Article III Fire Safety Permits

Detached one- and two-family dwellings nor to multiple single-family dwellings attached side by side (townhouse) not more than three stories in height with each dwelling having a separate means of egress;

Subsections of § 74-14 where expressly excepted.

Any federal agency performing construction or operating on federally owned land or on leased land totally under the control of the federal government.

The examination as part of the zoning or building permit process of any site development plans or any plans depicting the construction, remodeling, renovation or demolition of any proposed, new or existing permanent or temporary building, structure, occupancy, facility, process or condition.

§ 74-13 Permits required.

Notwithstanding any permits or licenses otherwise required and/or issued by the Town of Ellington or the State of Connecticut, the Town of Ellington shall require by this article, in conformance with and as authorized by the Connecticut State Fire Prevention Code (CSFPC), that each and all of the occupancies and activities identified at § 74-14, below, be operated and/or conducted only when authorized by a permit as issued by the Ellington Department of Town Fire Marshal, unless specifically excepted.

The mere act of filing an application for a permit does not constitute having or possessing a permit, having been issued a permit or having approval for a permit.

Operating without a permit or operating with a suspended, revoked or expired permit shall constitute a violation of this article and the appropriate sections of the CSFPC, and the operator of such occupancies and activities shall be subject to the statutory penalties prescribed for violations of the CSFPC.

Permit classes and fees.

There shall be four classes of permits, as provided in § 74-14 below.

All permits shall be for a term of one year, unless a shorter term is specified in § 3.0 below. Upon expiration of a permit, the continuation of any occupancy or activity described in § 74-14 below shall require a renewal application and fee.

The class of permit (i.e., Class I, II, III or IV) required for the occupancies and activities described in § 74-14 below has been determined in the discretion of the Fire Marshal, having taken into consideration the level of investigation, research, scrutiny, examination and inspection required by the inspectional provisions of the CSFPC.

Permit fees. A Fee Schedule shall be established by the Board of Selectmen for each permit class and shall be reviewed from time to time upon recommendation by the Fire Marshal. Governmental departments, boards, agencies and commissions shall be exempt from any fee requirements. Formally organized civic groups and organizations, including churches, scouting organizations, sports, police and fire associations shall also be exempt. The permits, however, will be required.

Permit applications and renewals.

Existing occupancies and activities shall be issued an explanatory notice and an initial application by the Fire Marshal for the initial permit as soon as is practicable following passage of this article, and the application period shall be 30 calendar days from the date of that notice. Failure to file said application for the initial permit required at § 74-14 within the thirty-day application period shall constitute a violation of § 74-13B of this article and a violation of the applicable sections of the CSFPC.

Except as otherwise provided below, it shall be the responsibility of the owner or operator of each newly established occupancy or activity to properly apply to the Ellington Fire Marshal's Office on detailed forms provided by the Fire Marshal for all required permits and permit renewals. Such application shall be filed with the Fire Marshal at least 30 calendar days prior to the commencement of any such newly established occupancy or activity.

Exception 1: Those occupancies and activities existing at the time of passage of this article shall receive an initial application from the Fire Marshal as in § 17-13C(1), above.

Apartments shall be as defined in the CSFPC and, for the purposes of this article, as further defined at § 74-14M(1), below.

An apartment building or complex of buildings shall be issued a single permit to include all apartment-style living units within that building or complex of buildings.

Exception 1: Condominiums shall be processed as in § 74- 13C(2)(c), below.

The party to whom the initial certificate of occupancy for a newly constructed condominium unit shall be the party responsible for applying to the Ellington Fire Marshal's Office for the required permit. Thereafter, each permit renewal shall be applied for by the association, management company or then-owner of such condominium unit.

(d)

The permit fee shall be based upon the total number of individual living units requiring inspection, without regard to the requisite frequency of those inspections.

The application period for renewal of an existing permit shall be the period of thirty (30) calendar days directly preceding expiration of the existing permit; applications for renewals filed after expiration shall qualify for a late-fee penalty.

Application submittals shall be accompanied by the permit fee and any late-fee penalties due.

§ 74-14 Specific occupancies and/or activities requiring permits.

The existence of a certificate of occupancy as issued by the Ellington Building Department or a current Fire Marshal inspection record of substantial compliance with the CFSC and the CSFPC, or a written plan for compliance in those instances where violations have been cited, may constitute a reasonable basis without additional inspection, for issuance of the initial permit for an existing occupancy, at the discretion of the Fire Marshal; however, possession of a permit shall not constitute prima facie evidence of code compliance.

