[2000 Code § 14-1.1]
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act (P.L.
1983, c. 383) the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code shall be enforced locally
within the established limits of the City of Asbury Park.
[2000 Code § 14-1.2]
The local enforcing agency shall be the Asbury Park Bureau of
Fire Prevention, within the Asbury Park Fire Department.
[2000 Code § 14-1.3]
The local enforcement agency shall enforce the Uniform Fire
Safety Act and the codes and regulations adopted under it in all buildings,
structures and premises within the established boundaries of the City
of Asbury Park, other than owner-occupied one (1) and two (2) family
dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements of the
Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Uniform Fire Code.
[2000 Code § 14-1.4]
The local agency established by subsection 14-1.2 of this section shall carry out the periodic inspections of life hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
[2000 Code § 14-1.5]
The local enforcing agency established in subsection 14-1.2 shall be a part of the Asbury Park Fire Department and shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Fire Official who will be under the direct supervision and control of the Fire Chief.
[2000 Code § 14-1.6]
a.
Appointments.
1.
The Fire Official within the City of Asbury Park will have Civil
Service Status and will be appointed by the City Manager and will
serve at the pleasure of the City Manager, based on recommendations
from the Chief of the Fire Department. The Fire Official will be under
the direct supervision of the Fire Chief.
2.
Inspectors and staff shall be appointed by the City Manager and shall
be under the supervision of the Fire Official.
b.
Duties.
1.
Fire Official. The duties of the Fire Official shall include supervision
of the Bureau of Fire Prevention including inspectors and staff, making
inspections required by this section, reporting to the Chief of the
Fire Department on a regular basis or as required by the Chief of
the Fire Department, keeping and maintaining such records and making
such written reports as may be required by law or the Chief of the
Fire Department, and such other duties as may be required by the Chief
of the Fire Department.
2.
Inspectors. The duties of the Inspectors shall include making inspections
and reports and to perform such other duties as may be assigned by
the Fire Official.
3.
Staff. The duties of Staff shall include performing such clerical,
administrative, and office duties and such other duties as may be
assigned by the Fire Official.
[See Ord. No. 2968]
In addition to the inspection and fees required pursuant to
the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the regulations of the Department
of Community Affairs, the following additional inspections and fees
shall be required.
a.
All structures, businesses and activities required to secure a mercantile
license under Chapter IV, General Licensing, and all amendments and
supplements thereto and all structures or part thereof occupied by
any professional activity or use licensed or for which a permit is
issued by any department, branch, division or agency of the State
of New Jersey shall be inspected pursuant to this section prior to
issuance of mercantile license or in the case of a non-mercantile
licensed structure, business or activity as aforesaid, there shall
be an annual inspection. The owners and occupants of all structures
shall within two (2) weeks of a written request supply such information
as may be required by the Fire Official or his designee for the enforcement
of this section.
b.
The following fees are hereby established:
1.
For Multiple Family (including non-owner occupied one- and two-unit
dwellings), the following annual inspection fees shall be assessed:
2.
For Mercantile/Non-Life Hazard Uses, the Annual Inspection Fee Schedule
shall be established based on the square footage of the structure
as set forth in Schedule A, which may be found on file in the City
officers.
3.
The following fees shall apply for reinspection of Multiple Family
dwellings:
4.
The following administrative fees and costs shall apply:
(a)
Copy of Fire Report:
(1)
For letter sized pages and smaller: $0.05 per page.
(2)
For legal sized pages $0.07 per page.
(3)
Where actual costs to produce paper copies exceed the $0.05
and $0.07 rate, the City may charge the actual cost of duplication.
(4)
For electronic records (i.e. records sent via e-mail and fax):
No fee.
(5)
For records in another medium (i.e. computer disc, CD-ROM, DVD):
the actual cost.
