[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §4, 11-15-1960]
A. 
Every building hereafter erected or enlarged within the fire limits as set out in Section 500.010, shall, except as provided for in Section 500.080 be enclosed on all sides with walls constructed wholly of brick, stone, hollow title, hollow or solid concrete block, concrete, or other equivalent incombustible materials; and shall have the roof, also top, and sides of all roof structures, including dormer windows, covered with incombustible or fire retardant materials. All cornices shall be incombustible material.
B. 
Buildings with wooden frame-work clad with sheet metal or stucco or veneered with brick or its equivalent shall be classed as frame.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §5, 11-15-1960]
A. 
No frame, wooden or metal structure shall hereafter be built within the fire limits as given herein, or as they may be hereafter established, except the following:
1. 
Temporary one-story buildings for use of builders, only in connection with a building operation for which a permit has been issued under Section 500.020.
2. 
Fences not exceeding ten (10) feet in height.
3. 
Porches, balconies and canopies not exceeding ten (10) feet in width, nor extending more than three (3) feet above the second (2nd) story floor beams. No such structure shall be joined to any similar structure of another building.
4. 
Bay windows when covered with incombustible or fire retardant materials.
5. 
Small detached outbuildings not exceeding one hundred fifty (150) square feet in area and eight (8) feet in height, and not within five (5) feet of any lot line.
6. 
Dwellings not exceeding two (2) stories in height and separated by at least five (5) feet from lot line of adjoining property.
7. 
A building occupied exclusively as a private garage or stable, not more than one (1) story in height nor more than seven hundred fifty (750) square feet in area, located on the same lot with a dwelling; provided that such building be placed at least three (3) feet from the lot line.
8. 
One (1) story all metal buildings or other unprotected non-combustible construction, with no wood in wall or roof structure, having a horizontal separation of at least ten (10) feet on all sides, with area not exceeding two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet when used for a business occupancy, or not exceeding one thousand (1,000) square feet when used for other occupancy. "Business occupancy" means the use of a building or structure for transacting of business or rendering or receiving of professional services; including among others, banks, barber shops, beauty parlors, offices, radio and television stations, telephone exchanges.
9. 
Coal tipples, ice houses, material bins, trestles and water tanks when built of planing and timbers of the dimension usual for heavy timber construction.
10. 
Cooling towers not in excess of two hundred fifty (250) square feet in base area and fifteen (15) feet in height.
11. 
Greenhouses not more than fifteen (15) feet in height, erected on the same lot, with and accessory to dwelling or store.
12. 
Non-combustible display signs, or combustible display signs when not over fifteen (15) feet high and not attached to or forming part of any other structure.
13. 
No frame or metal building or other unprotected non-combustible construction not in conformity with this Section shall be moved from without to within the fire limits, or from one lot to another lot within the fire limits.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §6, 11-15-1960]
Any existing frame building within the fire limits not in conformity with this Chapter, which may hereafter be damaged by fire, decay or otherwise to an amount greater than one-half (½) of its value, exclusive of foundation, shall not be repaired or rebuilt, but shall be removed.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §7, 11-15-1960]
A. 
The floor area of buildings between fire walls shall not exceed the following:
Type of Construction
One Story
Exceeding One Story
Ordinary construction
9,000 sq. ft.
6,000 sq. ft.
Unprotected non-combustible construction
9,000 sq. ft.
6,000 sq. ft.
Wood frame construction
6,000 sq. ft.
4,000 sq. ft.
If fronting on more than one (1) street, above areas may be increased twenty-five percent (25%) for each additional street.
B. 
For the purpose of this Section, a "street" shall be deemed to include any avenue, boulevard, street, alley or lane, twenty (20) feet or greater in width, or any court, parking space or yard with direct connection to a street, and not less than twenty (20) feet wide. Such court, parking space or yard shall be the property of the owner of the building and shall not be enclosed or roofed over.
C. 
Non-fire-resistive buildings, fully equipped with approved automatic sprinklers, may be two hundred percent (200%) greater in area than the above.
D. 
Fire-resistive buildings (reinforced concrete frame, floors and roofs or the equivalent) shall not be limited as to area or height.
