[Ord. No. 7-1999, § I, 1/26/1999]
This article, together with the "BOCA National Fire Prevention
Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," as published by the Building Officials
Code Administrators International, Inc., adopted herein, shall be
known and may be cited as the "Fire Prevention Code of South Hanover
Township."
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § II, 1/26/1999]
1.
BOCA National Fire Prevention Code. There is hereby adopted in its
entirety, by South Hanover Township, copies of which are on file in
the code enforcement department that certain fire code known as the
"BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," as published
by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc.,
through the effective date of adoption of this article, save and except
portions as are hereinafter deleted, amended or added.
2.
Application. The provision set forth in this article and in the "BOCA
National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," adopted herein,
shall take effect 35 days from the date of enactment of this article
or any amendment thereto and shall apply throughout the entire Township.
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § III, 1/26/1999]
1.
All the provisions of South Hanover Township's Code Enforcement Ordinance [Article 1] are hereby adopted with this article. The administration and enforcement of this article and the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," herein adopted shall be carried out by the Township's Fire Marshal and his/her assistant(s) with the assistance of the Township's code enforcement department in accordance with the procedures established by the Code Enforcement Ordinance [Article I] and by the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," adopted herein.
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § IV, 1/26/1999]
2.
Amendments. The following sections and subsections of the "BOCA National
Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," herein adopted, are hereby
amended to read as follows:
A.
Chapter 1.
(1)
Section F-101.1. Title. These regulations shall be known as
the "Fire Prevention Code of South Hanover Township" hereinafter referred
to as the fire prevention code or "this code."
(2)
Section F-105.1. Enforcement Officer. The Board of Supervisors
shall appoint the Township Fire Marshall. It shall be the duty and
responsibility of the Fire Marshall under the direction of the Fire
Chief to enforce the provisions of this code herein provided. The
designated enforcement officer of this code is herein referred to
as the Code Official.
(3)
Section F-107.2.2. Time Limitation of Application. An application
for a permit for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned
two months after the date of filing, unless such application has been
diligently prosecuted or a permit shall have been issued; except that
the Code Enforcement Officer shall grant one or more extensions of
time for additional periods not exceeding 30 days each, if there is
reasonable cause. An application shall not be extended if this article,
the technical codes, or any other pertinent laws or ordinances have
been amended subsequent to the date of original application.
B.
Chapter 4.
(1)
Section F-403.3. Allowing Burning. Open burning shall be allowed
without prior notification to the code official for highway safety
flares, smudge pots and similar occupational needs.
(2)
Section F-403.4.1. Application. Applications for open burning
shall be submitted in writing at least 24 hours before the fire is
set and shall be in such form and contain such information as required
by the Code Official. Such applications shall contain, as a minimum,
information regarding the purpose of the proposed burning, the nature
and quantities of material to be burned, the date when such burning
will take place, the location of the burning site and the on-site
fire extinguishing equipment to be provided.
(3)
Section F-403.4.3. General Regulations on all Outdoor Burning.
(a)
Burning is permitted only during hours of daylight from sunrise
to sunset.
(b)
Burning is not permitted on Sundays.
(e)
Responsible person shall be present during burning at all times
and equipped to confine and control the fire.
(f)
Burning garbage, rubber, wire, roofing shingles and felt, tires
and other similar material that causes noxious or toxic emissions
or smoke is prohibited.
(g)
No person shall ignite, burn or set fire to any material on
the public right-of-way of any street or alley.
(h)
No burning shall be permitted during weather which, in the sole
judgment of the fire official, is dangerously dry or windy.
(i)
The fire shall be extinguished completely before the last person
leaves the burning site, and no person has the intention of returning
thereto.
(4)
The Code Official shall prohibit opening burning that will be
offensive or objectionable due to smoke or odor emissions when atmospheric
conditions or local circumstances make fires hazardous. The Code Official
shall order the extinguishment, by the permit holder or the Fire Department,
of any open burning that creates or adds to a hazardous or objectionable
situation.
3.
Additions. The following new sections and subsections are hereby
added to the BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996,
herein adopted.
A.
Chapter 4.
(1)
Section F-402.4. Cooking Device or Appliance. No portable open
flame type cooking device or appliance shall be operated on, inside
or within 15 feet of any building or structure of the following Use
Group Classifications. Such devices shall include charcoal or gas
type grills, broilers, hibachis and the like:
(a)
Use Group A. Assembly Use.
(b)
Use Group B. Business.
(c)
Use Group E. Educational.
(d)
Use Group I. Institutional.
(e)
Use Group M. Mercantile.
(f)
Use Group R-1. Residential, Hotels, Motels, Boarding Houses,
etc.
(g)
Use Group R-2. Residential, Multiple-family dwellings.
|
Exception. Approved commercial cooking equipment installed in
accordance with NFPA 96.
|
B.
Chapter 5.
(1)
Section F-504.6. De-activation. It shall be unlawful for any
owner or occupant to silence, cancel, reset, disable or tamper with
the fire alarm control unit (panel). The Fire Chief or officer in
charge of the fire scene shall notify the owner or owner's representative
when the system shall be placed back in service upon a fire alarm
activation.
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § V, 1/26/1999]
1.
Adoption of fire control measures and regulations. There is hereby
adopted by South Hanover Township the fire control measures and regulations
as set forth herein for the purposes of controlling conditions which
could impede or interfere with fire suppression forces.
2.
