[R.O. 1993 § 520.100; Ord. No.
2010-2862 § 1, 2-9-2010; Ord. No. 2021-3215, 2-9-2021]
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief, Building Official and
Building Inspector to always examine carefully during the year every
house, store or building and places for the keeping and depositing
of ashes, and to ascertain and report to the City Attorney all violations
of this Chapter. When the Fire Chief, Building Official or Building
Inspector deems any building, chimney, stove, stove pipe, hearth,
oven, boiler, ash house or apparatus used or suffered to be used in
any building or manufactory unsafe, or discovers any cause or condition
from which immediate danger of fire may be apprehended, he/she may
either remove or abate the same, in case of the neglect or refusal
of the owner, agent, occupant, lessee or person in charge thereof,
after having been directed to do so, or he/she may serve written notice
upon the owner, agent, occupant, lessee or person in charge thereof.
The notice shall direct such measures as will render the same more
safe against fire, and the owner, agent, occupant, lessee or person
in charge thereof shall comply with such order of the official within
the time fixed by him/her; provided, that such owner, agent, occupant,
lessee or person in charge of the building shall be entitled to appeal
from such order to a board consisting of the Mayor, and three (3)
City Council members, whose decision shall constitute the final order
to be complied with.
[R.O. 1993 § 520.110; Ord. No.
2010-2862 § 1, 2-9-2010; Ord. No. 2021-3215, 2-9-2021]
It shall be the duty of any employee of the City who may become
cognizant of the existence of any condition likely to cause fire to
report the same to the Building Official.
[R.O. 1993 § 520.120; Ord. No.
2010-2862 § 1, 2-9-2010; Ord. No. 2021-3215, 2-9-2021]
Any person who shall fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any order that may be given by the Fire Chief, Building Official or Building Inspector under Section
520.100 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition, in case of fire resulting directly or indirectly from any omission or neglect to properly comply with the written order as provided in Section
520.100, the person culpable or negligent in respect thereto shall be liable in a civil action for the payment of all costs and expenses of the Fire Department incurred in and about the use of employees, apparatus and materials in the extinguishment of any fire resulting from such cause. The amount of such costs and expenses shall be fixed by the Mayor and, when collected, shall be paid into the general fund of the City.
[Ord. No. 2023-3281, 3-28-2023]
A. Access
To Structures. In accordance with Section 506.1 of the Fire Prevention
Code, where access to or within a structure of an area is restricted
because of secured openings or where immediate access is necessary
for lifesaving or fire-fighting purposes, the Fire Code Official is
authorized to require a key box to be installed in an approved location.
The key box shall be of an approved type listed in accordance with
UL 1037 and shall contain keys to gain necessary access as required
by the Fire Code Official. The only exception to the key box listing
requirement applies to existing key boxes which are not required to
be listed in accordance with UL 1037 unless replaced. An installation
permit is not required.
B. Structures
Requiring Key Boxes. That the following types of structures shall,
from and after the effective date of this Section, have installed
and at all times maintained, a key lock box at or within four (4)
feet of the main entrance of the structure at a height of six (6)
feet from the walking surface at that location or at such other location
as may be designated by the Chief of the Aurora Fire Department:
1. Commercial or industrial structures which have automatic fire alarm
or fire suppression systems, or which are secured in a manner which
may restrict entry during an emergency when access by the Fire Department
is required.
2. Multi-family residential structures which have restricted access
through locked doors with a common access corridor to living units
within the structure.
3. Governmental structures, health care facility, nursing care or rehabilitation
living facilities, institutional living facilities which are not staffed
on a twenty-four (24) hour per day basis and afford accessibility
to all areas of such structures on a continuous basis, provided, that
in the case of a health care facility which is secured by an electronic
code box that is in good working order, if the owner of the heath
care facility provides the Fire Department with a valid access code,
then that facility will not be required to install an access or key
box.
4. Schools, churches, and other structures in which assemblies occur.
5. All structures built or constructed following the date that this
Section takes effect, and which are required to have a key lock box
installed and maintained on the structure shall have same installed
prior to the occupancy of the structure.
6. All existing or other structures which are required to have a key
lock box installed and maintained on the structure shall have same
installed within one (1) year of the effective date of this Section.
7. Any building renovation of a commercial building or public access
building exceeding an amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).
8. A change of ownership of the building regardless of new construction
or renovation.
C. Gates
And Barricades. Gates and barricades that are installed across a fire
apparatus access road that is normally intended for vehicular traffic
should be installed with a Fire Department access system which has
an emergency override Fire Department master key switch. This will
improve Fire Department response time. This may require that an approved
Fire Department key box be installed at gates or similar barriers
that impede Fire Department apparatus access.
D. Key
Box Installation. That the type of key lock box system to be used
within the City of Aurora will be of an approved type listed in accordance
with the most recently published version of Underwriters Laboratories
standard 1037 and shall contain keys to gain access as required by
the Fire Chief of the Aurora Fire Department or his or her designee.