(b)
Application fee for a variance: $100.00
(c)
Application fee for appeals (Fees are paid directly to the Monmouth
County Construction Board of Appeals): No Fee
(d)
Certificate of Fire Code Status: $25.00
(e)
Duplicate Certificate of Inspection: $10.00
5.
The following fees for Special Events shall apply:
(a)
When determined by the Fire Official to be necessary for the
purpose of public safety to have a fire inspector or fire inspectors
present during special events, the owner, operator, organizer, sponsor,
person or organization responsible for said events shall pay the costs
of said inspector or inspectors for the duration of the event. The
rates shall be in accordance with the City ordinances governing special
events.
c.
Permits. The permit fees established by the Uniform Fire Code shall
be amended to be as follows:
|
Type 1
|
$42.00
|
|
Type 2
|
$166.00
|
|
Type 3
|
$331.00
|
|
Type 4
|
$497.00
|
d.
Convention Hall and Paramount Theater as follows:
1.
Permits and fees shall be required pursuant to the New Jersey Uniform
Fire Code whenever the auditorium, stage, promenade or arcade of Convention
Hall or the Paramount Theater is occupied for the purpose of assembly,
entertainment, displaying of motor vehicles, motorized equipment,
boats, trailers, sporting equipment, ceramics or any saleable merchandise.
2.
Application for a permit shall be made to the Fire Official, accompanied
by plans or drawings for evaluation of the application. All plans
and drawings shall be submitted no less than fourteen (14) days prior
to any event.
3.
The Fire Official or his/her designated representative may deny any
permit or disapprove any plans or drawings when in his/her opinion
the safety of the occupancy or the integrity of the premises has been
compromised or such plans are in violation of any applicable Codes
or regulations. Any deviation from an approved plan, without the approval
of the Fire Official, or any false statement or misrepresentation
as to material fact in the application or plans on which the permit
or approval was based shall result in revocation of permit and may
result in notice of violation.
4.
Permit fees may be waived by the Fire Official when such application
is made by any Board of Education for graduation exercises, nonpolitical
civic groups or any civic activity when there is no charge to participants
or admission fees to the general public. Permit fees may also be waived
for recognized charitable organizations when both State and Federal
Tax Exempt numbers are submitted.
[2000 Code § 14-1.7; Ord. No. 2968; Ord. No. 2999; New]
[2000 Code § 14-1.8]
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act,
any person aggrieved by any order of the local enforcement agency
shall have the right to appeal to the Construction Board of Appeals
of Monmouth County.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.1]
As used in this section:
shall mean a business, licensed by the State, which sells,
installs, monitors, maintains, serves, or responds to alarms systems
or supervises such actions.
shall mean any device designed, when actuated, to produce
or emit a sound or transmits a signal or message for the purpose of
alerting others to the existence of an emergency situation requiring
immediate investigation by alarms, fire or other agent. Alarm system
does not include an alarm installed on a vehicle, unless the vehicle
is permanently located at a site.
shall mean any person who owns, operates or manages any premises
in the City on which an alarm system has been installed and operates.
shall mean the activation of an alarm system through mechanical
failure, accident, malfunction, misuse, improper activation or negligence.
False alarms shall not include alarms caused by acts of God or other
cause which are beyond control of the alarm agent, alarm business
or alarm user.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.2]
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.3]
Each time an alarm business installs or alters a residential
or commercial fire alarm system within the City, the alarm business
shall submit to the City Construction Department two (2) sets of system
plans and specifications for review and approval prior to system installation.
The plans and specifications shall include, but not be limited to,
the following:
a.
A floor plan indicating the location of all alarm-initiating and
alarm-signaling devices;
b.
Alarm control and trouble-signaling equipment;
c.
Annunciation devices;
d.
Power connections and calculations, including battery and voltage
drop calculations;
e.
Conductor types and sizes;
f.
Manufacturer model numbers and listing shall be submitted for all
devices and materials; and
g.
All work shall comply with the New Jersey Construction Code and Standards.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.4]
a.
