Township of Lower Moreland, PA Fire Prevention

A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Township of Lower Moreland, being marked and designated as the "2015 International Fire Code," along with Appendixes B, C, and D to said Fire Code, all as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the code of the Township of Lower Moreland for regulating and governing the safeguarding of life and property from fire and explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials, and devices and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings and premises in the Township of Lower Moreland and for providing for the issuance of permits for hazardous uses or operations.

Each and all of the regulations, provisions, conditions and terms of such International Fire Code, 2015 edition, along with Appendixes B, C, and D, all published by the International Code Council, on file in the office of the Code Enforcement Officer of Lower Moreland Township, are hereby referred to, adopted and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this chapter, with the additions, insertions, deletions, and changes, if any, prescribed in § 105-4 of this chapter.

§ 105-2 Administration.

The Fire Code Official shall administer the code by promoting public safety through the implementation and enforcement of the Fire Prevention Code and shall provide educational activities in fire and life safety. The Fire Code Official shall also investigate unwanted fires and assist in the prosecution of arson cases and construction plan review for code compliance.

§ 105-3 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

FIRE CODE OFFICIAL

The Fire Marshal of Lower Moreland Township or other authority designated by the Board of Commissioners.

MUNICIPALITY

The Township of Lower Moreland.

§ 105-4 Revisions to adopted standards.

The following revisions to the 2015 International Fire Code are hereby established as follows:

Section 101.1, Title, shall be amended by the insertion of "Lower Moreland Township."

Section 105.3, Conditions of a permit, shall be amended by the addition of a new Subsection 105.3.9 to read as follows:

105.3.9 Fees. A permit shall not be issued until fees, established by a resolution adopted by the Lower Moreland Township Board of Commissioners from time to time, have been paid.

Section 106.2, Inspections, shall be amended by the addition of the following: "Nothing herein shall be intended to supersede or supplant the procedure for removal of fire hazards set forth in Act of 1927, P.L. 450, No. 291, § 3, as amended,[1] where such procedure shall be followed by the Pennsylvania State Police or its assistants."

[1]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 1183.

Section 108.1, Board of Appeals established, shall be amended to read as follows:

108.1 Membership of the Board and court review. The Board of Appeals shall consist of such persons as the Board of Commissioners of Lower Moreland Township shall designate to hear the appeal. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Appeals shall have the right to appeal such decision in compliance with the provisions of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 105 et seq.

Section 109, Violations, shall be amended by the revision of Section 109.3 and the addition of new section 109.5 to read as follows:

109.3 Violation penalties. Any person who shall violate any provision of this code or who shall fail to comply with any of the requirements hereof or who shall fail to correct in the time provided by this code the violations of which such person has been notified shall severally, for each and every such violation and noncompliance, respectively, be liable, upon summary conviction thereof, to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided that the imposition of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue. All such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations within a reasonable time, and each day that a prohibited condition exists shall constitute a separate offense.

109.5 Parking violations. Any person parking or stopping a motor vehicle within a no-parking area or fire lane shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof by a District Justice, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100 and costs of prosecution and, in default of payment thereof, shall undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days.

Section 111.4, Failure to comply, shall be amended by the insertion of "$100" after the words "not less than" and "$1,000" after the words "or more than."

Section 307.4.1, Bonfires, shall be amended to read as follows:

Section 307.4.1 Bonfires prohibited. Bonfires are prohibited within the boundaries of Lower Moreland Township.

Section 307.4.2, Recreational fires prohibited, shall be amended to read as follows:

Section 307.4.2 Recreational fires. Recreational fires shall mean the burning of firewood for outdoor recreation in an approved enclosure designed for ember and flame containment. The total fuel area shall not exceed three feet in diameter and two feet in height.

Section 307.4.2.1 Where permitted. Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure, including but not limited to homes, buildings, decks, porches, fences, sheds, roofs, garages, and low-hanging trees and plantings and other combustible material. Conditions which could also cause a fire to spread within 25 feet of a structure shall be eliminated prior to ignition. No recreational fires shall be set or maintained upon any of the streets, sidewalks, traffic ways, or any public grounds, or public rights-of-way owned by, or maintained by either the local or state governments in the Township.

Section 307.4.2.2 Approved containers. Approved containers for recreational fires shall only include chimneys, freestanding fireplaces, portable outdoor fireplaces, and contained fire pits, bowls and rings. Use of manufactured appliances shall be in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines.

Section 307.4.2.3 Approved fuel. Only aged, dry firewood shall be burned.

Section 307.4.2.4. Attendance. Recreational fires shall be constantly attended by a responsible adult at all times until the fire is fully extinguished and not permitted to smolder. Fire-extinguishing equipment such as a pressurized garden hose, rakes, shovels or other adequate means of extinguishment must be within 15 feet of the fire for emergency purposes.

307.4.2.5 Prohibited burning. No rubbish, landscape waste, leaves, brush, or treated, stained or painted wood may be burned. At the discretion of the fire official or police officer, any recreational fire which violates the provisions of the International Fire Code (IFC) shall be considered a public nuisance and shall be extinguished immediately.

Section 307.4.3, Portable outdoor fireplaces, shall be amended by the deletion of the exception for one and two-family dwellings.

Section 506.1.1 Locks shall be removed in its entirety.

Section 506.1.2 Key boxes for nonstandardized fire service elevator keys shall become Section 506.1.1.

