[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Tarentum as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Municipal Authorities — See Ch. 8.
Joint Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer — See Ch. 35, Art. I.
Planning Commission — See Ch. 50.
Building construction — See Ch. 95.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 111.
Energy conservation — See Ch. 115.
Fire insurance escrow — See Ch. 123.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 127.
Mechanical standards — See Ch. 155.
Mobile homes — See Ch. 159.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 190.
Water — See Ch. 256.
[Adopted 9-8-1980 by Ord. No. 80-30]
A. 
BOCA National Fire Prevention Code. There is hereby adopted in its entirety by the Borough of Tarentum that certain document known as the "BOCA National Fire Prevention Code, 1999, Eleventh Edition," as published by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., a copy of which is on file in the office of the borough, save and except such provisions as hereinafter deleted, modified or amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
National Fire Protection Association Code. There is hereby also adopted in its entirety the National Fire Protection Association Code, 1978, as published by the National Fire Protection Association, a copy of which is on file in the office of the borough, save and except such provisions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended, and except further, that all administrative and enforcement procedures of said code shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of § 127-2B, Subsection F-105.1, of this article.
A. 
Deletions. There shall be no deletions from the 1999 BOCA National Fire Prevention Code.
B. 
Revisions. The following sections of the BOCA National Fire Prevention Code are revised to read as follows: [1]
(1) 
F-105.1 is hereby amended to read as follows:
F-105.1 Enforcement Office. The Code Enforcement Officer, the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief of the Tarentum Fire Department are hereby established as the municipal fire inspectors. It shall be their duty and responsibility to enforce the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code as herein adopted and in accordance set forth. Whenever the fire official shall find any violation or hazardous or dangerous condition, he shall serve notice to the responsible owner, operator or occupant of the building or premises, in accordance with the provisions of this article and the BOCA National Fire Prevention Code adopted herein.
1.
The inspector shall issue recommendations to any owner or occupier of property after an inspector and shall give a reasonable time to the owner or occupier to comply with the recommendations.
2.
When the time limit has expired the premises shall be reinspected by the same or another inspector. If the recommendations have been disregarded, a citation shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Office to the owner or occupier of the premises. The citation shall state the sections of the codes which are being violated and specify a time period within which the violation shall be corrected.
3.
When the time limitation has expired within which the violations are to be corrected, whether from the original citation or from the Board of Appeals, the Code Enforcement Officer shall reinspect the property to see if violations have been evaded. If the violations have not been abated, the Code Enforcement Officer shall file appropriate action with the District Justice for the violations of this article.
4.
Any inspector, upon the complaint of any person or whenever he/they deem it necessary, shall inspect any building or premises within his jurisdiction, under the provisions of this article.
(2) 
F-107.8 is hereby amended to read as follows:
F-107.8 Payment of Fees. A permit shall not be issued until the designated fees, as established from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, have been paid.
(3) 
F-112.3 is hereby amended to read as follows:
F-112.3 Penalty for violations. Any person or member of a partnership or corporation who shall violate the provisions of this code or who shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(4) 
F-113.0 is hereby revised to read as follows:
Any owner or occupier of said premises having received a citation may appeal to the Board of Appeals and have a hearing within 30 days of date of issuance of citation. The hearing shall be informal and all evidence which the Code Enforcement Officer or the owner of occupier wishes to place before the Board shall be accepted for whatever value the Board places on that evidence. The owner or occupier of said premises shall be permitted to be represented by Counsel at the hearing, and Counsel shall be permitted to cross examine the Code Enforcement Officers. The Board of Appeals, within 10 days after the close of the hearing, shall issue an order affirming or overruling the citation, either in whole or in part. If the Board affirms the citation, a time limitation shall be attached to the ruling permitting the owner or occupier to abate the violations. If the Board of Appeals overrules all or part of the citation, the violations shall be stricken from the citation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
This article, together with the BOCA National Fire Prevention Code adopted herein, shall be known and may be cited as the "Fire Prevention Code of the Borough of Tarentum."
[Adopted 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 21-06]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
KNOX-BOXES®, OR THEIR APPROVED SUBSTITUTE
A small wall-mounted safe that holds building keys for Fire Departments, Emergency Medical Services and sometimes police to retrieve in emergency situations. The Fire Department can hold master keys to all boxes within the Borough so that they can quickly enter buildings without having to force entry or find individual keys.
OWNER
Any person or entity which owns, leases, manages, and/or is in control of a structure, building, facility, or property.
STRUCTURE
Any building, facility, or man-made object.
The Council of the Borough of Tarentum has determined that the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the Borough are promoted by requiring certain structures to have a key lock box installed on the exterior of the structure to aid the Tarentum Borough Volunteer Fire Departments in gaining access to or within a structure when responding to calls for an emergency service and to aid access into or within a building that is secured or is unduly difficult to gain entry due to being either unoccupied or the occupants are unable to respond.
