Fire lanes (aka fire apparatus access roads) shall be designated
as follows for the efficient and effective use of fire apparatus,
for firefighting, police vehicles, and ambulances. Fire lanes shall
have a minimum width of 20 feet except for approved security gates
with an unobstructed vertical clearance of not less than 13 feet six
inches
A. Where needed. The Fire Official of the Local Enforcing Agency may
establish fire areas on property devoted to public and private use,
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, 503.1.1; including, but not by
way of limitation, shopping centers, strip malls, houses of worship,
swimming pools, offices, warehouses, factories, restaurants, nightclubs,
etc. and similar uses within the Township of Westampton as deemed
necessary to protect the public health and safety.
(1) When the markings details cannot be strictly complied with, the number,
location, width, length, and markings shall be at the discretion of
the Fire Official.
(2) Consideration is to be given to the size, type, and location of the
building or buildings, the number of persons using and occupying the
premises, existing means of egress and ingress, the total area of
the property, including the size of the parking lot or lots, and all
other relevant factors.
(3) Definitions. For the purposes of fire lane enforcement, the following
terms are defined as follows:
FIRE APPARATUS ACCESS ROAD
A road that provides fire apparatus access from a fire station
to a facility, building or portion thereof. This is a general term
inclusive of all other terms such as fire lane, public street, private
street, parking lot lane and access roadway.
FIRE LANE
A road or other passageway developed to allow the passage
of fire apparatus. A fire lane is not necessarily intended for vehicular
traffic other than fire apparatus.
NO ON-STREET PARKING
A vehicle may not be parked along the street unless loading
or unloading passengers or materials, with a limit of three minutes.
NO PARKING ANYTIME
A vehicle may not be parked within the designated area unless
loading or unloading passengers or materials, with a time limit of
two minutes.
NO STOPPING OR STANDING
No vehicle may be stopped within the designated zone, whether
or not attended or unattended, with or without the motor running or
brakes set.
B. Concurrent jurisdiction. The Township of Westampton Police Department
shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Westampton Township Emergency
Services Bureau of Fire Prevention to enforce the provisions of this
article.
C. Existing fire lanes. Any and all fire lanes created prior to this chapter are hereby continued in effect, and when repairs or modifications are made to such fire lanes, they shall be brought into the conformity with this chapter, as much as shall be practical in the Fire Official's judgment. The standard for exercise of said judgment shall conform to those contained in Subsection
A above.
D. Markings. The owner shall, within 30 days of being given a notice
to do so by the Fire Official, mark the lane(s) as follows:
(1) Signs, with minimum dimensions of 12 inches by 18 inches, constructed
of metal and with raised red letters a minimum of two inches in size
on a white background, shall be posted at a level of at least seven
feet above grade, indicating NO PARKING ANYTIME, PARKING IN DESIGNATED
STALLS ONLY, or NO STOPPING OR STANDING, at the Fire Official's
discretion after giving due consideration to the needs of the fire
service and the public. Immediately under these signs shall be another
sign, with a minimum dimension of 12 inches by six inches saying FIRE
LANE VEHICLE TOWED AT OWNER'S EXPENSE or FIRE LANE NO ON-STREET
PARKING VEHICLE TOWED AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. Spacing of signs shall
be even, with a minimum of one sign for every 50 feet of fire lane
or part thereof, or as ordered by the Fire Official. All signs and
marking must be unobstructed and visible for a distance of at least
100 feet when viewed from a position approximately five feet above
ground while in the fire lane.
(2) The area of a fire lane on improved areas shall be delineated along
its entire length with yellow lines 18 inches in width. Between the
yellow lines shall be marked NO PARKING FIRE LANE in yellow letters
18 inches in height. The number of times this wording is to be repeated
shall be at the discretion of the appropriate Fire Official, with
the recommended spacing to be at one-hundred-foot intervals and spaced
so as to be between and alternate with the metal signs required above.
If the designated fire lane abuts a curb, the curbing shall be yellow
in color where it abuts the fire lane.
(3) Fire lanes for vehicle access shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width
except for approved security gates with an unobstructed vertical clearance
of not less than 13 feet six inches.
E. Notification. Once a fire lane has been designated by the Fire Official,
approved as provided above and properly marked by the owner of the
premises, the appropriate Fire Official shall notify the Police Department,
Construction Code Department and Municipal Court Administrator, in
writing, of the existence and location of the designated fire lane(s).