Section 506.1.2 Exemption. Any structure or property having twenty-four-hour on-site security personnel who have full access to the entire structure or property may be exempt from the requirement of Section 506.1.

Section 506.1.3 Time for compliance. All existing structures or properties which are subject to the requirements of this section shall have six months from the effective date of this section to comply with the requirements.

Section 506.1.4 Rules and regulations. All key boxes installed pursuant to this section shall be of a type approved by the fire code official, and the owners of structures or properties subject to the requirements of this section shall be responsible for said installation, including costs of such installation. The fire code official may promulgate reasonable rules and regulations to implement this Subsection K relating to key boxes. Failure to comply with the established rules and regulations shall be considered a violation of this code.

Section 506.1.5 Contents of key boxes. Keys or magnet cards used to secure the following locations:

(1)

Points of ingress whether on the interior or exterior of the building, structure or facility.

(2)

Mechanical and equipment rooms.

(3)

Electrical rooms and panels.

(4)

Elevator rooms and controls.

(5)

Hazardous and other materials storage areas.

(6)

Other areas as directed by the fire code official.

Section 506.1.6 Custody of key box access keys. Access keys to key boxes shall be held by the fire code official and his designee.

Section 506.1.7 Access keys issued to the fire company shall be kept in a secure location on the apparatus.

Section 506.1.8 The fire code official and his designee shall retain custody of an access key for the purpose of emergencies or placing new or replacement items in the key box.

Section 506.1.9. Limitation of liability. The Township assumes no liability for any of the following:

(1)

Any defects in the operation of the key box and/or any problems with any of the keys contained within such key box.

(2)

Any failure or neglect of any owner of a structure or property subject to this section's requirements to provide such a key box or to provide adequate access to the key box.

(3)

Any breach in security of any structure or property subject to this section's requirements due to access to the key box by any person.

(4)

Any harm, damage, or injury to any person or property arising out of or due to the installation or use of a key box or the failure to install and/or use such a key box.

§ 105-5 Reimbursement for industrial accidents.

Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

BUSINESS

Any person, corporation, partnership, company, association or other entity engaged in the buying, selling, storing, transferring, transporting, manufacturing or processing of merchandise, chemicals, fuels, goods, moneys, sources and/or other items who do so for a fee, price, retainer, percentage or other means of compensation for the purpose, stated or otherwise, of realizing profit or other gains.

INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT

Any incident that occurs from the storage, transportation, use, manufacturing, processing, or discharging of any substance potentially dangerous to the public health and welfare at large that necessitates:

(1)

The intervention of the Lower Moreland Township Police Department, Fire Department or any of the emergency agencies or services which may assist Lower Moreland Township, including but not limited to fire companies or rescue squads operating in Lower Moreland Township or the Lower Moreland Township Emergency Management Organization or emergency response agencies employed by Lower Moreland Township.

(2)

The need for cleanup and/or abatement measures to be performed by Township employees and any related services resulting in expense to the Township.

PUBLIC THOROUGHFARE

State, county or Township bridges, state highways, a Township street and navigable waterway or any other roadway or watercourse owned by a governmental unit.

Cost of industrial accidents.

(1)

The business which owns or leases the premises on which an industrial accident occurs shall be responsible for and bear all costs that occur which result from an industrial accident, including administrative costs and attorneys' fees. In the event an industrial accident occurs during transportation on a public thoroughfare or in delivery to any entity other than a business as defined in Subsection A, the entity which owns or has custody or control of the vehicle or substance involved in the industrial accident shall bear all costs of such accident.

(2)

In the event that any person undertakes, either voluntarily or upon order of the Lower Moreland Township Emergency Management Organization, Code Official, or other Township officials to clean up or abate the effects of an industrial accident, the Lower Moreland Township Emergency Management Organization or other Township officials may take such action as is necessary to supervise or verify the adequacy of the cleanup or abatement. The business or entity described in Subsection A shall be liable to the Township for all costs incurred as a result of such supervision or verification.

(3)

For the purpose of this section, costs of an industrial accident shall include, but are not limited to, the following: expenses incurred by police, fire and/or emergency medical services; actual labor costs of Lower Moreland Township personnel, including benefits and administrative overhead; costs of consultants or others preparing reports concerning the industrial accident; cost of equipment operations; costs of materials obtained directly by the Township; cost of any contractual labor and materials for cleanup and/or abatement; engineering costs; attorneys' fees; and all costs imposed upon the Township of Lower Moreland connected with the industrial accident.

(4)

The costs of such industrial accident as set forth in Subsection B(1) shall be determined by the Township Manager or designee.

(5)

Such costs for all emergency services rendered shall be due and payable directly to the Township through the office of the Lower Moreland Township Finance Officer within 30 days from the date on which the Township issues an invoice for such charges.

§ 105-6 Repealer.

Ordinance No. 678, as codified in Chapter 105 of the Lower Moreland Township Code, and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

§ 105-7 Construal of provisions.

Nothing in this chapter or in the Fire Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in § 105-6 of this chapter; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this chapter.

§ 105-8 Severability.

The provisions of this chapter are severable, and, if any portion thereof is held to be invalid, the decision of the court shall not affect or impair any of the remaining portions of this chapter. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Commissioners of the Township of Lower Moreland that this chapter would have been adopted if the invalid portion had not been included herein.

§ 105-9 When effective.

The Township of Lower Moreland shall certify to the adoption of this chapter and cause the same to be published, as required by law, and this chapter shall take full force and effect upon final passage and approval.