[Adopted 11-14-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-3]
There is hereby adopted by the Board of Supervisors for the
purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous
to life and property from fire or explosion that certain code known
as the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, 1993 Edition," which is
a standard fire code, duly bound in book form, as the Fire Code of
the Township of Newtown, together with any and all supplements, revisions,
changes, deletions, modifications and amendments thereto, whether
now promulgated or promulgated thereafter in the future, except such
portions as are hereafter deleted, modified or amended.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The 1993 BOCA National Fire Prevention Code is amended and changed
as follows:
A. F-101.1, Title, shall read as follows:
F-101.1 Title: These regulations shall be known
as the Fire Prevention Code of the Township of Newtown, herein referred
to as "this code."
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B. F-105.1, entitled "Code official," shall read as follows:
F-105.1 Code official: It shall be the duty and
responsibility of the Fire Prevention Bureau to enforce the provisions
of this code. The designated enforcement officer of this code is herein
referred to as the "code official."
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C. F-105.2, Appointment, shall read as follows:
F-105.2 Appointment: The code official shall be
appointed by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Newtown and
shall not be removed from office except for cause and after full opportunity
to be heard on specific and relevant charges by and before the appointed
authority.
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D. F-105.3, Organization, is hereby deleted.
E. F-105.4, Deputy, is hereby deleted.
F. F-108.1, Inspections, is hereby deleted.
G. F-112.3, entitled "Penalty for violations," shall read as follows:
F-112.3 Penalty for violations: Any person, firm
or corporation violating any of the provisions of the code shall be
liable, upon conviction thereof, to a maximum fine or penalty of $1,000
for each and every offense. Each day that a violation continues after
a service of notice as provided for in the code shall be deemed a
separate offense thereof for each day.
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H. F-113.0, entitled "Means of Appeal," is hereby deleted and a new
section inserted to read as follows:
F-113.0 APPEALS
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F-113.1 Appeals: Appeals from any decision of the
Fire Marshal may be made to the Board of Supervisors. All hearings
before the Board of Supervisors shall be open to the public. The Board
of Supervisors shall modify, reverse or sustain the decision of the
code official by a consenting vote of three or more members.
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I. Section F-403.0, entitled "Open burning," is hereby deleted and a
new section is hereby inserted to read as follows:
F-403.0 Outdoor fires: The Fire Marshal, Assistant
Fire Marshals and/or any police officer of the Township may extinguish
outdoor fires. The Fire Marshal, Assistant Fire Marshals and/or any
police officer of the Township may extinguish or cause to be extinguished
any fire, whether public or private property, started or burning in
violation of the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code, with or without
the consent of the owner, occupant or other person in charge of the
subject premises and/or fire if, in the opinion of the Fire Marshal,
Assistant Fire Marshals and/or any police officer of the Township,
such fire constitutes a danger to persons or property or constitutes
a nuisance.
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J. Section F-311.4, entitled "Towing of motor vehicles," is hereby inserted
to read as follows:
F-311.4 Towing of motor vehicles: The Fire Marshal,
Assistant Fire Marshals and/or police officers of the Township shall
have the power to order the towing of vehicles parked in violation
of restrictions and regulations under Section 311.0. Within 12 hours
from the time of such towing, notice of the fact, together with the
place of the impoundment of the vehicle towed, shall be sent by the
Township Police Department to the owner of record of such vehicle.
Such notice shall include the place from which the vehicle was removed,
the reason for its removal and the place in which it is stored. Towing
and storage charges shall be paid by the owner of record of the vehicle
towed before its release.
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K. Section F-311.5, entitled "Enforcement of regulations concerning
the parking of motor vehicles or other forms of obstructions and establishing
penalties therefore," is hereby inserted to read as follows:
F-311.5 Enforcement of regulations concerning the parking of
motor vehicles or other forms of obstructions and establishing penalties
therefore: The Fire Marshal, the Assistant Fire Marshals and/or any
police officer of the Township are hereby authorized to enforce the
restrictions and regulations concerning the parking of motor vehicles
and other forms of obstructions as provided in Section F-311.0. Any
person who violates a restriction or regulation promulgated under
Section F-311.0 shall be guilty of a violation of the Fire Prevention
Code and fined not less than $15 per violation. All violation notices
issued in accordance herewith shall be served upon the accused personally,
or by affixing the same to the subject motor vehicle or form of obstruction,
or by certified mail. In all cases where the written notice has been
served upon the accused personally or by affixing the same to the
subject motor vehicle or form of obstruction, no prosecution shall
be instituted within 48 hours after the time of issuance thereof,
and during the period, the accused may voluntarily appear at the Township
Building and voluntarily enter a plea of guilty and pay a fine of
$15 per violation to the Township. The provisions of this section
are cumulative and shall not be construed to be in lieu of or limit
or restrict any other provision of the Fire Prevention Code relating
to violations, fines and penalties.
