[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Weisenberg as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-3-2000 by Ord.
No. 00-1]
A.
The following structures shall be equipped with a key lock box at
or near the main entrance or such other location as designated by
the Fire Chief.
(1)
Commercial or industrial structures protected by an automatic alarm
system or automatic suppression system or such structures that are
secured in a manner that restricts access during an emergency.
(2)
Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access through
locked doors and have a common corridor for access to the living units.
(3)
Governmental structures, hospitals, hotels and nursing care homes
and facilities, personal care homes, assisted living facilities and
buildings used by similar health and/or personal care facilities regardless
of what they call themselves or how they may be licensed by state
or federal agencies.
(4)
Any building or facility containing a quantity of hazardous materials
which would require compliance with Title III of SARA (Superfund Amendment
Reauthorization Act).
(5)
Residential homes that have restricted access through driveway security
gates.
B.
All newly constructed structures and/or additions and/or remodeling
of structures subject to this section shall have the key lock box
installed and operational prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit.
All structures subject to this section that have been in existence
prior to the effective date of this article shall have one year from
the effective date of the article to comply with the requirement to
have a key lock box installed and operational.
A.
"Knox-Box® Rapid Entry System" which
is UL listed. The Knox-Box® shall be
master keyed to the key configuration assigned to the volunteer fire
department serving as the first responder in the geographic area where
the building or structure in operation is located.
B.
The Fire Chief may require a lock box (Knox-Box®) tamper switch be connected to a building's fire alarm system.
A.
The lock box (Knox-Box®) shall be
installed on the front of the building near the main entrance or an
alternate location designated by the Fire Chief.
B.
The lock box (Knox-Box®) shall be
installed between four feet and six feet above the ground unless approved
at a higher or lower level by the Fire Chief.
A.
The owner(s) or person in control of buildings or facilities described in § 255-1 are required to place in the lock box (Knox-Box®) various keys and information and when the lock
box is not of adequate size to contain all the information, an additional
document vault shall be provided immediately inside the main entrance
or at such other locations is designated in writing and approved by
the Fire Chief. The lock box shall contain:
(1)
Keys, separately tagged and indexed to a floor plan to clearly and
quickly identify what doors or locks they operate, to:
(a)
All locked points of access;
(b)
All locked points of access to common hallways or utility rooms,
contained within such buildings or facilities;
(c)
Locked mechanical rooms;
(d)
Locked electrical rooms;
(e)
Locked sprinkler control rooms;
(f)
Reset pull-stations or other fire protection devices;
(g)
All other locked areas, other than individual apartments or
rented rooms, as directed by the Fire Chief;
(h)
Sealed floor plans which include phone numbers (plant manager,
owner, etc.) and utility locations (gas, electric, etc.) shall be
provided in the lock box or additional document vault, as directed
by the Fire Chief, and to the volunteer fire company.
B.
The labeling and tagging of keys and the plans within the lock box
(Knox-Box®) and the additional document
vault, if any, shall be kept current.
Where a building contains a business that is required to maintain
material safety data sheets, a lock box (Knox-Box®) document vault must be installed. The vault shall contain copies
of the MSDS that are required to be on file within the building as
well as a floor plan or written description that indicates the location
of the general areas of these materials will be found within the building.
The MSDSs shall be kept current.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial
District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
be guilty of a summary offense and 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 article that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Township is served by several different volunteer fire
companies who have divided the Township into separate geographical
areas based upon which volunteer fire company is closest and therefore
likely to be able to respond most quickly. It shall be the responsibility
of the owner(s) of any building or structure subject to this article
to find out which volunteer fire company is designated as the primary
responder to the location of the building or structure in question
and coordinate compliance with this article with the Fire Chief of
that volunteer fire company.
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.
The person in charge of the day-to-day operation and functioning
of the building or facility. A business organization may designate
the "person in control" by submitting a written and signed communication
to the Township Administrator 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 "person in
control" is no longer in charge of the day-to-day operation and functioning
of the building or facility at the time of the violation.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions
of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
This article shall become effective five days after enactment
by the Board of Supervisors of Weisenberg Township. In the interim
between the first reading and authorizing of publication and the enactment,
this article shall be deemed to be a pending ordinance.
