[Ord. 114, 1/21/1991, § 302; as amended by Ord.
266, 9/17/2007]
1. Purpose. The fire control measures and regulations are set forth
for the purpose of controlling conditions which could impede or interfere
with fire suppression forces.
2. Authority at Fires and Other Emergencies.
A. The Fire Chief and officers under his command of the fire company
having jurisdiction, as may be in charge at the scene of a fire or
other emergency involving the protection of life and/or property,
is empowered to direct such operations as may be necessary to extinguish
or control any suspected or reported fires, gas leaks, or other hazardous
conditions or situations or of taking any other action necessary in
the reasonable performance of their duty.
B. The Fire Chief or the Fire Marshal may prohibit any person, vehicle,
or object from approaching the scene of an emergency and may remove
or cause to be removed from the scene any person, vehicle, or object
which may impede or interfere with the operations of the fire company.
C. The Fire Chief or the Fire Marshal may remove or cause to be removed
any person, vehicle, or object from hazardous areas. All persons ordered
to leave a hazardous area shall do so immediately and shall not reenter
the area until authorized to do so by the Fire Marshal.
D. The Fire Chief shall have the authority to contract for equipment
and/or services during an emergency situation on behalf of Wrightstown
Township when authorized Township officials are not available. Authorized
Township officials ranked from highest to lowest include: Chairman
of the Board of Supervisors, Vice Chairman of the Board of Supervisors,
Member of the Board of Supervisors, emergency management coordinator,
and Fire Marshal.
3. Interference with Fire Company Operations. It shall be unlawful to
interfere with, attempt to interfere with, conspire to interfere with,
obstruct or restrict the mobility of, or block the path of travel
of any fire company emergency vehicle, any vehicle designated as an
emergency vehicle hereinafter or any fire company operation.
4. Compliance with Orders. A person shall not willfully fail or refuse
to comply with any lawful order or direction of the Fire Chief or
his representative, or the Fire Marshal or to interfere with the compliance
attempts of another individual.
5. Vehicles Crossing Fire Hoses. A vehicle shall not be driven or propelled
over any unprotected fire hose of any fire company operating within
the Township which has been laid down on any street, alley way, private
drive, or any other vehicular roadway without the consent of the Fire
Chief or his representatives having command of said operation.
6. Authorized Emergency Vehicles. Authorized emergency vehicles shall
be restricted to the following:
A. All fire apparatus owned and operated by the fire company or other
fire companies operating within the Township.
B. The private vehicles of the chief, deputy chief, assistant chief,
and battalion chief of any fire company operating in Wrightstown Township
and the Fire Marshal of Wrightstown Township provided such vehicles
are equipped with an audible warning device and a visual red light
consistent with Commonwealth law.
C. With the approval of the Chief of Police having jurisdiction, the
private vehicle of the Fire Police Captain, provided such vehicle
is equipped with visual and audible warning devices consistent with
the local jurisdiction.
7. Operation of Vehicles on Approach of Authorized Emergency Vehicles.
Upon the approach of any authorized emergency vehicle, giving audible
and visual signal, the operator of every other vehicle shall immediately
drive the same to a position as near as possible and parallel to the
right-hand edge or curb of the street or roadway, clear of any intersection,
and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency
vehicle or vehicles shall have passed, unless otherwise directed by
the Fire Chief or his representative, the Fire Marshal or a police
officer.
8. Vehicles Following Fire Apparatus. It shall be unlawful for the operator
of any vehicle, other than one on official business, to follow closer
than 300 feet from any fire apparatus traveling in response to a fire
alarm, or to pass any fire apparatus responding to an emergency displaying
visual warning devices or to drive any vehicle within the block or
immediate area where fire apparatus has stopped in answer to a fire
alarm.
9. Unlawful Boarding or Tampering with Fire Company Emergency Equipment.
A person shall not without proper authorization from the Fire Chief
or his representative of the fire company in charge of said fire company
emergency equipment, to cling, to attach himself, to climb upon or
into, to board or swing upon any fire company emergency vehicle, whether
the same is in motion or at rest, or sound the siren, horn, bell,
or other sound-producing device thereon, or to manipulate or tamper
with, or attempt to manipulate or tamper with any levers, valves,
switches, starting devices, brakes, pumps, or any equipment or protective
clothing on, or a part of any fire company emergency vehicles.