F. Unpaved areas. Unpaved fire lanes installed on public or private
property shall comply with the "Fire Lane Typical Details" installation
methods and be approved by the Fire Official. Signs and markings shall
be provided as required by the Fire Official and this chapter.
G. Restricted areas. Gates, chains or other approved methods shall be
utilized to prevent unauthorized access to installation, provided
that such restrictions will not impede access by firefighting apparatus
or other emergency vehicles. The Fire Official shall determine whether
any changes or deviations from the appropriate methods may be utilized.
H. Installation and maintenance. Fire lanes shall be installed and maintained
by the owner of the premises or a designee in conformity with the
provisions of this chapter. Fire lanes in existence prior to the enactment
of this section shall be required to conform to the provisions herein
at the discretion of the Fire Official. Fire lanes must be accessible
for fire apparatus at all times.
I. Parking, standing and obstruction prohibited.
(1) Designated fire lanes shall be maintained free of snow and obstructions,
including vehicles, at all times.
(2) The appropriate Fire Official, designee, or a police officer of the
Township of Westampton shall have the authority to remove or have
removed such obstructions or vehicles as may violate any section of
this chapter, at the expense of the owner of the vehicle. The presumption
of ownership may be overcome by proof furnished to the satisfaction
of the Municipal Court or Superior Court, Law Division, that some
other person was the actual offender.
(3) It shall be a separate violation of this chapter for any driver or
operator of any motor vehicle to fail to present a driver's license
and/or vehicle registration upon demand of any person authorized to
enforce this chapter when requested as part of the enforcement procedure.
J. Notice of violation. The Fire Officials may complete a municipal
summons or a notice of violations, and said summons or notice of violations
shall be issued for all offenders by personally serving same upon
any offender, or if the offender is not attendant to the vehicle shall
mail the notice of violations by certified mail, return receipt requested
to the person's last known address.
K. Enforcement. This chapter shall supersede any and all provisions
of any other ordinance promulgated for the enforcement of parking
in fire lanes. Enforcement shall only be done by personnel from either
the Westampton Township Emergency Services Bureau of Fire Prevention
or the appropriate local enforcement agencies. Personnel enforcing
these provisions shall be either uniformed or carry appropriate identification.
L. Violations and penalties.
(1) It shall be the right of any person receiving such a summons to plead
guilty or not guilty to the charge of violating this chapter. Those
persons pleading not guilty to the charge of violating this chapter
shall be given the opportunity to present their defense before the
Municipal Court of Westampton Township or the Burlington County Construction
Board of Appeals.
(2) All persons pleading guilty in Municipal Court or convicted of violating
this chapter shall be fined a maximum of $50 per violation for passenger
vehicles and $100 per violation for commercial vehicles and equipment,
plus court costs. All fines and court costs shall be payable to the
Municipal Court. All fines assessed as a result of summonses issued
shall be paid thereafter to the Westampton Township Emergency Services
Bureau of Fire Prevention by the Court Clerk. All court costs shall
be paid thereafter to the Court.
All newly constructed buildings equipped with an automatic fire
suppression system or standpipe shall conform to the following requirements
for the Fire Department connection (F.D.C.) in addition to those specified
in the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code:
A. Thirty-degree elbow installed in the downward position.
B. Five-inch-diameter connection utilizing Storz-type connections.
C. A blue light shall be illuminated 24 hours per day over any Fire
Department connection. In such suppression systems that Siamese connections
supply zoned areas of suppression, the blue light shall flash intermittently
over the Fire Department connection of the activated zone. The rate
of flash shall not be less than 60 flashes per minute.
D. A weather-resistant sign shall be affixed to, adjacent to, or above
the fire department connection. Specifications for the sign are as
follows:
(1) Sign to be red in color with contrasting lettering.
(2) Minimum four-inch letters indicating F.D.C.
(3) Minimum two-inch letters indicating sprinkler, standpipe, or sprinkler/standpipe.
(4) Partial sprinkler system: two-inch letters indicating area protected.
E. Interior standpipe connections within structures, in some cases,
will require additional plain language on signs to identify location,
particular system and supply location.
HVAC systems installed in any building or structure subject
to the provisions of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code shall
be inspected to ensure that fire and smoke dampers remain functional.