(6)

Substantial compliance, as determined by the Fire Marshal, with the CSFPC and this article, or the owner or operator being a party to a written plan for compliance in those instances where violations have been cited, such plan having been approved by the Fire Marshal, shall be mandatory in the renewal of permits required by § 74-14 of this article; however, possession of a permit shall not constitute prima facie evidence of code compliance.

The operation or existence of any occupancy or activity described in § 74-14 without a valid permit as issued by the Ellington Fire Marshal's Office shall constitute a violation of the CSFPC and this article.

Compressed gases, special.

The installation, operation, storage, use and/or handling, repair, abandonment, removal, temporary placement out of service, closing or substantial modification of compressed gas systems or equipment for quantities enumerated in Table 74-14B, below, in portable and/or stationary containers, cylinders, equipment and tanks in all occupancies shall require a Class III permit.

Table 74-14B: [Table 1.12.8(b) of CSFPC]
•	Corrosives and flammables in excess of 200 cu. ft.
•	Highly toxic in any amount
•	Inert and simple asphyxiant in excess of 6,000 cu. ft.
•	Oxidizing (including oxygen) in excess of 504 cu. ft., and
•	Pyrophoric, toxic and/or unstable in any amount

Exception 1: Flammable compressed gas shall not include liquid petroleum gas; see § 74-14N, Liquid petroleum gases.

In those instances where a permit for one activity is required and one or more additional activities associated therewith as enumerated in this section are proposed or conducted, an appropriate additional permit or permits shall also be required.

Exception 1: The Fire Marshal is authorized discretion in requiring the additional permit(s).

Consumer fireworks 1.4(G). The display, storage, on-site handling, use and/or sale of consumer fireworks 1.4(G) shall require a Class III permit.

Cutting, welding and other hot-work operations. Cutting, welding and allied processes, heat treating, large-scale grinding operations, large-scale pipe-thawing operations, hot riveting, torch-applied roofing and similar applications producing or using a spark, flame or heat, all to be known as "hot-work operations," shall require a Class I permit.

Such permit shall be for a specific period of time (not to exceed one year) and for a specific section or area within the subject building or facility or, if the operation is exterior to any building or facility, then that specific area shall be identified.

Management or a designated agent shall be responsible for the safe operations of all hot-work activity. Such Town permit shall authorize and/or require management to designate an on-site permit-authorizing individual (PAI) at the discretion of and suitable to the Fire Marshal, and that PAI shall then assume responsibility for all site-specific hot-work activities in accordance with the applicable edition of NFPA 51B Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting and Other Hot Work.

The Fire Marshal is authorized discretion in requiring the permit(s), based upon the scope of the project and the equipment being employed.

Day care, including Institutional I-4 and education use groups. New and existing day-care occupancies, including those occupancies classified as Institutional Group I-4 and Educational, shall require either a Class II or Class III permit as provided below.

Occupancies with not more than 50 children shall require a Class II permit.

Occupancies with more than 50 children shall require a Class III permit.

Explosives. The storage, use and handling of explosives and the regulation of all blasting operations shall comply with the requirements of the Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 29-343 through 29-370 and shall require a State of Connecticut permit as issued by the Ellington Fire Marshal.

The construction or placement of explosives magazines shall further require a Class III permit from the Fire Marshal.

Fire-protection systems. This section shall be applicable to the installation, rehabilitation or modification of any fire-protection system which shall include any standpipe system, automatic-suppression system, fire pump, system reservoir, fire-alarm system and/or fire-detection system.

A fire-protection system protecting a building or occupancy of 5,000 square feet or less shall require a Class I permit.

A fire-protection system protecting a building or occupancy of more than 5,000 square feet but less than 15,000 square feet shall require a Class II permit.

A fire protection system protecting a building or occupancy of 15,000 square feet or more shall require a Class III permit.

Flame effects and/or pyrotechnics. The use of flame effects and/or pyrotechnics special effects before a proximate audience, performers or support personnel shall require a Class III permit.

Flammable and combustible liquids. Certain aspects of the installation, storage and use of flammable and combustible liquids, including the storage, transmission by pipeline, operation, repair, modification and/or maintenance of such liquids, shall require a permit, as provided below, except that bulk storage as defined at § 74-14I(4) shall not be permitted.

The storage, handling or use of Class I liquids in excess of five gallons aggregate inside a building shall require a Class II permit.

