[Ord. No. 2020-08, 11/10/2020]
The 2015 International Fire Code, as published by the International Code Council, Inc., as amended, revised, and/or reprinted from time to time, is hereby adopted as the Fire Code of Plumstead Township. Each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said International Fire Code are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this Part, with the additions, insertions, deletions, and changes as prescribed below in this Part.
[Ord. No. 2020-08, 11/10/2020]
The following replacements, insertions, changes, modifications, and deletions shall be made in the 2015 International Fire Code, as amended, at the places hereinafter indicated:
1. 
Subsection 101.1, relating to the Title, shall be amended so "[NAME OF JURISDICTION]" is replaced with "Plumstead Township."
2. 
Subsection 101.6 entitled "Default Municipality," shall be added to the code and shall read as follows:
101.6 Default Municipality. Whenever in this Fire Code a municipality or jurisdiction is mentioned and no name is given therefore, said reference to a municipality or jurisdiction shall be construed to mean Plumstead Township, or where a state is mentioned, the same shall mean the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and where the Department of Fire Prevention is mentioned, the same shall mean the Plumstead Township Fire Marshal.
3. 
Subsection 102.3 relating to change of use or occupancy shall be modified to reference the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code[1] so that it reads as follows:
102.3 Change of Use of Occupancy. Changes shall not be made in the use or occupancy of any structure that would place the structure in a different division of the same group or occupancy or in a different group of occupancies, unless such structure is made to comply with the requirements of this Fire Code and the provisions of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as adopted by Plumstead Township ("PA UCC").
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. §§ 7210.101 to 7210.1103.
4. 
Subsection 102.4 relating to application of Building Code shall be modified to reference the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code so that it reads as follows:
102.4 Application of Building Code. The design and construction of new structures shall comply with the PA UCC, and any alterations, additions, changes in use or changes in structures required by this Fire Code, which are within the scope of the PA UCC, shall be made in accordance therewith.
5. 
Subsection 102.5 relating to application of Residential Code shall be modified to reference the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code so that it reads as follows:
102.5 Application of Residential Code. Where structures are designed and constructed in accordance with the International Residential Code, as adopted by the PA UCC, the provisions of this Fire Code shall apply as follows:
1.
Construction and design provisions of this Fire Code pertaining to the exterior of the structure shall apply including, but not limited to, premises identification, fire apparatus access and water supplies. Where interior or exterior systems or devices are installed, construction permits required by Section 105.7 of this Fire Code shall apply.
2.
Administrative, operational, and maintenance provisions of this Fire Code shall apply.
6. 
Subsections 103.1 through 103.2, inclusive, shall be modified to read as follows:
103.1 General. The Plumstead Township Fire Marshal or any authorized agent or employee thereof shall be designated as the Fire Code official for the purposes of this Fire Code.
103.2 Appointment. The Fire Code official shall be appointed in accordance with the personnel procedures and policies of Plumstead Township.
7. 
Subsection 104.10 relating to Fire Investigations shall be modified to specify the authority to conduct investigations so that it reads as follows:
104.10 Fire Investigations. The Fire Code official shall have the authority to investigate the cause and circumstances of any fire, explosion, or other hazardous condition. Information that could be related to trade secrets or processes shall not be made part of the public record except as directed by a court of law.
8. 
Subsection 104.11 relating to authority at fires and other emergencies shall be modified with the addition of the following sentence at the end of this Subsection: "The Fire Code official may direct the operation of the scene if no fire chief or fire officer from the fire department in charge of the fire district the emergency is located in is currently onsite."
9. 
Subsection 105.1.2 relating to types of permits shall be modified to add a third subparagraph which shall read as follows:
3.
The Fire Code official shall determine when an operational permit or a construction permit is required.
10. 
Section 108 relating to Board of Appeals shall be deleted in its entity and replaced with the following:
SECTION 108
APPEALS
108.1 General. Whenever the owner or builder of any building about to be or in the course of being erected, altered, repaired, used or occupied, or any other person takes exception to the decision of the Fire Code official in refusing to approve the manner of construction or the type of materials to be used in the erection, alteration, or repair of any building or structure, or to his/her decision as to the occupation or use of any building or structure, or as to its safety or compliance with the provisions of this Fire Code, such owner or builder or duly authorized agent may, within 30 days after such decision, take an appeal to the Board of Appeals. Such appeal shall be in writing, state the decision of the Fire Code official and the reason for taking exception thereto, and shall be filed with the Township. The appeal shall be heard pursuant to and consistent with the practices and procedures established for or by the Board of Appeals and in accordance with the Pennsylvania Local Agency Law (2 Pa. C.S.A § 101 et seq., as amended). The Board of Appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and render final adjudications on such appeals. A written decision to affirm, modify, or reverse the decision of the Code Official shall be issued by the Code Appeals Board and duly recorded, with such decision being final.
108.2 Limitations on authority. An application for appeal shall be based on a claim that the true intent of this Fire Code or the rules legally adopted thereunder have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of this Fire Code do not fully apply or an equally good or better form of construction is proposed. The Board of Appeals shall not have authority to waive requirements of this Fire Code.
108.3 Court review. Any person aggrieved by a Board of Appeals decision, including the Township, may appeal this decision to the Court of Common Pleas. Such an appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the issuance of the decision. Within 30 days of the filing of an appeal, the Township and the owner and/or tenant of the premises directly involved in the appeal may intervene in the appeal as of course by filing a notice of intervention, accompanied by proof of service of the same upon each appellant or each appellant's counsel of record. All other intervention shall be governed by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.