Authority at fires and other emergencies. The Fire Chief, assistant
chief, officer in charge, or duly authorized representatives, as may
be in charge at the scene of a fire or other emergency involving the
protection of life and 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 to
take any other action necessary in the reasonable performance of their
duty. The Fire Chief, assistant chief or officer in charge may prohibit
any person, vehicle or object from approaching the scene and may remove
or cause to be removed from the scene any person, vehicle, or object
that may impede or interfere with the operations of the Fire Department.
The Fire Chief, assistant chief or officer in charge 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 re-enter the area until authorized to do so by the Fire
Chief, assistant chief or officer in charge.
3.
Interference with Fire Department 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 Department emergency vehicle in any way, or to interfere
with, attempt to interfere with, conspire to interfere with, obstruct
or hamper any Fire Department 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, assistant
chief or officer in charge or to interfere with the compliance attempts
of another individual.
5.
Vehicles crossing fire hose. A vehicle shall not be driven or propelled
over any unprotected fire hose of the Fire Department when laid down
on any street, alleyway, private drive or any other vehicular roadway
without the consent of the Fire Chief, assistant chief or officer
in charge in command of said operation.
6.
Definition of authorized emergency vehicle. Authorized emergency
vehicles shall be restricted to those that are defined and authorized
under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania.
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 have passed, unless otherwise directed by the
Fire Chief, assistant chief or officer in charge 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 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 Department emergency equipment.
A person shall not, without proper authorization from the Fire Chief,
assistant chief or officer in charge of said Fire Department emergency
equipment, cling to, attach oneself to, climb upon or into, board
or swing upon any Fire Department emergency vehicle, whether the same
is in motion or at rest; or sound the siren, horn, bell or other sound
producing device thereon; or 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 Department emergency vehicle.
10.
Damage, injury, Fire Department, equipment, personnel. It shall be
unlawful for any person to damage or deface, or attempt or conspire
to damage or deface, any Fire Department emergency vehicle at any
time or to injure, or attempt to conspire to injure, Fire Department
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 lights on or disobey any existing traffic regulation, 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, "move-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 prima facie 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 in motion sounds an 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 and Fire Department connections. 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 Department connections located on public or private streets
and access lanes or on private property.
13.
Hydrant use approval. A person shall not use or operate any fire
hydrant intended for use of the Fire Department for fire suppression
purposes, unless such person first secures approval for such use from
the fire prevention code official and the water company having jurisdiction.
This section shall not apply to the use of such hydrants by a person
employed by, and authorized to make such use by, the water company
having jurisdiction.
14.
Public water supply. The Fire Chief shall recommend to the Fire Marshal
the location or relocation of new or existing fire hydrants and the
placement or replacement of inadequate water mains located upon public
property and deemed necessary to provide an adequate fire flow and
distribution pattern. A fire hydrant shall not be placed into or removed
from service until approved by the Fire Marshal.
15.
Yard systems. All new and existing shipyards, oil storage plants,
lumber yards, amusement or exhibition parks and educational or institutional
complexes and similar occupancies and uses involving high fire or
life hazards shall be provided with properly placed fire hydrants.
Such fire hydrants shall be capable of supplying fire flows are required
by the Fire Marshal and shall be connected to a water system in accordance
with accepted engineering practices. The Fire Marshal shall designate
and approve the number and location of fire hydrants. The Fire Marshal
may require the installation of sufficient fire hose and equipment
housed in accordance with the approved rules and may require the establishment
of a trained fire brigade when the hazard involved requires such measures.
Private hydrants shall not be placed into or removed from service
until approved by the Fire Marshal.
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 purposes of extinguishing
a fire, training or testing, 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 re-installed
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 that
is not approved by the Fire Marshal, or that is not in proper working
order, or the contents of which do not meet the requirements of the
Fire Marshal. The requirements of this section 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 South Hanover Township. The word "street,"
as used in this article, 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 South Hanover Township.
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § VI, 1/26/1999]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provisions
of the article and/or the Township fire prevention code shall, upon
conviction in a summary proceeding before any district justice, be
sentenced for each such violation to pay a fine of not less than $50
plus costs and not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default thereof,
to undergo imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed
30 days. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has
been served in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof, shall
be deemed a separate offense.
[Ord. No. 7-1999, § VII, 1/26/1999]
1.
Conflicting provisions. Where conflicts occur between the technical
codes, those provisions providing the greater safety to life shall
govern. In other conflicts where sanitation, life safety or fire safety
are not involved, the most restrictive provisions shall govern. Where
in any specific case different sections within any of the technical
codes specify different materials, methods of construction or other
requirements, the most restrictive shall govern. Where there is a
conflict between a general requirement and a specific requirement,
the specific requirement shall be applicable.
2.
Partial validity. In the event any part or provision of this article
or the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996,"
herein adopted is held to be illegal or void, this shall not have
the effect of making void or illegal any of the other parts or provisions
thereof, which are determined to be legal; and it shall be presumed
that this article and the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth
Edition, 1996" would have been passed without such illegal or invalid
parts or provisions.
3.
Segregation of invalid provisions. Any invalid part of this article
or the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996,"
herein adopted, shall be segregated from the remainder of this article
and the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996"
by the court holding such part invalid and the remainder shall remain
effective.
4.
Saving clause. Nothing in this article or the "BOCA National Fire
Prevention Code, Tenth Edition, 1996," herein adopted, shall be construed
to affect any suit or proceeding now pending in any court or any rights
acquired or liability incurred or any cause or causes of action accrued
or existing under any act or ordinance repealed hereby. No right or
remedy of any character shall be lost, impaired or affected by this
article.