Exception 1: The storage or use of Class I liquids in the fuel tank of a motor vehicle, aircraft, motor boat, mobile power plant, or mobile heating plant unless such storage in the opinion of the Fire Marshal would cause an unsafe condition.

Exception 2: The storage of paints, oils, varnishes, or similar flammable mixtures when such liquids do not exceed fifty (50) gallons aggregate for maintenance, painting, or similar purposes including sale or resale.

Exception 3: The storage of Class I liquids sealed in the manufacturers' or distributors' consumer packaging and intended only for resale to the end user.

The storage, handling or use of Class II or Class IIIA liquids in excess of 65 gallons aggregate inside a building shall require a Class II permit.

Exception 1: Fuel oil not to exceed 350 gallons aggregate used in conjunction with oil-burning equipment.

Exception 2: The storage of Class II and Class IIIA liquids sealed in the manufacturers' or distributors' consumer packaging intended only for resale to the end user.

The storage, handling or use of Class I, Class II or Class IIIA liquids in excess of 350 gallons aggregate outside a building shall require a Class III permit.

Exception 1: Fuel oil not to exceed 3,000 gallons aggregate used in conjunction with oil-burning equipment.

Exception 2: Bulk storage as defined at § 74-14I(4), below, is prohibited.

Exception 3: Fuel servicing, aircraft, and fuel servicing, automotive, shall require Class III permits; see § 74-14J and K.

Bulk storage of Class I, Class II or Class IIIA liquids, defined for the purposes of this section as storage above ground, below ground or mounded, of more than three thousand five hundred (3,500) gallons aggregate and intended for redistribution, is hereby prohibited within the Town of Ellington.

Exception 1: Storage attendant to the approved and permitted fueling of aircraft or automotive vehicles and equipment as set out at § 74-14J and K.

The construction, installation, repair or modification of a pipeline for the transmission of flammable or combustible liquids, liquid petroleum gas (propane and butane), natural or manufactured gas shall require a Class III permit.

(6)

The installation, alteration, repair, lining with a protective coating, removal, abandonment, placement temporarily out of service, or otherwise disposing of a flammable or combustible liquid tank of greater than 350 gallons' capacity shall require a Class II permit.

Fuel servicing, aircraft. Construction, installation, significant modification, alteration, repair, removal, abandonment, placing temporarily out of service, or closure of any aircraft fuel servicing in accordance with NFPA 407: Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing of every type of aircraft using liquid petroleum fuel, shall require a Class III permit.

Exception 1: In-flight fueling, fuel servicing of flying boats or amphibious aircraft on water and the draining or filling of aircraft fuel tanks incidental to aircraft fuel system maintenance operations or manufacturing shall not require such a permit.

Fuel servicing, automotive. Construction, installation, significant modification, alteration, repair, removal, abandonment, placement temporarily out of service or closure of an automotive fuel service station, a fuel service station located inside a building or a fleet vehicle fuel service station or facility shall comply with the Connecticut State Fire Safety Code (CSFSC), the CSFPC, the Connecticut State Building Code (CSBC), NFPA 30A: Code for Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities and Repair Garages, and the refueling chapter of the CSFPC and shall require a Class III permit.

Health-care facilities. New and existing health-care occupancies providing medical or other treatment or care simultaneously to four or more patients on an inpatient basis, where such patients are mostly incapable of self-preservation due to age, physical or mental disability, or because of security measures not under the occupant's control shall require a permit, as provided below.

Facilities with at least four patients but not more than 10 patients shall require a Class I permit.

Facilities with more than 10 patients but less than 50 patients shall require a Class II permit.

Facilities with 50 or more patients shall require a Class III permit.

Residential occupancies.

Apartment complexes and apartment buildings. This section shall be applicable to any apartment building or complex of apartment buildings which meets the definition for "apartments" as provided in the CSFPC but which also contains 10 or more dwelling units.

Apartment complexes and apartment buildings shall require one or more Class IV permits as identified below.

An apartment building as defined shall be considered such without regard to how it is otherwise marketed, advertised or known, such as a condominium, townhouse, etc.

Notwithstanding the CSFPC definition of an apartment building, this article serves to require a permit only for those apartment buildings or complexes with ten (10) or more such dwelling units;

(d)

Only a single permit shall be required, issued either for the entire complex (two or more buildings) or, if not a complex, for the single building, unless the apartment building contains condominium units which shall then require a permit, or additional permits, to be issued as provided in § 74-13C(2)(c) of this article.

Bed-and-breakfast establishments (Group R-1). A building that the owner occupies or is adjacent to a building that the owner occupies as his or her primary place of residence, has a total occupant load of not more than 16 persons, including the owner-occupants, and has no provisions for cooking or warming of food in the guest rooms shall require a Class II permit.

No R-1 bed-and-breakfast establishment shall be permitted within a mixed-use building.

No guest rooms shall be located on other than the first or second floors of a maximum three-story building.

Hotels (including Residential Group R-1). Any building or group of buildings under the same management in which there are sleeping accommodations for more than sixteen (16) persons and primarily used by transients for lodging with or without meals shall require a Class III permit.

Lodging and rooming houses. A building or portion thereof that does not qualify as a one- or two-family dwelling, that provides sleeping accommodations for a total of 16 or fewer people on a transient or permanent basis, with or without meals, but without separate cooking facilities for individual occupants except as provided in Chapter 24 of the CSFPC shall be considered a lodging or rooming house and shall require a Class III permit.

Exception 1: This section shall not be enforced until such time as the State Fire Marshal includes lodging or rooming houses in the 1.12.8(a) Table of Permit Requirements, as expected in the next code revision.

Residential board and care occupancies. Occupancies used for lodging and boarding of four or more residents, not related by blood or marriage to the owners or operators, for the purpose of providing personal-care services, including group housing for physically or mentally handicapped, group housing for the elderly and/or others that provides personal-care services but not nursing services, facilities for social rehabilitation, and assisted-living facilities shall require a permit as provided below.

Occupancies with accommodations for not more than 10 persons shall require a Class I permit.

Occupancies with accommodations for more than 10 persons but not more than 50 persons shall require a Class II permit.

Occupancies with accommodations for more than 50 persons shall require a Class III permit.

Liquefied petroleum gases storage and/or dispensing facilities. This section shall be applicable to the installation, substantial repairing or modification, including the abandonment, temporary placement out of service, temporary closure, permanent closure or removal of liquefied petroleum gas-dispensing facilities, storage facilities and retail sales facilities as further defined, and shall require either a Class I or Class III permit as further specified.

Installation, substantial repairing or modification, including the abandonment, temporary placement out of service, temporary closure, permanent closure or removal of liquefied petroleum gas dispensing facilities, storage facilities, and retail sales facilities, shall require a Class III permit.

Installation, repair, modification, temporary closure, temporary placement out of service, abandonment, permanent closure or removal of portable container service on an exchange basis shall require a Class I permit.

In those instances where a permit for one activity is required and one or more additional activities associated therewith as enumerated above are proposed or conducted, an appropriate additional permit or permits may also be required, at the discretion of the Fire Marshal.

Bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas, defined for the purposes of this section as storage above or below ground or mounded, of more than 2,500 gallons (WC) aggregate and intended for redistribution, said aggregate to include storage in tanks, DOT cylinders, vehicles, etc., is hereby prohibited within the Town of Ellington.

Exception 1: Existing approved bulk storage of liquid petroleum gas is exempt from this § 74-14N(4).

Existing bulk storage as defined at § 74-14N(4) shall require a Class III permit.

Oxidizers. The storage, use and/or handling of oxidizer solids and liquids in quantities as regulated by the hazardous materials chapter of the CSFPC require a Class II permit.

Special outdoor events, carnivals and fairs. CGS § 29-291a-3a (7) authorizes and requires through the CSFPC the regulation and control of special events, including assemblages of people, exhibits, trade shows, amusement parks, haunted houses, outdoor events and other similar special temporary and permanent occupancies and events.

All outdoor events open to the public, such as, but not limited to, carnivals, fairs, auctions, open-air markets, musical presentations, trade shows, exhibitions, expositions, vehicular performances (not static displays) and similar events shall require a permit, as provided below:.

An expected occupant load of 250 or more, but fewer than 1,000 persons shall require a Class II permit;

An expected occupant load of 1,000 persons or more shall require a Class III permit.

Outdoor events with an expected occupant load of more than 50 persons, but fewer than 250 persons may require a Class I permit, at the discretion of the Fire Marshal.

Exception 1: Nonintrusive gatherings within the Town public park system which are considered normal and routine for any public park, as determined by the Fire Marshal, are exempt from the requirement of a permit.

Permit applications accompanied by the appropriate fee must be filed with the Department of Town Fire Marshal not later than 30 days prior to the scheduled opening of the proposed event.