E. 
No building shall exceed three (3) stories or forty-five (45) feet in height unless of fire-resistive construction (reinforced concrete frame, floors and roof or the equivalent).
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §8, 11-15-1960]
Every room of any building exceeding one thousand (1,000) square feet in area or occupied by more than one hundred (100) persons shall have at least two (2) exits. Every story of any building shall have at least one (1) exit and every story that exceeds two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet in area shall have at least two (2) separate and independent exits. All doors in required exits shall swing in the direction of exit travel. The term exit and the required number of exits, their location, unobstructed width, illumination and indicating signs shall be in accordance with a nationally recognized standard and satisfactory to the Codes Enforcement Officer or his designee.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §9, 11-15-1960]
A. 
Those walls which are required by this Chapter to be of masonry construction shall be continuous from foundation to the roof. The thickness of such walls shall be sufficient to carry safely all imposed loads and shall comply with minimum dimensions as specified in this Section.
1. 
Brick-bearing walls, not common to more than one (1) building — Shall have a minimum thickness of twelve (12) inches for one-story buildings or for the upper two (2) stories of buildings more than one-story in height. This minimum thickness shall be increased four (4) inches for each two (2) stories or fraction thereof below the upper two (2) stories. (For example, minimum thickness required for a seven-story wall would be 24, 20, 20, 16, 16, 12 and 12 inches.) Brick-bearing walls, not common to more than one building may be eight (8) inches in thickness under the following conditions:
a. 
Walls of dwellings not over two (2) stories in height, and
b. 
Walls not over fifteen (15) feet in height, provided such walls are reinforced at intervals not exceeding twenty (20) feet by cross walls, piers or buttresses.
2. 
Brick non-bearing walls — Not wholly supported by girders at each story, and not common to more than one (1) building, shall conform to minimum thickness of Subsection (1) above except that walls four (4) inches less in thickness may be permitted where sixteen (16) inches or greater thickness is specified in Subsection (1). (For example, minimum thicknesses required for a seven-story wall would be 20, 16, 16, 12, 12 and 12 inches.)
3. 
Brick non-bearing walls, wholly supported by girders at each story — May be twelve (12) inches in thickness where common to more than one (1) building or eight (8) inches in thickness where not common to more than one (1) building.
4. 
Brick walls which are common to more than one (1) building — When not covered by Subsection (2) above shall conform to the minimum thickness of Subsection (1) except that no such wall shall be less than sixteen (16) inches in thickness.
5. 
Natural stone walls — Shall be four (4) inches thicker than specified above for brick walls. Hewn or squared stone walls shall conform to the thickness specified above for brick walls.
6. 
Hollow masonry walls — Shall conform to the thickness specified above for brick walls except that no hollow block or hollow tile walls shall be used where common to more than one (1) building unless faced on both sides with not less than four (4) inches of brick properly bonded. Where structure members project into hollow masonry units, the hollow space shall be filled with non-combustible material the full thickness of the wall and six (6) inches or more above, between and below such members.
7. 
Reinforced concrete walls — Monolithic construction shall be not less than two-thirds (2/3) the thickness specified above for brick walls except that no such wall shall be less than six (6) inches in thickness. Concrete walls not properly reinforced: Shall conform to the thickness specified above for brick walls.
8. 
Other non-combustible walls — Where acceptable to the Codes Enforcement Officer or his designee, other non-combustible materials of required structural stability may be used in walls, when conforming with the following minimum requirements:
Type of Wall
Horizontal Separation
Fire-resistance Rating Not Less Than:
Total Area of Window Openings Not Exceeding:
Fire wall, bearing or non-bearing
4 hours
None permitted
Bearing wall
Less than 3 ft.
At least 3 ft.
3 hours
2 hours
None permitted
None permitted
Non-bearing wall
Less than 3 ft.
At least 3 ft.
At least 3 ft.
3 hours
2 hours
1 hour
40% of total wall area
40% of total wall area
60% of total wall area
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §10, 11-15-1960]
A. 
Parapets eight (8) inches or more in thickness shall be extended a minimum of eighteen (18) inches above the roof level on those walls which are required by this Chapter to be of masonry construction, except as specifically exempted below. All parapeted walls shall be suitably coped. Parapets shall not be required on:
1. 