11. 
Subsection 109.4 relating to violation penalties shall be modified and adapted to conform to Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure and to insert penalties so that it reads as follows:
[Amended by A.O.]
109.4 Violation Penalties. Any person who is found to have violated a provision of this Fire Code; to have failed to comply with any of the requirements of this Fire Code; to have erected, constructed, altered, repaired, or otherwise undertaken work on a building or structure in violation of the approved construction documents or any approved plan, permit, certificate, application for permit or certificate, or directive of the Fire Code official; or to have failed to comply with an order, directive, or notice of the Code Official concerning this Fire Code shall be liable for a summary offense and, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this Fire Code that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
12. 
Subsection 111.4 relating to failure to comply shall be modified so that it reads as follows:
111.4 Failure to Comply. Any person who shall continue any work after having been served with a stop work order, except such work as that person is directed to perform to remove a violation of unsafe condition, shall be liable to a fine of not less than $400 nor more than $1,000. Each day the work continues after the issuance of the stop work order shall constitute a separate finable offense. Such fines are in addition to any fines or penalties imposed pursuant to Section 109, Violations.
13. 
Subsection 113.2 relating to Schedule of Permit Fees shall be modified to reference the permit fee adoption procedures for Plumstead Township so it reads as follows:
113.2 Schedule of Permit Fees. A fee for each permit shall be paid as required, in accordance with the schedule set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Plumstead Township.
14. 
Section 202, Definitions. The following definitions shall be amended to read as follows:
BOARD OF APPEALS. The Plumstead Township Building Code Board of Appeals created, organized, and operated in accordance with Chapter 5, Code Enforcement, of the Plumstead Township Code, as amended.
FIRE CODE OFFICIAL. The Township Fire Marshal, his/her deputies and/or assistants, Code Enforcement Officer, or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of this Fire Code.
FIRE DEPARTMENT. The Plumsteadville Volunteer Fire Company and the Point Pleasant Volunteer Fire Company or, alternatively, another fire department or fire company authorized by the Plumstead Township Board of Supervisors or Township Fire Marshal to perform fire protection functions in Plumstead Township.
OCCUPIED. As applied to a building or portion thereof, shall be construed as though followed by the words "or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied, or having a certificate of use and occupancy."
TOWNSHIP. Plumstead Township, Bucks County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
15. 
Subsection 501.3 relating to construction documents shall be modified to replace the term "fire department" with "Fire Code official."
16. 
Section 503.3 relating to marking shall be removed in its entirety and replaced with the following:
503.3 Marking and Parking Regulations. Whenever the Fire Code official shall determine that the parking of motor vehicles or other obstruction upon any public or private street, lane, alley, or driveway or within any shopping center, educational institution, apartment complex, or similar occupancy is liable to interfere with the operations of the fire department or seriously hamper egress of occupants from a building in case of fire, the property owner or tenant shall post signs reading "fire lane - no parking by order of the Fire Marshal" along each street, lane, alley, or driveway or within such shopping center, educational institution, apartment complex, or similar occupancy. The number, location, and size of such signs shall be established by the Fire Code official. In addition, whenever the Fire Code official determines signs will not clearly indicate the area in which parking is prohibited, the property owner or tenant may be required to paint lines four inches in width on the roadway surface indicating the area in which parking is prohibited and shall paint the words "fire lane" in letters three feet in height on the roadway surface at intervals specified by the Fire Code official.
503.3.1 Temporary Parking Regulations. The Fire Code official is hereby given authority to adopt and enforce temporary parking regulations to cover emergencies or conditions upon any public or private street, lane, alley, or driveway or within any shopping center, educational institution, apartment complex, or similar occupancy if the Fire Code official determines that the parking of motor vehicles is liable to interfere with the operations of the fire department or seriously hamper the egress of occupants from a building in case of fire. In exercising the authority provided by this section, the Fire Code official may post temporary signs reading "no parking by order of the Fire Marshal" on or along such street, lane, alley, or driveway or within such shopping center, educational institution, apartment complex, or similar occupancy.
503.3.2 Violation. The Fire Code official may place a parking ticket on any vehicle in violation of the parking restrictions set forth in Sections 503.3 and 503.3.1. Each day a violation occurs shall constitute a separate violation. Any person violating any of the provisions of Sections 503.3 and/or 503.3.1, upon summary conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $25 and costs of prosecution. Except that in all cases where the Fire Code official first give notice of the offense by either handing to the offending operator, or affixing to the motor vehicle in question, a ticket on which the official has noted the time and place of the offense, nature of the offense charged, and the license registration of the motor vehicle in question, no prosecution shall be instituted for 48 hours thereafter, provided that, if during the said forty-eight-hour period, the offender shall voluntarily appear at the Plumstead Township Police Department and voluntarily pay $25 to the Township, in lieu of fines and costs, no prosecution for such offense shall thereafter be brought.
17. 
Subsection 503.6 relating to security gates shall be modified to replace the term "fire chief" on lines two and three with the term "Fire Code official."
18. 
Section 505 relating to premises identification shall be removed in its entirety and replaced so that it reads as follows:
SECTION 505
RESERVED
19. 
Section 506 relating to key boxes shall be removed in its entirety and replaced so that it reads as follows:
SECTION 506
RESERVED