Each alarm owner or user, at his or her expense, is required to maintain
all components of his or her alarm system in good working order at
all times to insure that the sensory mechanism used in connection
with such device be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire
or smoke conditions so that the device will not be activated by impulses
due to short flashes of light, wind, noises, vehicular noise or other
forces unrelated to genuine alarms.
b.
Whenever or wherever any device, equipment, system, condition, arrangement,
level of protection or any other feature is required for compliance
with the provisions of this section or the International Fire Code,
the New Jersey edition, such device, equipment, system, condition,
arrangement, level of protection or other feature shall thereafter
by continuously maintained in accordance with applicable National
Fire Protection Association requirements or as directed by the Fire
Official.
c.
The building owner shall be responsible for ensuring that the fire
and life safety system are maintained in an operable condition at
all times. Service personnel shall meet the requirements of N.J.A.C.
5:74. A written record shall be maintained and shall be made available
to the Fire Official.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.5]
Blocking access to, or interfering, disabling, tampering with,
decreasing the effectiveness of, or causing malicious damage to, any
fire alarm, suppression system, fire communications system, fire detection,
first-aid, firefighting system, device, unit or part thereof is hereby
prohibited.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.6]
a.
The provisions set forth in this section may be enforced by the Fire
Official (as pertains to the New Jersey Fire Safety Act or the International
Fire Code, New Jersey Edition), the Construction Official (as pertains
to the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code), or their designee(s).
b.
Fire alarm activations shall be investigated by the Fire Official
or the officer in charge on duty to determine whether or not a false
activation has occurred.
[Ord. No. 2999 § 14-2.6]
a.
Failure to maintain all components of an alarm system in good working
order at all times, including but not limited to instances where the
failure to properly maintain equipment results in a false alarm, shall
subject the violator to a monetary penalty per occurrence per day,
as set forth in the New Jersey Fire Safety Act, which may be assessed
by the Fire Official or his/her designee.
b.
An activation of a fire alarm system, which results in the response
of the City of Asbury Park Fire Department, when no fire or emergency
exists, shall be deemed a violation of a City ordinance, and shall
be punishable with the following specific penalties, which may be
assessed by the Fire Official or his/her designee:
1.
Each accidental activation of a fire alarm system by an alarm service
employee or representative, upon the second or subsequent occurrence,
without first notification to the Fire Official and/or Fire Department
shall be punishable by a penalty of not less than one hundred ($100.00)
dollars.
2.
Each activation or malfunction of an alarm system or device due to
a lack of action on the part of building personnel or management,
shall, after the first malfunction of the same device, be subject
to penalty of not less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars for the
first and second offenses, and not less than two hundred fifty ($250.00)
dollars for each offense thereafter.
3.
Failure to maintain a fire alarm system in a building where it is
required, shall result in the issuance of a penalty of not less than
five hundred ($500.00) dollars per day, for each twenty-four (24)
hour period said system is not operational. When any fire alarm system
or device becomes or is found inoperative, a fire alarm system company
must be working to restore said system or device to operational status
within eight (8) hours of discovery, after which said penalty shall
be assessed.
4.
Penalties for false alarms transmitted from single-family or two-family
owner occupied dwellings, including detached dwellings, individual
townhouses and condominium unit dwellings, shall be as follows:
|
Number of Alarms Within a Calendar Year
|
Penalty
|
|---|---|
|
1st
|
Warning only
|
|
2nd
|
Not less than $100.00
|
|
3rd
|
Not less than $200.00
|
|
4th
|
Not less than $300.00
|
|
5 or more
|
Not less than $500.00
|
[2000 Code § 14-3.1]
Various approvals issued by the Planning Board and/or Board
of Adjustment of the City have required certain areas to be set aside
as fire zones, also known as fire lanes, which terms are used interchangeably
herein.
Certain structures and uses have not heretofore had areas designated
as fire lanes, and it is desirable for the protection of life and
property for fire lanes to be established where practicable.