10. Damage, Injury to Fire Company Equipment and Personnel. It shall
be unlawful for any person to damage or deface, or attempt or conspire
to damage or deface, any fire company emergency vehicle at any time
or to injure, or attempt or conspire to injure, fire company personnel
while performing departmental duties.
11. Emergency Vehicle Operation. The driver of any emergency vehicle, as defined in Subsection
6 of this section, shall not sound the siren thereon or have the front red on or disobey any existing traffic regulations, except when said vehicle is responding to an emergency call or when responding to, but not upon returning from, a fire. Tactical strategies such as, but not restricted to, "cover-ups" do not constitute an emergency call. The driver of an emergency vehicle may:
A. Park or stand irrespective of the provisions of existing traffic
regulations.
B. Proceed past a red or stop signal or other sign, but only after slowing
down as may be necessary for safe operation.
C. Exceed the posted speed limit so long as the action does not endanger
life or property.
D. Disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning
in specified directions.
E. The exemptions herein granted to an emergency vehicle shall apply
only when the driver of any such vehicle is responding to a fire or
other emergency sounds audible signal by bell, siren, or exhaust whistle
as may be reasonably necessary, and when the vehicle is equipped with
at least one lighted lamp displaying a red light visible under normal
atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the front of
such vehicle.
12. Blocking Fire Hydrants, Fire Department Connections, or Fire Lanes.
A. It shall be unlawful to obscure from view, damage, deface, obstruct
or restrict the access to any fire hydrant, or any fire department
connection for the pressurization of fire suppression systems, including
fire hydrants and fire connections that are located on public or private
streets and access lanes or on private property.
B. It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to park within any fire lane
so designated.
C. It shall be unlawful to deny access to any water source on private
property which may be used for fire suppression during a fire or other
emergency.
D. If, upon the expiration of the time mentioned in a notice of violation,
obstructions or encroachments are not removed, the Fire Marshal shall
proceed to remove the same. The cost incurred in the performance of
necessary work shall be paid from the Township treasury on certificate
of the Fire Marshal and with the approval of the Board of Supervisors;
and the legal authority of the Township shall institute appropriate
action for the recovery of such costs.
13. Hydrant Use Approval. A person shall not use or operate any fire
hydrant or fire department connection intended for use of the fire
company for fire suppression purposes unless such person first secures
a permit for such use from the Fire Marshal and the water company
having jurisdiction or in the case of rural water supplies, the Fire
Chief having jurisdiction.
14. Public Water Supply. The Fire Marshal shall recommend to the Board
of Supervisors the location or relocation of new or existing fire
hydrants, the placement or replacement of inadequate water mains located
upon public property and deemed necessary to provide an adequate fire
flow and distribution pattern, or the placement of rural water supplies
such as but not limited to such water supplies as ponds, tanks and
cisterns. A fire hydrant or other system intended to provide water
for fire suppression, shall not be put into service until approved
by the Fire Marshal.
15. Water Distribution Systems. All new and existing commercial facilities
including those containing a large volume of flammable liquid and
solid materials, lumber yards and educational or institutional complexes
and similar occupancies and uses involving high fire or life hazards,
and which are located more than 150 feet from a public street shall
provide a water distribution system. Any occupancy as defined herein
which require quantities of water beyond those available from public
or private sources shall be required to provide a water supply acceptable
to the Fire Chief, the Fire Marshal and the Board of Supervisors.
16. Maintenance of Fire Suppression Equipment. A person shall not obstruct,
remove, tamper with, or otherwise disturb any fire hydrant or fire
appliance required to be installed or maintained under the provisions
of the Fire Prevention Code except for the purpose of extinguishing
fire, training or testing purposes, recharging or making necessary
repairs, or when permitted by the Fire Marshal. Whenever a fire appliance
is removed as herein permitted, it shall be replaced or reinstalled
as soon as the purpose for which it was removed has been accomplished.
Defective and nonapproved fire appliances or equipment shall be replaced
or repaired as directed by the Fire Marshal.
