[Adopted 4-28-2009 by L.L. No. 12-2009]
A. 
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that ensuring the proper functioning of fire safety equipment in Suffolk County is essential to protecting public safety.
B. 
This Legislature also finds and determines that at a recent fire in a private cooperative community in Selden, firefighters experienced difficulty in performing their duties due to inadequate water flow coming from a fire hydrant.
C. 
This Legislature further finds and determines that fire hydrants and the water flow from hydrants in private residential communities within Suffolk County are not maintained by towns and villages, but are instead the responsibility of the private owner.
D. 
This Legislature finds that, pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3, private fire hydrants are to be tested for operation and flow each year.
E. 
This Legislature determines that, while the towns and villages are the entities primarily involved in the inspection and maintenance of fire hydrants, Suffolk County has a role to play in making certain that all the necessary parties have the information they need to fight fires as safely and efficiently as possible.
F. 
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to require private residential communities to annually file a certification with Suffolk County that they have performed the required annual test of their fire hydrants and have provided the results of those tests to their town or village fire marshal and local fire department.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DEPARTMENT
The Suffolk County Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services.
OWNER
The person(s) and/or corporation(s) that holds a possessory interest in a parcel of real property on which a private residential community is built, the person(s) or corporation(s) hired for the purpose of providing day-to-day management of a private residential community, or the person(s) responsible for ensuring that the annual fire hydrant testing is performed under New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3 for that specific property.
PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
A residential community containing apartments, condominiums, townhouses, cooperative housing, and one- or two-family homes that utilize a private community water system, as defined in Suffolk County Sanitary Code § 760-601, and which is required to annually inspect and test fire hydrants pursuant to § 508.5.3 of the New York State Fire Code.
A. 
The owner of a private residential community shall submit a copy of the report generated from its annual fire hydrant testing performed pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3 to the town or village fire marshal and local fire department within 30 days of receiving the original report. The aforementioned report shall include, but not be limited to, the water pressure level coming out of each hydrant as measured by pounds per square inch (psi) and a calculation of the number of gallons of water per minute from each hydrant based on a reading of 20 psi of flowing pressure.
B. 
The owner of a private residential community shall submit a complete sworn affidavit, the form of which shall be established by the Department, with the Department that said owner has performed the fire hydrant testing which must be conducted annually under New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3, and has filed a report containing the information described in Subsection A with its local town or village fire marshal and local fire department. This affidavit shall be filed with the Department within 15 days after the report described in Subsection A is filed with the town or village fire marshal or the local fire department.
A. 
Owners who fail to file a report or an affidavit as required in § 471-10 shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 for each day beyond December 31 that the affidavit remains unfiled with the Department. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.
B. 
Any owner who submits a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement to the Department shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000, six months' imprisonment, or both. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.
The Department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the implementation and enforcement of any provisions of this article. Such rules shall govern the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings relating to the assessment of civil penalties herein authorized and such other penalties authorized under this article. Such rules shall further provide for due process procedural mechanisms and any other mechanisms deemed necessary by the Department.
This article shall apply to all fire hydrant operability tests required pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3 for the calendar year 2009 and all such tests for each subsequent year.
This article shall take effect on the 90th day immediately subsequent to its filing in the Office of the Secretary of State.