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L. Chapter
21, entitled "Waste Material and Junkyards," is hereby deleted.
M. Chapter 31, entitled "Fireworks," is hereby deleted. Chapter
84 of this Code shall remain in full force and effect.
N. Section F-503.3, entitled "Fire standpipes," shall read as follows:
F-503.3 Fire standpipes: All buildings having floors
used for human occupancy which are located more than two stories above
grade and have a travel distance in excess of 150 feet from the nearest
emergency exit shall be provided with standpipes installed in accordance
with the building code listed in Appendix A. The standpipes shall
have an approved fire department connection with hose connections
at each level.
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The Fire Marshal may recommend that a modification of any of
the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code be made upon application,
in writing, of the owner or lessee or his duly authorized agent when
there are practical difficulties in 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. However, no such
modification shall be made without the prior approval of the Board
of Supervisors. Such modification, when granted, shall be entered
upon the records of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, and a signed copy
shall be furnished the applicant and the Board.
In the event that any provision of this article or of the Fire
Prevention Code hereby adopted are conflicting or inconsistent with
any statutes or regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the
statutes or regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall
apply and be fully effective, and the conflicting or inconsistent
provision shall be superseded thereby.
[Adopted 5-14-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-2]
[Amended 11-11-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-7]
A. All new buildings, except those excluded herein, which are constructed
on or after the effective date of this section shall be provided with
sprinkler systems in accordance with the BOCA Code and the National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
B. The following types of construction are exempt from this provision:
(1) All unheated buildings and additions, except if the BOCA Code so
requires when not contrary to this article.
(2) Buildings not more than 500 square feet in gross floor area.
(3) Additions to single-family, residential buildings, where the building
does not have an existing sprinkler system.
(4) For other than single-family residential structures: additions or
a series of additions to an existing building where the additions
are heated and all additions are in aggregate less than 50% of the
preexisting gross floor area of the building as of June 6, 1986, when
such retrofitting would not be required under the BOCA Code.
C. When an addition to a single-family residential building is constructed
greater than 50% of the preexisting gross floor area of a building
that does not have an existing sprinkler system, a fire smoke detection
system shall be installed for the entire building. The detectors shall
be installed in approved locations and shall be wired in a manner
that the activation of one alarm will activate all of the alarms in
the system.
Sprinkler systems shall be installed in all areas in residential
occupancies in accordance with the 1989 Edition of the National Fire
Protection Association which most closely relates to the intended
occupancy, except they need not be installed as follows when approved
by the Township:
A. Bathrooms not exceeding 55 square feet (5.1 square meters) with noncombustible
plumbing fixtures.
B. Small clothes closets where the least dimension does not exceed three
feet (0.9 meter) and the area does not exceed 24 square feet (2.2
square meters) and the walls and ceiling are surfaced with noncombustible
or limited combustible materials as defined by NFPA 220, Standard
on Types of Building Construction.
C. Open attached porches, balconies, corridors and stairs, when such
structures are open to the weather.
D. Attics, crawl spaces, floor/ceiling spaces, elevator shafts and other
concealed spaces that are not used or intended to be used for living
purposes or for storage.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
do or begin any work on any sprinkler system unless an application
shall be made by the owner or by duly authorized representative to
the Township and a permit has been obtained. Permit fees shall be
established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
[Amended 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
Whoever violates any provision of this article shall be fined
not more than $1,000 and costs and, in default of payment thereof,
shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days. A separate offense shall
be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs
or continues.
[Added 2-27-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
A. Legislative intent. The purpose of this section is exercise Township
authority under Sections 1517 and 1601(e) of the Second Class Township
Code to enact and enforce ordinances governing the occupation,
maintenance and inspection of buildings and housing and to adopt nationally
recognized codes by reference, to address a request of detached single-family
residential homeowners in the Springton Pointe Estates development
whose detached single-family dwellings are served by existing automatic
fire-suppression ("sprinkler") systems that, due to design, manufacturing
or installation defects, have significantly malfunctioned, or are
reasonably likely to have significant malfunctions, and to address
other detached single-family dwellings with similar, documented design,
manufacturing or installation-related defects presenting substantial
risk and likelihood of malfunction, all of which may result in significant
water damage to the residences.
