[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Cecil as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-3-2016 by Ord. No. 12-2016]
A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Township Manager of Cecil Township, being marked and designated as the International Fire Code, 2015 edition, including Appendix Chapters B, D, E, F, H and I as published by the International Code Council be and is hereby adopted as the Fire Code of Cecil Township, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regulating and governing the safeguarding of life and property from fire and explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings and premises as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Fire Code on file in the office of Cecil Township are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this legislation, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 114-2 of this article.
A. 
The Fire Code hereby amends and changes the 2015 International Fire Code in the following specific respects:
(1) 
Section 101.1 (" Title."): Insert "Cecil Township."
(2) 
Section 109.4 ("Violation penalties."): Insert "summary offense," "One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00)" and "thirty (30) days," respectively.
(3) 
Section 111.4 ("Failure to comply."): Insert "Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00)" and "One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00)," respectively.
(4) 
Section 1103.5.3. Insert: "180 days from date of adoption."
(5) 
Delete the following provisions of the Fire Code:
[Added 9-6-2022 by Ord. No. 6-2022]
(a) 
Section D103.4 and Table D103.4.
(b) 
Section D107.1.
B. 
The Fire Code deletes and replaces the following provisions of the 2015 International Fire Code:
(1) 
Section 108 of the Code, including all subsections, is deleted and replaced with the following:
"The Building Code Board of Appeals shall serve as the Fire Code of Cecil Township Board of Appeals. Appeals shall follow the adopted rules of procedure for conduction its business of the Building Code Board of Appeals, and the Building Code Board of Appeals shall render all decisions and findings in writing to the appellant with a duplicate copy to the fire code official."
(2) 
Section 103.1 is deleted and replaced with the following:
[Added 9-6-2022 by Ord. No. 6-2022]
General. The responsibility for administration and enforcement of the International Fire Code/2015 is hereby conferred upon the Township's fire code official, if so appointed by the Township's Fire Chief. If no appointment is made, the Fire Chief shall have the authority and responsibilities identified as the "fire code official" throughout the International Fire Code/2015.
(3) 
Section 103.2.
[Added 9-6-2022 by Ord. No. 6-2022]
Appointment. The Township's Fire Chief may appoint a fire code official.
A. 
The geographic limits referred to in various sections of the 2015 International Fire Code are hereby established as follows:
(1) 
Section 5704.2.9.6.1 (geographic limits in which the storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks outside of buildings is prohibited):
"Storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks outside of buildings is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Cecil Township except the C-2, C-3, I-1, I-2, SD (Industrial Land Use Category), BDP Districts."
(2) 
Section 5706.2.4.4 (geographic limits in which the storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks is prohibited):
"Storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Cecil Township except the C-2, C-3, I-1, I-2, SD (Industrial Land Use Category), BDP Districts."
(3) 
Section 5806.2 ( geographic limits in which the storage of flammable cryogenic liquids in stationary containers is prohibited):
"Storage of flammable cryogenic liquids in stationary containers is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Cecil Township except the C-2, C-3, I-1, I-2, SD (Industrial Land Use Category), BDP Districts."
(4) 
Section 6104.2 (geographic limits in which the storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted for the protection of heavily populated or congested areas):
"The geographic limits in which the aggregate capacity of any one installation of liquefied petroleum gas shall not exceed a water capacity of 2,000 gallons (7,570 L) for the protection of heavily populated or congested areas cannot be established by Cecil Township because the Propane and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act (35 P.S. §§ 1329.1 through 1329.19) does not permit municipalities to prohibit or regulate storage of these materials."
B. 
The Board may amend these geographic limits via resolution of the Board.
The Fire Code of Cecil Township shall apply to all real property and construction activity within Cecil Township from the effective date forward establishing the minimum regulations governing the conditions, maintenance, operations and other physical things of all existing property, existing buildings and structures, and existing building systems, except to the extent that the Fire Code is inconsistent with the International Building Code, 2009 Edition or successor regulations as adopted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code ("UCC").
[Adopted 11-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]
The Board of Supervisors of Cecil Township have determined that the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of Cecil Township are promoted by requiring certain structures to have a key lock box installed on the exterior of the structure to aid the fire departments servicing the Township in gaining access to or within a structure when responding to calls for an emergency service and to aid access into or within a structure that is secured or is unduly difficult to gain entry due to being either unoccupied or the occupants are unable to respond.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FIRE CHIEF
The Fire Chief of the fire company designated as the primary responder to the applicable structure, building or facility. The Township is served by several different fire companies who have divided the Township into separate geographical areas based upon which fire company is closest and therefore likely to be able to respond most quickly.
FIRE CODE OFFICIAL (FCO)
The designated official charged with the administration and enforcement of the fire code. It shall be the responsibility of the owner(s) of any structures, buildings or facilities subject to this article to coordinate compliance with this article with the Fire Code Official.
