire Safety Act shall be locally enforced by the Town of Newton Fire Prevention Bureau, hereby established, under the general supervision of the Fire Prevention Bureau chief.
(2) 
The chief executive officer of the Fire Prevention Bureau shall be a chief inspector appointed annually by the Town Manager.
(3) 
There shall also be appointed such number of inspectors of said Fire Prevention Bureau as may be recommended by the Town Manager.
(4) 
Inspectors and other employees of the enforcing agency shall be subject to removal by the Newton appointing authority for cause. Each inspector or employee to be so removed shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard by the appointing authority or a designated hearing officer.
(5) 
A report of the Fire Prevention Bureau shall be made annually and transmitted to the Town Manager. It shall contain all the proceedings under this code with such statistics as the chief of the Fire Prevention Bureau may wish to include.
(6) 
The Chief of the Fire Department may also recommend any amendments to the code which in his judgment shall be desirable.
(7) 
In the event the Town of Newton enters into an interlocal agreement for enforcement of the Fire Prevention Code and/or the Fire Safety Act, said enforcement services may be provided by another municipality, county or state agency as set forth in such interlocal agreement.
[Added 5-23-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-9]
G. 
Life hazard uses. The local enforcing agency, the Newton Bureau of Fire Prevention, shall carry out the periodic inspections of life hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
A. 
Whenever the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant the permit applied for, the applicant for the handling, storage or use of hazardous substances, materials or devices, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the Bureau of Fire Prevention in accordance with the appeal procedures within the Uniform Fire Code.
B. 
In addition, any person aggrieved by any order of the local enforcement agency (or agencies) shall have the right to appeal to the construction board of appeals of the County of Sussex, pursuant to sections 15b and 17c of the Uniform Fire Safety Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 27D:206b and N.J.S.A. 27D:208c, respectively.
The districts in which storage of explosives and blasting agents, storage of flammable liquids in outside aboveground tanks, and bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gases is to be restricted are as follows:
A. 
The limits referred to in Section 12.5b of the AIA code hereby adopted in which storage of explosives and blasting agents is prohibited, the limits referred to in Section 16.22a of the AIA code hereby adopted in which storage of Class I liquids in outside aboveground tanks is prohibited, and the limits referred to in Section 16.51 of the AIA code hereby adopted in which bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted, are hereby established as follows:
Beginning at a point at the intersection of Water Street, Mill Street and Spring Street in the Town of Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey, and proceeding thence (1) along the center line of Water Street in a northeasterly direction to a point at the intersection of the street with East Clinton Street; thence (2) along the center line of East Clinton Street in a southerly direction to the intersection of the street with the center line of Townsend Street; thence (3) along the center line of Townsend Street in a southwesterly direction to the intersection of Townsend Street and Trinity Street; thence (4) along the center line of Trinity Street in a southerly direction to the intersection of Trinity Street and Union Place; thence (5) along the center line of Union Place running in a southwesterly direction to Spring Street, crossing Spring Street and proceeding along the center line of Madison Street running in a southwesterly direction to the point where Madison Street intersects Elm Street; thence (6) along the center line of Elm Street running in a northwesterly direction to the Main Street intersection; thence (7) along the center line of Main Street running in a northeasterly direction to the intersection of Main Street and Church Street; thence (8) along the center line of Church Street running in a northwesterly direction to the intersection of Church Street and High Street; thence (9) along the center line of High Street running in a northeasterly direction to the point or place of beginning.
The above-described limits shall be extended to include an additional area of 200 feet in width around the outside perimeter of the area contained in the above description.
The limits designated above shall be further extended to include an area of 250 feet surrounding any church, school, hospital, nursing home, auditorium, playground, public park, theater or other place where the public congregates in large numbers.
The Mayor, 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 the 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. Such posting of changes will follow the adoption of an appropriate ordinances establishing new permit requirements by the Town Council.
A. 
Designation. The fire official may require and designate public or private fire lanes as deemed necessary for the efficient and effective use of fire apparatus.
B. 
Obstructions. Designated fire lanes shall be maintained free of obstructions and vehicles and marked in a manner prescribed by the fire official, which shall coincide with the most recent edition of the "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways."
A person shall not willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of any fire official or interfere with the compliance attempts of another individual.
It shall be unlawful to obscure from view, damage, deface, obscure or restrict the access to any fire hydrant or Fire Department connection for the pressurization of fire-suppression systems, including fire hydrants, Fire Department connections, and standpipes that are located on public or private streets and access lanes or on private property.
Except in compliance with the directions of a police officer or posted traffic sign or signal, no operator of a vehicle shall stop or stand or park a vehicle in any of the following places:
A. 
Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or standpipe.
B. 
In any area marked by yellow or white lines or signs indicating the location of a fire zone or fire lane. The fine for parking in a fire zone is $50.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article or who fails to comply herewith shall, for each and every violation and noncompliance, respectively, upon conviction, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).