[2000 Code § 14-3.2]
The owner or owners of property are hereby required to establish
and maintain fire lanes, which may have heretofore been required,
or which may be required in the future by the Planning Board and/or
the Board of Adjustment of the City in connection with approval of
use, improvement and/or development of property in the City.
[2000 Code § 14-3.3]
With respect to any shopping centers, commercial structures,
places of public assembly, multiple-dwelling structures and groups,
individual parks, office buildings, hotels, motels, schools, condominiums,
cooperative housing, nursing homes, homes for the physically or mentally
impaired, or any property and structure used for the purposes similar
to the aforesaid, the owner or owners of such property or properties,
upon which any of the aforesaid activities take place and for which
fire lanes have not heretofore been required, where practical, shall
designate areas as fire lanes where such fire lanes shall be required
by the Bureau of Fire Prevention for the City within which such property
or activity is located.
[2000 Code § 14-3.4]
As used in this section:
shall mean a lane or zone no less than ten (10) feet in width
nor more than fifty (50) feet in width which runs from a public street
or right-of-way to any improvement or structure and which may also
run alongside or abut such improvement or structure. Where strict
enforcement of this section may not be practicable, the Bureau of
Fire Prevention may allow deviation in the location and establishment
of fire lanes.
[2000 Code § 14-3.5]
Fire lanes shall be striped in yellow letters on paved surfaces
and bear the words "Fire Lane or "Fire Zone," and in either event
shall also bear the words "No Parking or Obstruction." Curbs on edges
of fire zones shall be painted yellow. The Bureau of Fire Prevention
shall provide the owner with a sketch of the required markings and
location of any required signs. The Bureau shall require, where practicable,
metal signs setting forth the designation of "Fire Zones" so as to
inform the public of the location of fire zones. The markings shall
be legible at all times and shall be maintained by the owner or owners
of such property.
[2000 Code § 14-3.6]
In establishing and requiring fire lanes, the Bureau of Fire
Prevention shall take into consideration the size, type and location
of the building or buildings on the premises regulated, the type of
activity or activities, the number of parking spaces which may be
required by law, traffic patterns, existing means of ingress and egress,
the total area of the premises, and area available for fire lanes
and such other means of ingress to the structure or structures in
the event of fire or other emergency.
[2000 Code § 14-3.7]
The purpose of establishing fire lanes is to allow access to
premises and structures for firefighting and emergency vehicles and
equipment in the event of a fire emergency.
[2000 Code § 14-3.8]
No person shall at any time park a vehicle or in any other manner
obstruct a driveway or any other area that has been designated as
a fire zone or fire lane.
[2000 Code § 143.9]
Upon notice from the Bureau of Fire Prevention, an owner or
owners of property wherein a fire lane has not heretofore been required
shall confer with the Fire Official or his/her agent of the Bureau
of Fire Prevention in order to establish a fire lane in accordance
with this section. After such conference or in the event the owner
does not so confer, the Fire Official or his/her agent shall direct
the establishment of the fire zone.
[2000 Code § 14-3.10]
The Fire Official or his/her agent shall give written notice
of the owner or owners specifically setting forth the location or
dimensions of the required fire zone, such notice shall be by Certified
Mail, return receipt requested. The owner or owners may appeal from
the requirements of the notice by filing a notice of appeal with the
Clerk of the Monmouth County Board of Construction Appeals and the
Clerk shall schedule a hearing thereon.
[2000 Code § 14-3.11]
In the event no such appeal is filed within fourteen (14) calendar
days of the date of the notice from the Fire Official or his/her agent,
the owner or owners shall establish the fire zone within sixty (60)
days of the date of the notice.
[2000 Code § 14-3.12]
In the event an appeal is taken to the Monmouth County Board
of Construction Appeals and a decision is rendered requiring the establishment
of a fire zone, the Monmouth County Board of Construction Appeals
shall give written notice of its decision by mailing the same by Certified
Mail, return receipt requested to the owner and the owner shall within
sixty (60) days of mailing of the notice establish a fire zone as
required by the Monmouth County Board of Construction Appeals.