B. Findings.
(1) Detached single-family dwellings in the Springton Pointe Estates subdivision of the Township were constructed with sprinkler systems pursuant to Township Code §
88-7.
(2) These Springton Pointe Estates detached single-family dwellings have
design, manufacturing and/or installation defects which have caused
malfunctions or are reasonably likely to cause malfunctions, including
but not limited to the use of antifreeze mixes caustic to the system
and thin walled copper with oxidation, pitting and leaks, which pose
risks of substantial water damage to the dwellings and other substantial
problems such that major repairs or system replacements are required
instead of localized repairs.
(3) The estimated costs of repairing the defects are significant, such
that it would cause a financial hardship on the owners of these dwellings
to perform the repairs.
(4) There may be other detached single-family dwellings in the Township
that have similar issues with substantially malfunctioning, or at
risk of substantially malfunctioning, sprinkler systems that would
also be a financial hardship to repair or replace.
(5) Although the Township finds that sprinkler systems provide enhanced
safety for Township residences and firefighters, the Pennsylvania
Uniform Construction Code does not require detached single-family
dwellings to be constructed with sprinkler systems.
C. Applicability. This section shall apply to:
(1) All detached single-family dwellings in Springton Pointe Estates,
consisting of the following streets: Bakers Lane, Cherry Lane, Hempstead
Road, Heather Way, Laurel Lane, Maplewood Drive, Mill Court, Old Forest
Road,, Rose Glen Court and Stoney Brook Boulevard; and
(2) All other detached single family dwellings, regardless of geographic
location, as determined by the Building Code Official upon application
to the Township, to have a sprinkler system installed prior to January
1, 2007, that is malfunctioning, or which is reasonably likely to
malfunction, because of design, manufacturing or installation defects
where the cost of repairing the system will exceed $5,000, as certified
by a qualified sprinkler professional, certified in sprinkler installation,
inspection or design, or if other nonsprinkler work will also be required
in connection with the repair, such as drywall and painting, where
the combined cost of sprinkler system repair and supporting work will
exceed $5,000. The application to the Township shall be in the form
as approved by the Building Code Official.
D. Exemption.
(1) All detached single-family residential dwellings as identified in Subsection
C shall be exempted from the requirements of Township Code §
88-8, related to the operation, maintenance, testing and inspection of sprinkler systems, upon written approval by the Building Code Official, in response to written application to the Township by the property owner on a form approved by the Building Code Official, provided that:
(a)
The owner of the detached single-family dwelling maintains a
centrally monitored smoke detection and fire alarm system which is
registered annually with the Township pursuant to the Township Code.
(b)
The owner of the detached single-family dwelling promptly notifies
its homeowners insurance carrier that the sprinkler system is no longer
operational.
(c)
The owner of the detached single-family dwelling provides evidence
sufficient for the Building Code Official to determine that the detached
single dwelling will be in compliance with Section R302.13, "Fire
Protection of Floors," of the International Residential Code, as was
in effect at the time of the construction of the dwelling unit, for
structures being constructed without sprinkler systems, or in compliance
with any equivalent to same as may be permitted by the Township Code.
(d)
The owner of the detached single-family dwelling shall have
the sprinkler system physically disconnected from the water service
and capped so it is visibly obvious that the system is not functional,
provide photographic evidence of same to the Building Code Official,
and notify the public water service that the system is disconnected.
(2) The exemption application form approved by the Building Code Official
shall require the property owner to obtain the signature from a Newtown
Square Fire Department official acknowledging notice of the homeowner's
intent to discontinue the sprinkler service.
(3) The owner of the detached single-family dwelling must notify any
purchaser or prospective purchaser of the dwelling that the sprinkler
system is not operational, maintained, tested or inspected and must
acknowledge that the Township has the ability, but not the obligation,
to so notify a purchaser or prospective purchase of same.
(4) Provided the requirements of this section are met, the owner of the detached single-family dwelling shall be exempted from the inspection and compliance certificate requirements related to sprinkler systems as set forth in Township Code §
127-6.
(5) The property owner shall not be exempted from the requirements of §
88-7 in connection with any subsequent construction as would otherwise require sprinkler systems under the Township Code.
E. Violations. Failure to comply with the requirements for this section shall be a violation of this Code and subject the owner of the detached single-family residential dwelling to the fines and penalties as set forth in §
88-12.