Walls terminating at roofs of fireproof or semi-fireproof construction.
2. 
A wall of a building the roof of which is at least three (3) feet lower than the roof of, or any opening in, an adjacent building wall.
3. 
Walls facing on a street having a width of thirty (30) feet or more.
4. 
Walls of a building which is thirty (30) feet or more distant in all directions from other buildings.
5. 
Walls of a detached dwelling or of a building not exceeding one thousand (1,000) square feet in area.
6. 
Walls of a building where the roof has an angle of more than twenty degrees (20°) with the horizontal.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §11, 11-15-1960]
A. 
For the purpose of preventing the spread of fire from building to building communicating openings in fire walls and certain openings in exterior walls required by this Chapter to be of masonry or equivalent construction shall be protected by approved fire doors, approved fire windows or other approved means satisfactory to the Codes Enforcement Officer or his designee.
B. 
Protection shall be required for conditions as follows:
1. 
When communicating openings are located in fire walls separating buildings. In such cases, communicating openings shall be protected on each side of the wall by fire doors approved for the protection of openings in fire walls.
2. 
When openings are located above the first (1st) story in an exterior wall facing on a street less than thirty (30) feet measured from building line to building line.
3. 
When openings in an exterior wall are less than thirty (30) feet distant in a direct unobstructed line from an opening in another building. Protection shall not be required where openings in exterior walls face in the same direction.
4. 
When openings in an exterior wall are above and are less than thirty (30) feet distant from any part of a neighboring roof of a building of other than fire-resistive construction (reinforced concrete frame, floors and roof or their equivalent).
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §12, 11-15-1960]
Firestopping in all classes of buildings shall be arranged to cut off all concealed draft openings, such as at floors, ceilings, roofs and attic spaces, and shall form effectual fire barriers horizontally and vertically. In buildings of non-fire-resistive construction, wood two (2) inches in thickness, nominal dimension, may be used; in other types of construction approved non-combustible material shall be used.
[Ord. No. 650 Ch 15 Art 2 §13, 11-15-1960]
All workmanship and building materials shall be of good quality and shall conform to specifications which the Codes Enforcement Officer or his designee prescribes. The more generally standard specifications for quality of materials are those of the American Society for Testing Materials. All parts of every building shall be designed to safely carry loads to be imposed thereon and shall in all other respects conform to good engineering practices.
[Ord. No. 16-13 §1, 7-5-2016]
A. 
Definition. A Class F-1 Building is a building being utilized for factory/industrial assembly, disassembly, fabrication, finishing, manufacture, packaging, repair or processing operations, the preceding activities being conducted in respect to categories of industry which include, but are not limited to, the following:
Aircraft manufacture, appliances, athletic equipment, automobiles and other motor vehicles, bakeries, beverages (over sixteen percent (16%) alcohol content), bicycles, boats, brooms or brushes, business machines, cameras and photo equipment, canvas or similar fabric, carpets and rugs (includes cleaning), clothing, construction and agricultural machinery, disinfectants, dry cleaning and dyeing, electric generation, engines (including rebuilding), food processing, furniture, hemp products, jute products, laundries, leather products, machinery, metals, millwork (sash and door), motion pictures and television filming (without spectators), musical instruments, optical goods, paper mills or products, photographic film, plastic products, printing or publishing, refuse incineration, shoes, soaps and detergents, textiles, tobacco, trailers, upholstering, wood (distillation) and woodworking (cabinet)
B. 
Requirements. Any new building being constructed or existing building being renovated for a use or uses falling within the definition contained in Subsection (A) shall have installed and maintained an automatic fire sprinkler system, if the portion or portions of said building in which use or uses listed in Subsection (A) is greater than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet in size. Area or areas of building not required to have an automatic fire sprinkler system shall have a fire rated wall of at least two (2) hours separating the area from the area or areas required to have an automatic fire sprinkler system installed.
C. 
A violation of this Section shall be a misdemeanor.
D. 
Provisions of this Section shall supersede any previous ordinance or Section to the contrary.