[2000 Code § 14-3.13]
Any owner or owners of property who fail to comply with the
terms of this section shall be subject to a fine of up to fifty ($50.00)
dollars a day together with court costs enforceable in the Municipal
Court.
[2000 Code § 14-3.14]
In addition to the aforesaid, any owner or owners in violation
of this section shall be subject to such legal and equitable relief
as is allowed by law, in which case such owner or owners shall be
responsible for the payment of reasonable attorney fees and Court
costs together with all other expenses incurred to enforce the provisions
of this section.
[2000 Code § 14-3.15; Ord. No.
2726; Ord. No. 2968]
Any person who shall at any time park a vehicle or in any other
manner obstruct a fire zone or fire lane shall be subject to a fine
of sixty ($60.00) dollars. There shall be no court appearance required
unless the individual wishes to plead not guilty. If the individual
chooses to contest this fine, he/she may plead his/her case in the
Municipal Court. All Court costs shall be paid by the contesting individual.
[2000 Code § 14-3.16]
The Bureau of Fire Prevention and the Police Department of the
City are hereby authorized to tow and remove motor vehicles and all
obstructions from any fire zone and/or fire lane. All such motor vehicles
and/or obstructions which are so removed may be stored in an area
and the cost of removal and storage shall be charged to the owner
of the vehicle and/or other obstruction and the charges shall be paid
prior to the release of the vehicle or obstruction. Reasonable steps
shall be taken to identify the owner of the vehicle or vehicles or
obstruction or obstructions removed, and to give the owner notice
as soon as conveniently may be done of the removal and storage of
such vehicle or obstruction.
[2000 Code § 14-3.17]
All remedies and fines provided in this section shall be cumulative
and not in exclusion of each other and shall be deposited in the Bureau
of Fire Prevention of the City account.
[2000 Code § 14-3.18]
The Bureau of Fire Prevention and the Police Department of the
City are hereby authorized to enforce this section.
[Ord. No. 2728 § 14-4.1]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall have
the meanings indicated:
shall mean: (1) all hotels, motels or multiple dwellings
that have locked main entrances for security purposes and/or have
common corridors to living units or spaces; (2) any structure which
has an automatic fire suppression system or fire alarm system, except
that one-family residential dwellings are not included; and (3) any
structure which is industrial, commercial, retail or similar business
building or structure consisting of twelve thousand (12,000) square
feet or more.
[Ord. No. 2728 § 14-4.2]
The owner, tenant, and/or occupant of all buildings and/or structures
located with the City of Asbury Park are required to have installed
on the same a rapid entry box and key system to allow access to same
and access to boiler rooms, sprinkler control valves, electrical rooms,
elevators and elevator control rooms, and other locked areas of the
premises as may be required by the Bureau of Fire Prevention in which
the building or structure is located, the said Bureau to make said
determination on the basis of immediate need for access in the event
of a fire alarm or what appears to be a possible fire emergency. Notwithstanding
the provisions of any other section of this ordinance, no official,
employee or member of the Fire Prevention Bureau or Fire Department
shall request, nor shall an owner be required to provide, a key to
any self contained individual living space area, unit or room.
[Ord. No. 2728 § 14-4.3]
The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall prescribe specifications
as to the required rapid entry box and key system and location. The
Bureau of Fire Prevention shall approve the type of rapid entry key
system to be installed prior to the purchase and installation of same.
[Ord. No. 2728 § 14-4.4]
Any person, firm or corporation found guilty in the Municipal
Court of the City of Asbury Park of a violation of the terms of this
section shall be subject to a fine of not more than one thousand ($1,000.00)
dollars or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days,
or both, at the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge. Any fines
collected shall be forwarded to the Bureau of Fire Prevention.
