There is hereby adopted by the city council, for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, the NFPA 1, Fire Code, most current edition on file, published by the National Fire Protection Association, copies of which shall be maintained by the fire marshal and fire department and from the date on which this code shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the city.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-1; Ordinance adopting 2023 Code; Ordinance 693 adopted 3/11/2024)
The fire prevention code shall be enforced by the fire marshal. The fire marshal shall be ex-officio chief of the fire prevention bureau. The fire marshal may detail such members of the fire department as inspectors as shall from time to time be necessary.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-2)
(a) 
Whenever the word “municipality” is used in the fire prevention code, it shall mean the City of Memphis.
(b) 
Whenever the word “corporation counsel” is used in the fire prevention code, it shall mean the city attorney of the City of Memphis.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-3)
The chief of the fire department, with approval of the council, shall have power to modify any of the provisions of the fire prevention code upon application in writing by the owner or lessee, or his duly authorized agent, when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the code, provided that the spirit of the code shall be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. The particulars of such modification when granted or allowed and the decision of the chief of the fire department thereon shall be entered upon the records of the department, and a signed copy shall be furnished the applicant.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-7)
Whenever the chief of the fire department shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a license or permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of the code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the chief of the fire department to the city council within 30 days from the date of the decision of the chief.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-8)
The mayor, the chief of the fire department, and the building official shall act as a committee to determine and specify, after giving affected persons an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes, or occupancies which shall require permits, in addition to those now enumerated in said code. The chief of the fire department shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his office, and distribute copies thereof to interested persons.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-9)
(a) 
Any person, firm, or corporation who violates any of the provisions of the fire prevention code hereby adopted or fails to comply therewith, or who violates or fails to comply with any order made thereunder, or who builds in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who fails to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the city council or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed therein, shall severally, for each and every such violation and noncompliance respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined a sum not exceeding the maximum as established by state law. The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and all such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time, and, when not otherwise specified, each ten days that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) 
The application of the above subsection shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
(2005 Code, sec. 7-10)