[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Pequannock 7-22-1997 as Chs. 083 and 084 of the 1997 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
It shall be the duty and responsibility of the agent having jurisdiction in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:71-2.2 to enforce the provisions of this code as set forth herein.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
The local enforcing agency shall be the Bureau of Fire Safety in the Township of Pequannock.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
The Bureau of Fire Safety shall enforce the Uniform Fire Safety Act,[1] the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, and any amendments thereto in all buildings, structures and premises within the established boundaries of the Township of Pequannock, other than owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements of said Act and code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq.
A. 
No fire connections shall be installed without the approval of the Fire Official or his designated representative.
B. 
Siamese connections shall be within 100 feet of an approved fire hydrant. All fire connections shall be maintained, accessible and visible at all times.
C. 
Installation of and location of approved fire hydrants to connections shall apply to all new construction and any renewal of an existing construction, when the renewal is in excess of 30% of the usable building footage or when there is a change of occupancy or ownership.
A red light shall be illuminated 24 hours per day over any Fire Department connection. In such suppression systems where siamese connections supply more than one zone of suppression, the red light shall flash intermittently over the suppression connection of the activated zone. The rate of flash shall not be less than 60 flashes per minute.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Blocking access to, interfering or tampering with or causing malicious damage to any fire alarm, suppression system, fire communications system, or fire detection, first aid or firefighting system, unit, device, or part thereof shall result in a fine as prescribed by N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12.
A. 
Upon receipt of notification to designate an on-site fire zone, the owner of the property shall mark the fire zone in a manner as set forth on the notification.
B. 
The marking and maintenance of fire lanes and fire zones shall be the responsibility of and at the expense of the property owner and shall be completed within 30 days from the date of the mailing of the letter to the owner by regular mail at his last known address.
C. 
The penalty for a violation of this section shall be such penalties as authorized by the Code of the Township of Pequannock.
[Amended 2-22-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-04; 3-28-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-09; 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
A. 
Key box. A key box of a UL type shall be installed on all commercial and manufacturing properties within the Township of Pequannock and approved by the Pequannock Township Fire Official. The location of said box shall be approved by the Fire Official.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Ordering the equipment. The owner and/or occupant or their agent is responsible for the ordering and installing of a Knox Company rapid entry system or combination cabinet-style vault or its commercial equivalents. The responsible person shall have this equipment installed within 90 business days after receiving the application.
C. 
Type of equipment. The entry system and the cabinet-style vaults shall have a single lock and alarm tamper switch. If the building is protected by a burglary alarm system(s), it shall be connected so that if the box is open or removed from the building an alarm will sound. If the building is not protected by a burglar alarm system, the box may be connected to the fire alarm system, provided the connection is on the fire side signaling an alarm. Connection to the fire alarm requires the box to be zoned alternately from any fire detection and noted on the fire alarm annunciator panel as "rapid entry system."
D. 
Box contents:
(1) 
Keys to locked points of ingress whether on the interior or exterior of such building.
(2) 
Keys to locked mechanical equipment rooms.
(3) 
Keys to locked electrical rooms.
(4) 
Keys to elevator rooms and emergency elevator keys.
(5) 
Keys to other areas as directed by the Fire Official.
E. 
General. All new commercial and/or manufacturing buildings constructed after the effective date of this section, including all existing commercial and/or manufacturing buildings when there is a change of tenancy or ownership, and when reconstruction is in excess of 30% of the usable building footage, shall provide a key box at a location approved by the Fire Official. The key box shall be provided with all keys as set forth in Subsection D above. The box keys shall be provided prior to occupancy and/or final inspection.
F. 
Exemptions from this section. Any structure or site that has a twenty-four-hour, seven-day-a-week, on-site guard service shall be excluded from the provisions of this section.
G. 
Fine. Any building owner violating the provisions of this section, after receiving written warning notice by the Fire Official, shall be subject to a fine of $200.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
A. 
General.
(1) 
All persons engaged in hazardous chemical operations shall carry out such operations in a manner to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public from such operations as required by the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act Program, N.J.A.C. 7:31-1.1 et seq.
(2) 
All persons engaged in hazardous chemical operations shall comply with the requirements and standards set forth in this section. The Fire Official may accept equivalent protection where strict compliance would create a hardship.
B. 
Special compliance. Every person engaged in hazardous chemical operations shall comply with the Township's building code, fire code, electrical code, plumbing code, sewer code and any other standards which have been or may be adopted by the Township of Pequannock.