The following of provisions of the installation shall apply:
1. Within thirty (30) days of a change in the occupancy or ownership
of a building, or within thirty (30) days of the entrance locks being
changed on a building equipped with a key lock box, the Fire Department
will be notified, and a current key will be put in the key lock box
to replace the old key.
2. It will be the responsibility of the building owner to purchase and
install the key lock box prior to the occupancy of the newly constructed
building or occupancy of the renovated building.
3. Inclusion of the installation of the key lock box must be noted on
the building plans submitted to the Fire Department to be approved.
4. Application for the purchase of the key lock box and recommendations
as to the style of the key lock box to be purchased can be obtained
from the Fire Department.
5. The installation of a second key lock box at a secondary entrance
to the building may be recommended by the Fire Department in the case
of large or complex buildings where the use of more than one (1) entrance
during an emergency may be required.
6. Owners of commercial buildings and public access in place at the
time of the Section's publishing will not be required to install a
key lock box until one (1) of the above conditions dictate the change
but are encouraged to do so.
7. That from and after the installation of the access or key box on
a structure, the owner or occupant of the structure shall store a
key to the structure which will allow access to the structure by the
Fire Department in response to a fire alarm or other emergency at
the structure.
E. Voluntarily
Provided Key Boxes. In accordance with Section 506.2.1 of the Fire
Prevention Code, where a non-required Fire Department key box is voluntarily
provided, Fire Department key boxes shall contain one (1) key to access
the premises served, and other keys as determined by the owner or
occupant. All keys shall be clearly labeled as to function.
F. Exception.
That the Fire Chief of the Aurora Fire Department may except a structure
from the requirements of this Section if the building or structure
has on-site twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week,
three hundred sixty-five (365) days per year continuous security personnel
present.
G. Penalty.
That any person who fails to comply with the provision of this Section
shall be guilty of a petty offense and may be fined not more than
five hundred ($500.00) with each day that such offense continues to
constitute a separate offense.
[Ord. No. 2023-3282, 4-11-2023]
A. The
City of Aurora shall initiate mitigation rates for the delivery of
emergency and non-emergency services by the Fire Department for personnel,
supplies, and equipment to the scene of emergency and non-emergency
incidents as listed in Exhibit "A," held on file in the City offices.
The mitigation rates shall be based on actual costs of the services,
and which are usual, customary, and reasonable (UCR) as shown in Exhibit
"A," held on file in the City offices, which may include any services,
personnel, supplies, and equipment and with baselines established
by addendum to this document.
B. A claim
may be filed through the responsible party(s) insurance carrier. In
some circumstances, the responsible party(s) will be billed directly.
Those that will be charged are as follows:
1. Hazardous materials (spiller pays).
3. Fires involving a crime (criminal damage to property, arson, etc.).
4. Accidents involving non-Aurora taxpayers.
5. Accidents involving a crime (drugs, under the influence or commission
of a crime).
C. The
Aurora City Council may make rules or regulations and from time to
time may amend, revoke, or add rules and regulations, consistent with
this Section, as they may deem necessary or expedient in respect to
billing for these mitigation rates or the collection thereof.
D. It
is found and determined that all formal actions of the Aurora City
Council concerning and relating to the adoption of this Section were
adopted in open meetings of the Aurora City Council, and that all
deliberations of the Aurora City Council and any of its committees
that resulted in such formal actions were in accordance with all legal
requirements, and the Codified Ordinances of the Aurora City Council.
E. If
any Section, Subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Section
is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of the Section and each Section,
Subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of
the fact that any one (1) or more Sections, Subdivisions, sentences,
clauses, or phrases be declared invalid.
F. This
Section shall take effect thirty days (30) from the date of adoption
as permitted by law.
G. The
Mitigation Rates listed in Exhibit "A," held on file in the City offices,
will increase by five point nine percent (5.9%) annually or based
on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI),
as developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor, whichever is more. Rate adjustments will occur on the anniversary
date of this Section to keep the Fire Department's cost recovery program
in conformity with increasing operating expenses.
[Ord. No. 2023-3283, 3-28-2023]
A. Fire
Department connection shall be installed in accordance with NFPA Standard
applicable to the system design and shall comply with Section 912.2
through 912.7 of the International Fire Code, Edition 2018.
1. Addition. A change to Section 912 Fire Department Connections of
the International Fire Code, Edition 2018.
2. Requirements:
a. The location of the Fire Department connections (FDC) shall provide
hose connections that shall not block access to the building or obstruct
other fire apparatus from accessing the building.
b. A fire hydrant shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of
the FDC. The placement of the FDC must be approved by the Fire Chief.
c. FDC shall have a five (5) inch Storz connection on a 30-degree downturn.
d. Shall include an approved Storz cap.
e. FDC and other fire protection systems, it shall be the owner to maintain
and keep in operation.
3. This includes all new commercial structures where FDC is required
for fire protection, for any renovations to commercial structures
involving FDC, and for any change of occupancy classification that
has an existing FDC connection, if applicable.