The following are guidelines for periodic inspections.
A. Periodic inspection and testing standards recommended by the National
Fire Protection Association:
(1) Each damper shall be tested and inspected one year after installation.
The test and inspection frequency shall then be every four years.
(2) Care shall be exercised that all tests are completed in a safe manner
wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment.
(3) Full unobstructed access to the damper shall be verified and corrected
as required.
(4) Where a fusible link is installed on a combination fire/smoke damper,
the fusible link shall be removed for testing the damper for full
closure simulating a fire condition per the requirements and frequencies
of 19.5.4 of NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives.
(5) The test shall be conducted with normal HVAC airflow.
(6) The operation of the damper shall verify that there is no damper
interference due to rust or bent, misaligned, or damaged frame or
blades, or defective hinges or other moving parts.
(7) The damper frame shall not be penetrated by any foreign objects that
would affect proper fire damper operations.
(8) The damper shall be verified to not be blocked from closure in any
way.
(9) The fusible link shall be reinstalled after testing is complete.
If the link is damaged or painted, it shall be replaced with a link
of the same size, temperature rating, and load rating.
(10)
All inspections and testing shall be documented indicating the
location of the damper, date of inspection, name of inspector, and
deficiencies discovered. The documentation shall have a space to indicate
when and how the deficiencies were corrected.
(11)
All documentation shall be maintained by the property owner
and available for review by the authority having jurisdiction.
B. Maintenance.
(1) Any reports of abrupt changes in airflow or noise from the duct system
shall be investigated to verify that they are not related to damper
operation.
(2) All exposed moving parts of the damper shall be dry lubricated as
required by the manufacturer.
(3) If the damper is not operable, repairs shall begin as soon as possible.
(4) Following any repairs, the damper shall be initiated at a time interval
recommended by the actuator manufacturer.
(5) All maintenance shall be documented and records shall be retained in accordance with §
128-28A(10) and
(11).
C. Compliance with the provisions of this article shall be monitored
by the local enforcing agency and the Township's Fire Official.
D. All inspections shall be conducted by technicians and contractors
who have been certified by the International Certification Board (ICB)
and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to ensure the quality
of the inspection process.
E. All results of the inspections are to be given to the Township Fire
Official within 30 days of the completion of the inspection. The Fire
Official will keep inspection reports until the next inspection is
completed four years later. If the fire and smoke damper systems are
found to be faulty, repairs must be completed and approved by an ICB
and ANSI certified technician and contractor within 60 days from the
date the system was found to be faulty.
It shall be a violation of this section for any person, manager,
firm, corporation, owner, tenant, or person responsible for a given
structure or premises, to fail to immediately notify the Westampton
Township Emergency Services and immediately evacuate the entire structure
when, and if, the following conditions are present: a fire alarm is
activated, there is smoke in the structure, an explosion has occurred,
there is a fire in the structure, any fire protection system is activated,
any hazardous or flammable material is spilled or leaked, upon the
order of the Fire/EMS Chief, Fire Official, or Incident Commander.
All business and multiple-family buildings and complexes must
post a list of the emergency contacts and service companies for use
by emergency personnel in a conspicuous location as determined by
the Fire Official.
A sign shall be provided at each floor landing in all interior
exit stairways more than three stories above grade, designating the
floor level, the floor level above (at) the floor of discharge, the
identification of the stairway and the availability of roof access
from the stairway. Floor level characters shall be at least six inches
in height and characters of other information shall be a least 1 1/2
inches in height. Signage shall be located approximately five feet
above the floor landing in a position which is readily visible when
the doors are in the open and closed positions.
The rear exterior doors on multiple tenant commercial properties
shall be identified with a minimum of four-inch letters of contrasting
color stating the business name and the unit number. The signage shall
be provided and maintained up-to-date by the landlord at his/her expense.
Names shall be updated as soon as occupancy changes.
A "board-up" service is defined as one which provides on-call
means to secure properties within Westampton Township against unauthorized
access via boarding up openings and/or perimeter fencing in the event
of unsafe structural conditions or fire. Any licensed, permitted,
and insured company providing "board-up" services that desires to
provide said services, on a rotational basis, within the Township
of Westampton shall submit an annual application with the Clerk of
Westampton Township by November 30 of each year for inclusion on the
next year's list of "board-up" service providers.