17. Sale of Defective Fire Extinguishers. A person shall not sell, trade,
loan, or give away any form, type, or kind of fire extinguisher which
is not approved by the Fire Marshal, or which is not in proper working
order, or the contents of which do not meet the requirements of the
Fire Marshal. The requirements of this Part shall not apply to the
sale, trade, or exchange of obsolete or damaged equipment for junk
when said units are permanently disfigured or marked with a permanent
sign identifying the unit as junk.
18. Street Obstructions. A person or persons shall not erect, construct,
place, or maintain any bumps, fences, gates, chains, bars, pipes,
wood or metal horses, or any other type of obstruction in or on any
street, within the boundaries of the Township. The word street as
used in this Part, shall mean any roadway accessible to the public
for vehicular traffic, including, but not limited to private streets
or access lanes, as well as all public streets and highways within
the boundaries of the Township.
19. Access to Water Supplies. No person or persons shall deny access
to any water supply including creeks, ponds, retention basins, swimming
pools, holding tanks, or other water supplies which can be used for
fire suppression to the fire department having jurisdiction or to
others acting under its direction for any emergency.
20. Violations. Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate any
provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought
before a magisterial district judge in the manner provided for the
enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor
more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine
and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. Each day
that a violation of this Part continues or each section of this Part
which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate
offense.
[Ord. 291, 11/7/2011]
Pursuant to the authority granted to the Township in the Second
Class Township Code to protect the health, safety and welfare of the
residents of the Township, the Board of Supervisors of Wrightstown
Township finds it is in the interest of the Township to regulate the
erection, operation, maintenance, and placement of outdoor wood-fired
boilers within the Township and enacts this Part as follows.
[Ord. 291, 11/7/2011]
The Board of Supervisors of Wrightstown Township has determined
that air pollution from outdoor wood-fired boilers may be detrimental
to the health, comfort, living conditions, welfare, and safety of
the citizens of Wrightstown Township, and it is hereby declared to
be the policy of Wrightstown Township to safeguard the citizens of
the Township from such air pollution.
[Ord. 291, 11/7/2011]
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
APCA
The Air Pollution Control Act.
CLEAN WOOD
Natural wood that has no paint, stains, adhesives or other
types of coatings, and natural wood that has not been treated with,
including but not limited to, copper chromium arsenate, creosote,
or pentachlorophenol.
EPA PHASE 2 OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED BOILER
An outdoor wood-fired boiler that has been certified or qualified
by the EPA as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.32
pound per million British Thermal Units output and is identified with
the proper qualifying label and white hangtag.
OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED BOILER (OWB)
Also known as "outdoor hydronic heaters," "outdoor wood-fired
furnaces," "outdoor wood-burning appliances" or "water stoves," etc.,
and sometimes referred to herein as "appliance" or "appliances." A
fuel-burning device:
1.
Designed to burn clean wood or other approved solid fuels;
2.
That the manufacturer specifies for outdoor installation or
for installation in structures not normally intended for habitation
or domestic animals, including structures such as garages and sheds;
and
3.
Which heats building space and/or water through the distribution,
typically through pipes, of a fluid heated in the device, typically
water or a mixture of water and antifreeze.
SEASONED WOOD
Wood that has been split and dried for at least six months
and has less than 20% moisture by weight.
STACK
Any vertical structure enclosing a flue or flues that carry
off smoke or exhaust from an outdoor wood-fired boiler.
[Ord. 291, 11/7/2011]
Violation of any provision of this Part or any lawful order
relating to this Part by the Code Enforcement Officer, or his/her
designee, shall be subject to a fine of $100 for the first offense;
$200 for the second offense; and $500 for any subsequent offense occurring
during any twelve-month period. Each day that the violation continues
is a separate violation. In the event that Wrightstown Township incurs
any expense in the enforcement of this Part, including, but not limited
to, court costs and attorneys' fees, the Township shall be entitled
to collect such costs from the violator. Any penalties or costs assessed
shall be payable to Wrightstown Township.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer,
or his/her designee, may appeal to the Board of Supervisors within
30 days. The Board of Supervisors has the authority to interpret the
provisions of this Part which are called into question and to waive
the standards included in this Part when a literal enforcement of
the provisions of this Part would result in the applicant's ability
to reasonably utilize an outdoor wood-fired boiler.