[Adopted 10-10-2022 by Order No. 2022-1]
Weisenberg Township (the "Township") hereby adopts, for the
purpose of establishing rules and regulations for 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 in the Township, including
administration, enforcement and penalties, the following provisions
of the International Fire Code, April 2018 Edition, as set forth in
this article, save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted,
modified, or amended, is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference
as fully as if set out at length herein.
A.
This article shall not apply to new construction that is otherwise
regulated or under construction through permits issued under the Pennsylvania
Uniform Construction Code[1] and the International Codes which are mandatorily adopted
by the Township thereunder (collectively the "UCC").
[1]
Editor's Note: See 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 to 405.
B.
To the extent of any conflict between the provisions of the UCC (including,
without limitation, the International Fire Code to the extent the
International Fire Code is referenced by the International Building
Code), the provisions of the UCC shall apply.
The International Fire Code, April 2018 Edition (the "IFC"),
as amended and modified by this article, is hereafter set forth and
adopted by the Township:
A.
Chapter 1 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provisions are deleted and not adopted:
(1)
Section 101.2.1.
(2)
Section 101.2(4).
(3)
Section 102.1.
(4)
Section 102.2(1).
(5)
Sections 102.3 through 102.12.(f)
(6)
Sections 104.1 through 104.2.
(7)
Sections 104.3.1 through 104.9.2.
(8)
Sections 104.11 through 106.5.
(9)
Sections 107.2.1 through 107.4.
(10)
Sections 110.4.1 through 112.3.
(11)
Section 113.1.
B.
The following provisions of Chapter 1 of the IFC, as adopted by Subsection A, above, are hereby modified as follows:
(1)
Section 101.1 is amended to read as follows:
101.1. Title. These regulations shall be known
as the "Fire Code of Weisenberg Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania,"
hereinafter referred to as "this code."
(2)
Section 110.1 is amended to read as follows:
110.1 Unlawful acts. It shall be unlawful for a
person, firm or corporation to utilize a building, occupancy, premises,
or systems regulated by this code, or cause the same to be done, in
conflict with or in violation of any of the provisions of this code.
(3)
Section 110.4 is amended to read as follows:
110.4 Violation penalties. Persons who shall violate
a provision of this code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements
thereof or directive of the Fire Code Official shall, upon conviction
in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a
summary offense, 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 code that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(4)
Section 112.4 is amended to read as follows:
112.4 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 or
unsafe condition, shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and 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 code that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Chapter 2 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
E.
Chapter 4 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
F.
Chapter 5 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provisions
are deleted and not adopted:
(1)
Sections 501.1 through 503.2.8.
(2)
Sections 503.4.1. through 504.1.
(3)
Section 504.3.
(4)
Section 505.2.
(5)
Section 506.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
(6)
Sections 507.1 through 507.5.3.
(7)
Sections 507.5.6 through 508.1.6.
(8)
Section 510.1 through 510.6.4.
H.
Chapter 7 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
I.
Chapter 8 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
J.
Chapter 9 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provisions
are deleted and not adopted:
K.
Chapter 10 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provisions
are deleted and not adopted:
(1)
Sections 1001.1 through 1030.5.
N.
Chapter 22 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
P.
Chapter 24 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
Q.
Chapter 26 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
R.
Chapter 28 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provisions
are deleted and not adopted:
(1)
Sections 2804.1 through 2804.4.
S.
Chapter 29 of the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
W.
Chapter 35 of the IFC is hereby adopted, except the following provision
is deleted and not adopted:
(1)
Section 3501.2.
Y.
Appendix I, Fire Protection Systems - Noncompliant Conditions of
the IFC is hereby adopted in its entirety.
Z.
Appendix N, Indoor Trade Shows and Exhibitions is hereby adopted
in its entirety.
The Board of Supervisors may, from time to time, by written
resolution, adopt and amend its schedule of fees and charges for inspections,
compliance work, investigations, and other work of the Fire Code Official
related to the enforcement of the Fire Code.