C. 
Permits. In accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.7(a)6, permits for 55 gallons of hazardous chemicals shall be issued where the use of hazardous chemicals is incident to the principal business of the applicant.
D. 
Buildings/structures. All buildings and other structures in or upon which a significant quantity of hazardous chemicals is used or stored shall be clearly marked on or about the principal entrance in accordance with the NFPA 704 standard placed on a fifteen-inch placard with six-inch symbols. The Fire Official may determine that any additional entrance must be marked in a similar fashion. Determinations of the relative hazards shall be made by the Fire Official in consultation with the Health Officer. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to post, maintain and update the placards as needed and to remove them upon vacating the premises or elimination of chemical storage. Tampering with the placard shall be in violation of this section.
A sign indicating the name and street number of every commercial establishment shall be installed on the rear door to alert emergency management officials of the business location. The lettering and numerals shall be florescent and a minimum of three inches high. These signs shall be posted at a height of five feet measured from the door sill.
A. 
The use of propane or charcoal cooking equipment or the storage of such equipment shall be prohibited on any porch, balcony, deck or any other portion of a building that is within five feet of any exterior combustible wall, or within five feet vertically or horizontally of any opening in any wall. Equipment shall not be used or stored inside any residential structure.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
The penalty for a violation of this section shall be such penalty(ies) as authorized by the Municipal Code of the Township of Pequannock.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The Bureau of Fire Safety shall carry out the periodic inspection of life hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
The Bureau of Fire Safety shall be part of the Department of Construction and Land Use and shall be under the direct supervision of the Fire Official who reports to the Township Manager.
A. 
Appointment of Fire Official. The Bureau of Fire Safety shall be under the supervision of the Fire Official, who shall be appointed by the Township Manager.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Term of office. The Fire Official shall serve for a term of one year.
C. 
Inspectors and employees. Such inspectors and other employees as may be necessary in the local enforcing agency may be appointed by the Township Manager upon the recommendation of the Fire Official.
D. 
Removal from office. Inspectors and other employees of the enforcing agency shall be subject to removal by the Township Manager for inefficiency or misconduct. Each inspector or employee to be so removed shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard by the appointing authority or a designated hearing officer.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act,[1] any person aggrieved by any order of the Bureau of Fire Safety shall have the right to appeal to the Construction Board of Appeals of Morris County.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 and 52:27D-208, respectively.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13; 12-12-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-19]
In addition to the inspections and fees required pursuant to the Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs, the following additional inspections and fees shall be required:
A. 
Each commercial/industrial operation shall be inspected on an annual basis.
B. 
A fee for each inspection is hereby established in accordance with the schedule in Chapter 152, Fees.
C. 
When a business fails an initial inspection and after reasonable time is provided for remedial action and a second or subsequent inspection is made, a fee as provided in Chapter 152, Fees, shall be charged for each such inspection.
[Amended 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13; 12-12-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-19
The application fee for a certificate of smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm and portable fire extinguisher compliance (CSACMAPFEC), as required by N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.3, shall be as provided in Chapter 252, Fees.
[Added 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13; amended 12-12-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-19]
The permit fees are established by the State of New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.9, and included in Chapter 252, Fees.
A. 
Smoke alarms; display of house numbers.
(1) 
Every structure used or intended to be used for residential purposes by not more than two households shall have a smoke-sensitive device on each level of the structure and outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and located on or near the ceiling in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 74-1984. The installation of battery-operated smoke-sensitive alarm devices shall be accepted as meeting the requirements of this section.
(2) 
Every structure used or intended to be used for residential purposes shall display the house number so that it is clearly visible for the purpose of identification and fire safety. The number shall be at least three inches in height and placed on the left or right side of the door five feet above the door saddle.
B. 
Change in occupancy. In any case where a change in occupancy of any building as set forth in § 166-19A occurs, no transfer in occupancy of any building set forth in § 166-19A above shall occur until a certificate of fire code status compliance is issued by an authorized member of the Bureau of Fire Safety or the Construction Official certifying that the provisions of § 166-19A have been fulfilled.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
Fee. A fee as provided in Chapter 152, Fees, shall be paid for each inspection required prior to the issuance of a certificate of fire code status.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original §§ 084.04 through 084.07 of the 1997 Code which immediately followed this section and dealt with false alarms were repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). See now Ch. 91, Alarm Systems.