[Adopted 4-18-1995 by Ord. No. 101]
This article shall provide the City with rules and regulations
to improve public safety by promoting the control of fire hazards;
regulating the installation, use, and maintenance of equipment; regulating
the use of structures, premises, and open areas; providing for the
abatement of fire hazards; establishing the responsibilities and procedures
for code enforcement; and setting forth the standards for compliance
and achievement of these objectives.
[Amended 5-22-2007 by Ord. No. 166]
A.
This
article shall be known as the "City of New Buffalo Fire Prevention
Code." This article adopts NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, of the National
Fire Protection Association, and its incorporated standards and codes
as published in the National Fire Codes of the National Fire Protection
Association and listed in Annex A of the NFPA Fire Prevention Code
and being particularly the 2006 edition thereof, save and except those
portions such as are hereinafter deleted, modified, or amended from
time to time.
B.
The
same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at
length herein. Not less than one copy of the adopted issue of NFPA
1, Fire Prevention Code, of the National Fire Protection Association,
and the adopted standards and codes of the National Fire Codes shall
be filed in the office of the Fire Chief and the provisions thereof
shall be controlling within the limits of the City.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate this article,
to permit or maintain such a violation, to refuse to obey any provision
thereof, or to fail or refuse to comply with any such provision or
regulations except as variation may be allowed by the action of the
Fire Chief in writing. Proof of such unlawful act or failure shall
be deemed prima facie evidence that such act is that of the owner
or other person in control of the premises. Prosecution or lack thereof
of either the owner, occupant, or the person in charge shall not be
deemed to relieve any of the others.
The Fire Chief of the City of New Buffalo Fire Department shall
be responsible for the enforcement of the Fire Prevention Code. The
Fire Chief may detail qualified members of the Fire Department as
inspectors as shall from time to time be necessary.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief and his inspectors designated
by the Chief, to enforce all laws and ordinances of the City, covering
the following:
A.
The
prevention of fires.
B.
The
storage, sale, and use of combustible, flammable, or explosive materials.
C.
The
installation and maintenance of automatic and other fire alarm systems
and fire extinguishing equipment.
D.
The
maintenance and regulation of fire escapes.
E.
The
means and adequacy of exit in case of fire from factories, schools,
hotels, lodging houses, asylums, hospitals, churches, halls, theaters,
amphitheaters, and all other places in which numbers of persons work,
live, or congregate, from time to time, for any purpose.
F.
The
investigation of the cause, origin, and circumstances of fires.
G.
The
maintenance of fire cause and loss records.
They shall have such other powers and perform such other duties
as are set forth in other Sections of this article, and as may be
conferred and imposed from time to time by law. The Fire Chief may
delegate any powers or duties under this article to a qualified officer
of the Fire Department.
The Fire Chief shall prepare instructions for the enforcement
of this article by the Chief and his/her designated inspectors, and
forms for their use in the reports required by this article.
The Fire Chief or his/her designated inspector shall investigate
the cause, origin, and circumstances of every fire occurring in the
City 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 investigation shall begin immediately upon the occurrence
of a such a fire. The Fire Chief shall take charge immediately of
the physical evidence, shall 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 in
the prosecution of the case. Every fire shall be reported in writing
to the Fire Chief and the City Manager within 14 days after the occurrences
of same by the Fire Department officer responsible for the preparation
of the report. Such report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed
by the Fire Chief, and shall contain a statement of all facts relating
to the cause, origin, and circumstances of such fire, the extent of
the damage thereof, and the insurance upon such property, and such
other information as may be required, including the injury, death,
or rescue of persons.
Before permits may be issued as required by this article, the
Fire Chief or his/her designated inspector shall inspect and approve
the receptacles, processes, vehicles, buildings, and storage places
to be used for any such purposes.
The Fire Chief shall inspect or cause to be inspected all premises
on a periodic basis, and shall make such orders as may be necessary
for the enforcement of the laws and ordinances governing the same
and for safeguarding of life and property from fire.
A.
Whenever any inspector, as defined above, shall find in any building,
or upon any premises or other places, combustible or explosive matter
or dangerous accumulations of rubbish or unnecessary accumulation
of wastepaper, boxes, shavings, or any highly flammable materials
especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger
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, the
inspector shall order the same to be removed or remedied, and such
order shall forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant of
such premises or buildings, subject to the appeals procedure provided
for in the Fire Prevention Code. Any owner or occupant failing to
comply with such order within a reasonable period after the service
of the said order shall be liable to penalties as hereinafter provided.
B.
The service of any such order may be made upon the occupant of the
premises to whom it is directed, either by delivering a copy of same
to such occupant personally, or leaving it with any person in charge
of the premises, or, in the case no such person is found on the premises,
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 premises, such order may be served either
by delivering to and leaving with the person a copy of the order,
or, if such owner is absent from the jurisdiction of the officer making
the order, by mailing such copy by certified mail to the owner's last
known post office address.
The Fire Chief shall compile and keep a record of all fires
and of all the facts concerning the same, including injuries, deaths,
rescue of persons, statistics as to the extent of such fires and the
damage caused thereby, and whether such losses were covered by insurance,
and if so, in what amount. Such record shall be made daily from the
reports made by the inspectors of the Fire Department under the provisions
of this article. All such records shall be public.
The Fire Chief shall make an annual report of the activities
of the Fire Department and shall transmit this report to the City
Manager for forwarding to the City Council. The report shall contain
all proceedings under the Fire Prevention Code with such statistics
as the Fire Chief may wish to include therein, or such statistics
as may be required by the City Manager and/or the City Council.
The Fire Chief shall also recommend any amendments to the Fire
Prevention Code or this article, or other ordinances that shall be
desirable.
The provisions of the Fire Prevention Code shall apply equally
to both public and private property, and it shall apply to all structures
and their occupancies, except as otherwise specified.
This act shall be deemed in exercise of the police powers of
the City for the preservation and protection of the public health,
peace, safety, and welfare, and all the provisions of the Fire Prevention
Code shall be liberally construed for that purpose.
A.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article, the Fire Prevention Code hereby adopted; or shall fail to comply therewith; or shall fail to comply with any order made thereunder; or shall build in violation of any details, statements, specifications, or plans submitted or approved hereunder; or shall operate not in accordance with the provisions of any certificate, permit, or approval issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken; or who shall fail to comply with such order as affirmed or modified by the Fire Chief or by a court of competent jurisdiction within the time fixed herein shall severally for each and every violation and noncompliance, respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to the provisions of Section 1-7 of this Code.
B.
The imposition of any penalty for any violation shall not excuse
the violation nor shall the violation be permitted to continue. All
such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations
or defects within a reasonable time, and when not otherwise specified,
the application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent
the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
A Board of Appeals is hereby established to sit in judgment
on matters concerning the Fire Prevention Code and its enforcement.
The Board of Appeals shall be the City Council.
The following Appendixes of NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code of
the National Fire Protection Association are hereby included as part
of this jurisdiction's Fire Prevention Code save and except those
portions that are deleted, modified, or amended by this article. The
same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at
length herein.
Fees for permits, certificates, approvals, and other functions
performed under this article shall be established from time to time
by resolution of the City Council and shall be made payable to the
City. Such fees shall accompany each application for such permit,
approval, certificate, or other fee-related Code provision.
All formal ordinances or parts thereof conflicting or inconsistent
with the provisions of this article or the Fire Prevention Code hereby
adopted are hereby repealed.