A. 
The following structures shall be equipped with a key lock box at or near the main entrance or such other location as required by the Borough Code Officer:
(1) 
Commercial or industrial structures.
(2) 
Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access through locked doors but have a common corridor for access to the living units.
(3) 
Schools.
(4) 
Commercial, industrial, and governmental structures and/or properties where access to or within a structure or area is restricted because of secured openings or where immediate access is necessary for lifesaving or firefighting purposes.
B. 
All new construction subject to Subsection A of this section shall have a key lock box installed and operational prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit.
C. 
All structures in existence on the effective date of this section and subject to Subsection A of this section shall have a key lock box installed and operational prior to the issuance of any new certificate(s) of occupancy.
D. 
The following structures are exempt from the mandate to install a key lock box system:
(1) 
Detached residential one-family and two-family dwellings and one-family townhouses that are not more than three stories in height and their accessory structures.
(2) 
Any structure or property having twenty-four-hour on-site security personnel who have full access to the entire structure or property may be exempt from the requirement of this article at the discretion of the Borough Fire Department or Code Enforcement Officer.
(3) 
Rental storage facilities where there is a single lock on the separate storage pods that are renter-supplied; provided, however, the entry security gate(s) will require a Knox-Box® if electronically controlled or locked with a master key issued by the landlord to all tenants.
A. 
The owner is responsible for ordering and installing the lock box.
B. 
The type of key lock boxes to be implemented with the Borough shall be a Knox-Box® brand system or such other rapid entry system of comparable quality which has been specifically authorized in writing by the Code Officer as being an acceptable substitution for the Knox-Box® brand system.
C. 
The owner of any structure or property required to have a Fire Department rapid entry key lock box shall ensure that the Fire Department has completely unobstructed access to the lock box at all times.
D. 
All Knox-Boxes®, or their approved substitute, shall be installed to the left side of the main business doors, if possible.
E. 
All Knox-Boxes®, or their approved substitute, shall be flush mounted 60 inches from the ground to the center of the entry, if possible.
F. 
In the event that the rapid entry box system cannot be installed at the aforesaid location and/or height, the Code Enforcement Officer may designate, in writing, a different location and installation specifications.
G. 
All Knox-Boxes®, or their substitute, shall have a tamper switch installed if the building has an instruction/burglar alarm.
H. 
All realty and/or property with an electronic security gate shall have the Knox-Box® installed outside of the gate.
I. 
The Code Enforcement Officer of the Borough must approve any changes in the installation.
A. 
The owner of any structure or property required to have a Fire Department rapid entry key lock box shall ensure that the keys contained within the lock box are up-to-date and provide access to all required areas within the structure or property. Whenever a lock is changed or new doors, gates, or panels are installed within a structure or property, the owner shall immediately notify the Borough's Code Enforcement Official to coordinate the placement of items within the lock box.
B. 
The owner of any structure or property required to have a Fire Department rapid entry key lock box shall provide the Borough Fire Department or Borough Code Official with up-to-date contact information that includes the owner's name; addresses; email; and mobile phone numbers. Any change in this information must be provided in writing to the Borough Code Official at least 48 hours in advance of the change occurring, along with the date such change will take place.
The contents of the lock box are as follows:
A. 
The lock box shall contain the key(s) for all exterior doors and gates, the keys for all interior doors and gates within the building, and the keys to all doors or panels which control access to shared systems, including but not limited to the following:
(1) 
Mechanical rooms.
(2) 
Electrical rooms.
(3) 
Elevators and elevator control rooms.
(4) 
Fire alarm panels.
(5) 
Special reset pull stations or other fire-protection devices.
(6) 
All other keys as requested by the Borough's Code Official.
B. 
Each key shall be clearly labeled and easily identifiable.
A. 
No Fire Department personnel shall carry a Knox-Box® key.
B. 
All Knox-Box® access keys shall be installed in a Knox-Box® Sentralok® system installed in the fire apparatus.
The Fire Department and/or Code Enforcement Officer shall be authorized to implement rules and regulations for the use of the key lock box system, which rules and regulations shall be posted by the Borough.
The Borough incorporates the immunity and regulations set forth in the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8541 et seq.
Any person, entity or corporation who has violated any provisions of this article or who has failed to comply with any order issued by the Borough Code Officer pursuant to any section thereof shall, upon conviction before the proper judicial authority, be punished by a fine of not more than $300. Each day a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this article is, for any reason, found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the Borough Council that this article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included herein.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate the provisions of this article. Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be fined $300 per violation and, if in default of payment thereof, subject to prosecution for a summary offense under Pennsylvania law. The fines under this article are cumulative, meaning violators will be subject to additional fines and costs for every additional daily violation of this article.