OPERATOR
The person in charge of the day-to-day operation and functioning of the structure, building or facility. A business organization may designate the operator by submitting a written and signed communication to the Fire Code Official advising of the name, address and daytime and nighttime telephone numbers of said person and, if such designation is made, the owner(s) of the real estate shall not be subject to responsibility for compliance with this article unless the designated operator is no longer in charge of the day-to-day operation and functioning of the building or facility at the time of the violation.
OWNER
Each individual person who holds record title to the real estate as of the date of the offense and, if the real estate is not owned by individual person(s), with respect to corporations, means the chief executive officer of the corporation, and with respect to partnerships and joint ventures, means each partner or joint venturer except that in limited partnership situations, the word "owner" shall mean managing partner(s) and shall exclude limited partners unless they are also managing partners.
A. 
The following structures shall be equipped with an approved rapid access device or an approved key lock box at or near the main entrance or such other location as required by the Fire Code Official:
(1) 
Commercial properties equipped with a fire alarm or suppression system.
(2) 
Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access through locked doors but have a common corridor for access to the living units.
(3) 
Schools, whether public or private.
(4) 
Governmental structures and nursing care facilities, unless the building is staffed or open 24 hours.
(5) 
Facilities storing bulk hazardous materials as defined by 49 CFR 171.8. These include quantities exceeding 119 gallons of wet product, 882 pounds of dry product, or 1,000 pounds of a gas product.
(6) 
Commercial properties with restricted access due to the installation of a gate and/or fence.
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. All structures in existence on the effective date of this section and subject to Subsection A of this section shall have six months from the enactment date of this article to have a key lock box installed and operational.
C. 
The type of key lock boxes to be implemented within the Township 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 Fire Code Official as being an acceptable substitution for the Knox-Box® brand system.
A. 
All Knox-Boxes®, or their approved substitute, shall be installed near the main business doors. The final mounting location shall be approved by the Fire Code Official.
B. 
All Knox-Boxes®, or their approved substitute, shall be mounted 60 inches from the ground to the center of the entry, if possible.
C. 
In the event that the rapid entry box system cannot be installed at the aforesaid location and/or height, the Fire Code Official may designate, in writing, a different location and installation specifications.
D. 
All realty and/or property with an electronic security gate shall have the Knox Gate Key Switch® installed outside of the gate at an approved location, and shall be installed in an approved manner.
E. 
The Fire Code Official must approve any changes in the installation.
F. 
All manually locked gates/fences on commercial properties must be secured with a Knox Padlock®. "Daisy Chaining" locks are acceptable.
The owner and operator of the building shall immediately notify the Fire Code Official and provide the new key when a lock box is changed or rekeyed. The key to such lock shall be secured in the Knox-Box®.
A. 
The contents of the lock box are as follows:
(1) 
Keys to locked points of ingress or egress, whether on the interior or exterior of such building(s).
(2) 
Keys to all locked mechanical rooms.
(3) 
Keys to all locked electrical rooms.
(4) 
Keys to elevators and their control rooms.
(5) 
Keys to the fire alarm panels.
(6) 
Keys (special) to reset pull stations or other fire-protection devices.
(7) 
Keys to any other areas as requested by the Fire Chief and/or the Fire Code Official.
B. 
The labeling and tagging of keys within the lock box shall be kept current.
A. 
All Knox-Box® access keys shall be installed in a Knox-Box® KeySecure system installed in the fire apparatus and Township vehicles.
B. 
No fire department personnel shall carry a Knox-Box® key for use other than emergencies and inspections. Master keys shall be secured in the Knox-Box® KeySecure system at all other times.
C. 
Master key usage shall be monitored by the Fire Code Official.
The following structures are exempt from the mandate to install a key lock box system:
A. 
Single-family structures and multifamily structures that do not meet the definition set forth in § 114-7A(2) of this article.
B. 
Structures that have twenty-four-hour, three-hundred-sixty-five-day on-site security personnel or have other personnel on site. The owner must certify and demonstrate to the Fire Code Official that the structure qualifies for this exception.
C. 
Businesses that are open and staffed 24 hours per day, 365 days per year (which may include, but are not limited to, nursing homes, hospitals, police stations, etc.). The owner must certify and demonstrate to the Fire Code Official that the structure qualifies for this exception.
D. 
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 Gate Key Switch® if electronically controlled or locked with a master key issued by the landlord to all tenants. The owner must certify and demonstrate to the Fire Code Official that the structure qualifies for this exception.
E. 
In the event that a structure previously qualified for exemption pursuant to this section has its use altered so as to no longer qualify for the exemption specified herein, such structure shall have a key lock box rapid entry system installed within 60 days of such alteration of use.
A. 
Any person who owns or operates a structure subject to this article shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
B. 
Enforcement of this article shall be effected by an action brought by the Township or Township Solicitor (on information received, if necessary) before the District Justice having jurisdiction in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
C. 
The Township Solicitor may assume charge of the prosecution without the consent of the District Attorney (as required under Pa. R. Crim. P. No. 83(c) relating to trial in summary cases).
D. 
Any person(s) found guilty of violation of this public safety ordinance shall be liable to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation to be paid to the Township Treasurer and for conviction of a second offense shall also be subject to imprisonment to the extent allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses.