[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Irwin as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-14-2011 by Ord. No. 905]
A.
Warnings and fines are hereby imposed upon property owners and other
citizens and residents of the Borough of Irwin in possession of real
and/or personal property who call for the assistance of the Borough
of Irwin Police Department and/or the Borough of Irwin Volunteer Fire
Department personnel which later is found to be false and unnecessary
because of there being no threat of harm to any person or damage to
real or personal property.
B.
The caller shall give the police or fire department:
(1)
His or her name, address and telephone number;
(2)
Location and address of the perceived threat of harm to persons or
damage to real or personal property; and
(3)
Reasonable explanation of why the caller perceives immediate threat
to the health, welfare and safety of persons or destruction of any
real or personal property.
C.
The Borough of Irwin hereby imposes the following fines for response
to calls and requests from property owners and other residents of
the Borough of Irwin which result in the irrefutable determination
that the call alleging a threat of injury to persons or damage to
real or personal property was false and unnecessary. Such false alarm
fines are hereby imposed as follows:
[Amended 12-13-2017 by Ord. No. 961]
D.
In addition, the following fines will be imposed upon alarm businesses
and/or alarm users:
(1)
A one-hundred-dollar fine charged to an alarm business that fails
to provide required information to law enforcement and/or fire department
dispatch at the time of a request for law enforcement response to
an alarm signal.
(2)
A one-hundred-dollar fine charged to an alarm business or an alarm
user who fails to maintain or provide any of the required information
specified in the article to any law enforcement officer and/or fire
department conducting a related alarm investigation.
(3)
A one-hundred-dollar fine shall be charged to each alarm business
that requests law enforcement and/or fire department response to a
false alarm that is the result of the alarm business's installation,
system repairs, or system service.
E.
The Borough of Irwin Police Department and the Borough of Irwin Volunteer
Fire Department shall keep a record of names, addresses, telephone
numbers and dates of occurrences of all persons whose calls turn out
to be false alarms.
If any person subject to the terms, conditions and fines of
this article has not called or summoned the Borough of Irwin Police
Department or the Borough of Irwin Volunteer Fire Department for a
continuous and uninterrupted period of four years, then and in that
event any notation for prior submitted calls for false alarms shall
be extinguished.
[Adopted 9-12-2018 by Ord. No. 970]
A.
All buildings and structures used for residential occupancy, including
but not limited to single-family dwellings, multifamily dwellings,
multifamily apartment houses, condominiums, boardinghouses, lodging
homes, rooming houses, tourist homes, bed-and-breakfast homes, dormitories,
hotels, motels and residential buildings, shall have smoke detectors
installed in each sleeping area of said building or structure. Where
bedrooms or rooms habitually used for sleeping are separated by other
use areas, such as kitchens, living rooms or dining rooms, they shall
be considered as separate sleeping areas for the purpose of this section.
Additionally, in each multifamily dwelling, condominium building,
or apartment house containing three or more units and in each boardinghouse,
lodging home, rooming house, bed-and-breakfast home, tourist home,
dormitory, hotel, motel and resident building, smoke detectors shall
be installed in the cellar and/or basement and on every floor in common
areas (e.g., basements, cellars, hallways, corridors, etc.) in addition
to those placed in sleeping areas.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each new residential
occupancy unit and each existing residential occupancy unity in any
structure having at least one occupant to install smoke detectors
as heretofore provided. It shall be the joint responsibility of the
owner and the tenants/residents in all occupied units, and of the
owner in all other cases, to maintain said smoke detectors. Such maintenance
shall include keeping the smoke detector units serviceable by replacing
batteries when necessary or by keeping them connected to an electric
source so that they remain capable of transmitting an audible signal
in the presence of smoke.
C.
Multiple-dwelling-unit building and structures. A multiple-dwelling-unit
building and structure shall be defined as a building and/or structure
that contains more than one housekeeping unit of one or more rooms
providing complete, independent living facilities, including permanent
provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
All multiple-dwelling-unit buildings and structures shall be subject
to the following requirements:
(1)
At least one operating fire extinguisher, regularly tested in intervals
required by industry standards, shall be placed in all common areas
of the building and/or structure in a place that is easily observed
and accessible; and
(2)
Interconnected smoke detectors shall be required for the entire building
and/or structure, for all buildings and/or structures that are built,
renovated, subject to an addition, or otherwise require a building
permit following the enactment of this article.
A.
