As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes person, persons, firm or corporation.
[Adopted 4-18-1977 by Ord. No. 458 (Ch. 113, Art. II, of the 1981 Code)]
A.
A Bureau of Fire Prevention in the Fire Department of the Borough of Lindenwold is hereby established, which shall be operated under the supervision of the Fire Marshal/Fire Official as per N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.2.
[Amended 11-5-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-01]
B.
The Fire Marshal shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Borough Council. The Fire Marshal shall receive as salary the sum provided for in the Salary Ordinance.
[Amended 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 587]
C.
The Fire Marshal may detail such other members of the Fire Department as inspectors as shall from time to time be necessary.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal to enforce all laws and ordinances covering the following:
(1)
The prevention of fires.
(2)
The storage and use of explosives and flammables.
(3)
The installation and maintenance of fire alarm systems and fire extinguishing equipment.
(4)
The maintenance and regulation of fire escapes.
(5)
The elimination of hazards in buildings and structures, including those under construction.
(6)
The means and adequacy of exit in case of fire from factories, schools, lodging houses, churches and all other places in which numbers of persons work, live or congregate from time to time for any purpose.
(7)
The investigation of the cause, origin and circumstances of fires.
B.
He shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as are set forth in other sections of this article and other ordinances and as may be conferred and imposed from time to time by law.
The Fire Marshal and/or his appointed inspectors may, at all reasonable hours, enter any building or premises within his jurisdiction for the purpose of making an inspection or investigation which, under the provisions of this article, he or they may deem necessary.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal and/or his inspectors to inspect as often as necessary all buildings and premises, except the interior of private dwellings, for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause fire or any violations of the provisions or intent of any ordinance of the Borough affecting the fire hazard.
B.
Whenever any inspector, as defined above, shall find in any building or upon any premises combustible or explosive matter or dangerous accumulations of rubbish or unnecessary accumulations of wastepaper, boxes, shavings or any highly flammable materials and which are so situated as to endanger life or property or shall find obstructions to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors or windows liable to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or egress of occupants in case of fire, he shall order the same to be removed or remedied.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal and/or his inspectors to inspect all places of assembly at least once yearly so as to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations and orders dealing with overcrowding, use of decorations, maintenance of exitways and maintenance of fire appliances in such places. Where conditions are found to be unsatisfactory, written orders for immediate correction shall be given.
Whenever the Fire Marshal and/or his inspectors shall find any building or other structure which, for want of repairs, lack of sufficient fire escapes or fire extinguishing equipment or by reason of dilapidated condition, or for any cause, is especially liable to fire and which is so situated as to endanger other property, and whenever such officer shall find in any building combustible or explosive matter dangerous to the safety of such building, he shall order such dangerous conditions to be removed or remedied in such manner as may be specified by the Fire Marshal.
A.
The service of such orders as mentioned in §§ 160-5, 160-6 and 160-7 may be made upon the owner, occupant or other person responsible for the conditions either by delivering a copy of same personally or by affixing a copy thereof in a conspicuous place on the door to the entrance of said premises. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such an order upon the owner of a premises who is absent from the jurisdiction of the officer making the order, such order may be mailed to the owner's last known post office address.
B.
If buildings are owned by one person and occupied by another under lease or otherwise, the orders issued in connection with enforcing of this article shall apply to the occupant above, except where the rules or orders require the making of additions to or changes in the premises themselves, such as would immediately become real estate and be the property of the owner of the premises; in such cases the orders shall affect the owner.
C.
Any such order shall forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant of such premises or building. If such order is made by the Fire Marshal and/or his inspectors, such owner or occupant may within five days ask the Council of the Borough of Lindenwold for a review of the order.
The Fire Marshal shall investigate the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring in the Borough involving loss of life, injury to person or by which property has been destroyed or damaged, and so far as possible, shall determine whether the fire is the result of carelessness or design. Such investigations shall be begun immediately upon the occurrence of a fire by the Fire Marshal and/or his inspectors, and if it appears that such a fire is of suspicious origin, he shall take charge of the physical evidence and notify the proper authorities designated by law to pursue the investigation of such matters and shall further cooperate with the authorities in the collection of evidence and prosecution of the case.
Nothing in this article shall be construed as applying to the transportation of any article shipped in conformity with the regulations prescribed by the Interstate Commerce Commission, nor as applying to the military or naval forces of the United States.
The intent of this article, in addition to matters hereinbefore enumerated, is to safeguard and restrict the storage, handling and use of dangerous and hazardous materials to a reasonable degree with respect to injury to persons and destruction of property. Installation, construction and safeguards shall be provided in a standard modern and approved manner. Compliance with standards of the State Fire Code shall be prima facie evidence of such approved manner.
This article shall not be construed to affect the responsibility of any party owning, operating or installing any equipment for damage to persons or property caused by any defect therein, nor shall the Borough be held as assuming any such liability by reason of the inspection or reinspection authorized herein or by reason of the approval or disapproval of any equipment authorized herein.
[Amended 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 587]
A.
Any and all persons who shall violate any of the provisions of this article or fail to comply therewith, or who shall fail to comply with any order or regulation thereunder, shall severally, for each and every such violation and noncompliance, respectively, forfeit and pay a penalty as set forth in Chapter 1, § 1-1, of this Code. The imposition of one penalty for any violation of this article 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.[1]
B.
The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the removal of prohibited conditions.