No application shall be considered as filed or otherwise accepted until it is determined by the Fire Marshal to be complete in every aspect.

§ 74-15 Denial of applications; issuance, suspension and revocation of permits.

In evaluating the permit application the Department of Town Fire Marshal shall examine access for emergency vehicles; provision of and access to fire-protection equipment; placement, construction and/or erection of tents, stands, concession booths and exhibits; the control of hazardous conditions dangerous to life and property, including, but not limited to, occupant and vehicular ingress and egress, bandstands, bleachers, tents, awnings, canopies, cooking equipment, open flames of all types, reviewing stands, electrical systems and generators, flammable and combustible liquids, trash and rubbish handling, smoking materials, liquid petroleum gases and occupancy loading.

Exception 1: The Fire Marshal shall have discretionary authority to waive or modify the permit requirements of this section based upon the type and duration of the event, expected attendance, degree of hazard, degree of community disruption, impact upon quality of life factors, potential burden upon emergency services and any other factors affecting public safety as enumerated in the application.

Tar kettles. The use of any type of equipment, including but not limited to chassis-mounted equipment used for preheating or heating tar, asphalt, pitch or similar substances for roofs, floors, foundations, pipes or similar objects and the installation of torch-applied roofing systems shall require a Class I permit.

Denial of a permit application.

All information requested during the initial application and renewal application processes must be furnished, and failure to do so shall constitute grounds for rejection or denial of the application.

Any permit application may be denied for cause as determined by the Fire Marshal.

All fees paid in connection with an application are nonrefundable, regardless of whether the permit is approved or denied.

Issuance of a permit. No permit shall be issued without all outstanding fees having been paid in full.

Suspension of a permit.

Any permit issued by authority of this article may be suspended for an indeterminate period of time by the Fire Marshal for cause.

Written notice of suspension shall be made via certified mail upon the permittee or his/her employee/agent at the business address of record.

Such causes may include but not be limited to filing erroneous or untruthful information with an application; failure to pay fees and penalties; demonstration of an unwillingness to work towards maintenance of a violation-free occupancy or activity; violations of the CFSC or the CSFPC; unsafe procedures employed in processes and activities.

Revocation of a permit.

Any permit issued by authority of this article may be revoked for cause by the Fire Marshal.

Written notice of revocation shall be made via certified mail upon the permittee or his/her employee/agent at the business address of record.

Such causes may include but not be limited to those causes shown at § 74-15C(3), above.

Revoked permits shall not be considered for the return of any portion of any fee or penalty.

Revocation of a permit shall be considered final, unless appealed pursuant to § 74-17 below; any new permit must be processed as a new application and must be accompanied by the permit fee and any penalties.

§ 74-16 Penalties.

Violation of this article shall also constitute a violation of the CSFPC, and violators shall be subject to the various penalties prescribed by statute.

In addition to any other remedies that may be provided for by law, the Fire Marshal is authorized to issue citations for violations of the provisions of this article. The fine for each violation will be as set forth in the policy adopted by the Board of Selectmen, as amended from time to time. Each separate day that a violation exists after the issuance of a citation shall be subject to a separate additional fine without the issuance of a separate citation.

In lieu of issuing a citation as provided in § 74-16B above, the Fire Marshal may serve written notice of the violation(s) of this article to the owner or operator of the regulated occupancy. Such notice shall be made in accordance with § 46-2 and shall state the violation(s), demand their correction within 10 calendar days, and state that if the owner and/or operator fails to correct the violation before the deadline, the Fire Marshal may issue a citation to the owner and/or operator per § 74-16B of this article.

§ 74-17 Appeals.

Any appeal of a statutory penalty (including, without limitation, fines and infraction citations) shall be handled in the manner provided by statute.

The decision made by the Ellington Fire Marshal's Office to deny any permit application or to suspend or revoke any permit may be appealed within 15 calendar days to the Ellington Board of Selectmen on a notice of appeal form as provided by the Fire Marshal's office.

The First Selectman shall provide to the Fire Marshal, immediately upon receipt, a copy of the properly executed notice of appeal and shall schedule a hearing to be held not later than 45 calendar days following receipt of such notice; the Fire Marshal and the appellant shall be provided at least 15 calendar days' advance notice as to the date, time and place of the hearing, and both the Fire Marshal and the appellant may submit testimony. The hearing shall be concluded not later than 30 calendar days from the date it commenced.