In all buildings and/or structures in the Borough for which a use and/or occupancy permit has been issued, and is not a building or structure used for residential occupancy and in compliance with § 75-3 above, smoke detectors shall be installed and placed so as to provide adequate coverage for the structure in accordance with standards set forth in the International Fire Code, International Building Code, Uniform Construction Code, and other such codes adopted pursuant to the Borough of Irwin Code § 110-1.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each new structure and each existing structure having at least one occupant, other than those buildings and structures used for residential occupancy and in compliance with § 75-3 above, to install smoke detectors as heretofore provided. It shall be the joint responsibility of the owners and tenants/occupants in all such occupied units, and of the owner in all such unoccupied units, if any, to maintain said smoke detectors. Such maintenance shall include keeping the smoke detector units serviceable by replacing batteries when necessary or by keeping them connected to an electrical source so that they remain capable of transmitting an audible signal in the presence of smoke.
A.
Carbon monoxide detectors shall be installed in all buildings and
structures within 15 feet of any fossil-fuel-burning fireplace, appliance,
furnace, heating source and any other fossil-fuel-burning device,
and any garage. Fossil fuel shall include, without limitation, gasoline,
coal, propane, natural gas, heating oil, and other similar fuels,
and shall also be defined to include wood, wood pellets, corn kernels,
pits, and other similar combustible fuel used to heat homes or otherwise
be combusted.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each new occupancy
unit, residential, commercial or otherwise, and each existing occupancy
unit in any structure having at least one occupant to install carbon
monoxide detectors as heretofore provided. It shall be the joint responsibility
of the owner and the tenants/residents in all occupied units and of
the owner in all other cases to maintain said carbon monoxide detectors.
Such maintenance shall include keeping the carbon monoxide detector
units serviceable by replacing batteries when necessary or by keeping
them connected to an electric source so that they remain capable of
transmitting an audible signal in the presence of carbon monoxide.
Each smoke detector shall be capable of sensing visible or invisible
particles of combustion and shall be capable of producing an audible
alarm thereof. Each carbon monoxide detector shall be capable of detecting
carbon monoxide through the use of a biometric sensor or other operable
sensor. Each detection device utilized shall be maintained in operable
condition and shall be of a type certified by a nationally recognized
inspection agency, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., as a properly
operating fire and/or carbon monoxide detection device for the protection
of life and safety.
In addition to any owner or tenant who fails to carry out the
obligations imposed hereby, any person or persons who remove or destroy
any smoke and/or carbon monoxide detector(s) (except the owner or
tenant for the purpose of immediate replacement) shall be deemed in
violation of this article.
A.
In any new construction, smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors shall
be hard-wired directly to the building's power supply.
B.
In all existing structures, it is preferred that smoke detectors
be hardwired to the building's power supply; however, a monitored
battery supply is acceptable where a hardwired smoke and/or carbon
monoxide detector is not economically feasible.
C.
All areas of existing structures that are renovated, which shall
be defined to include, at a minimum, the alteration of a portion of
the structure that includes the opening up of any walls or ceilings
in a room or area of a structure where a detector is required under
this Code, shall be constructed to include hardwired smoke and/or
carbon monoxide detectors.
Alternative fire and/or carbon monoxide detection and/or prevention
systems may be installed as a substitute for the smoke and/or carbon
monoxide detectors required hereunder, provided that such alternative
smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors/prevention system has been
individually approved and a permit therefor issued by the Code Enforcement
Officer of the Borough (or such other persons as the Borough Council
shall designate by resolution). Alternate smoke and/or carbon monoxide
detection and/or prevention systems installed and in operation prior
to and on the effective date of this article of this chapter are hereby
deemed acceptable, provided that such systems are in conformance with
the standards of this article of this chapter.
This article is intended to establish a minimum requirement for fire detection devices in buildings and structures located within the Borough. Residents and building owners in the Borough are encouraged to research fire safety and install additional smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors exceeding the requirements of this article, if appropriate. The standards provided herein are additional to the provisions of the codes adopted pursuant to the Borough of Irwin Code § 110-1 and any other provision of the Borough of Irwin Code. To the extent that the standards provided in other sections of this Code are more stringent or, in the alternative, the provisions of this Article II of Chapter 75 are more stringent, the more stringent provisions shall be controlling.
A.
Any person who violates this article shall, upon conviction thereof
before any District Justice of the Borough or any other court having
jurisdiction over the same, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more
than $1,000 and costs of prosecution for each offense and, in default
of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than 30 days.
B.
Any architect, engineer, builder, contractor, agent, person or corporation
employed in connection therewith who may have assisted in the commission
of any such violation shall each be guilty of a separate offense and,
upon conviction thereof before any District Justice in the Borough
or other court having jurisdiction over the same, be sentenced to
pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution for each
offense and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment
in the county jail for not more than 30 days.
C.
Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
