To establish an ordinance governing the installation of fire suppression systems in certain buildings within the Town of Gorham.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Gorham as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-7-1987, eff. 8-6-1987; amended 10-6-1987, eff. 10-6-1987; 7-10-1990, eff. 7-10-1990; 9-4-2001, eff. 10-7-2001; 9-4-2018, eff. 10-5-2018; 12-1-2020, eff. 1-1-2021; 7-19-2022, eff. 10-4-2022]
[Amended 12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 24-163]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any structure, (excluding any barn, or stable used exclusively for agricultural purposes) having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for the shelter, storage, housing use, or enclosure of persons, animals, or chattel (other than agricultural food or fertilizer stuffs).
A building or structure which accommodates, allows or includes a variety of complementary and integrates uses which include at least one residential unit and at least one commercial/industrial unit.
An approved automatic system installed in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association NFPA Standard 13, NFPA 13R, NFPA 13D, and NFPA 750 and in accordance with the provisions of this article and approved by the State Fire Marshal's Office, and shall remain subject to the Fire Chief's approval under § 116-4 below.
Any interior space with defined boundaries described in a deed, lease, license or agreement in which a discreet business, residential living unit, commercial, office, service, industrial or industrial activity by interior or exterior walls.
Any structure requiring the installation of a Standard 13 or 13R System shall have a Fire Department connection as that term is defined in NFPA. The location of the Fire Department connection shall be approved by the Fire Chief and properly signed as the Fire Department sprinkler connection. The Department connection shall be kept clear of any obstruction, such as bushes, grass, or debris.
The type of system to be installed and its adequacy of life safety from fire in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be reviewed and approved by the Fire Chief or their designee in accordance with this article, provided adequate provisions are made for life and property safety. Any sprinkler, or suppression system installed, whether complete or partial at the choice of the owner occupant, shall meet the requirements of this article.
[Amended 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
A.
A permit shall be obtained from the Fire Chief before the start of construction of the system. A set of blueprints showing the entire sprinkler/suppression system and the rate of flow shall be provided when the permit is obtained. A fee as set from time to time by the Town Council shall be charged for the permit.
B.
A copy of the permit shall be forwarded to the Code Enforcement Office and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the system has been properly installed, tested and approved by the Fire Chief or their designee. The test papers from the installer shall be forwarded to the Fire Department upon completion of the system and prior to issuing the certificate of occupancy.
[Amended 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
All sprinkler/suppression systems installed under this article shall have the following:
A.
Any sprinkler/suppression system installed, extended, modified or altered within the Town of Gorham shall be done by a State of Maine licensed installer.
B.
Any sprinkler/suppression system that is installed that contains 20 or more sprinkler heads, or the modifications of an existing sprinkler system which includes 20 additional sprinkler heads, shall have the plans approved by the State Fire Marshal's Office.
C.
A tamper switch alarm at the system shut-off, except that this requirement shall not apply to NFPA 13D systems.
D.
A flow switch alarm that shall activate an approved supervisory alarm system, which will transmit to an approved receiver or municipal alarm receiver. The determination of what systems and receivers are approved shall be made by the Gorham Fire Department in order to insure that systems are compatible.
E.
An evacuation alarm for the building that will sound when the sprinkler/suppression system is activated. The activation alarm shall be audible throughout the entire structure.
F.
An outside water flow alarm.
G.
Butterfly valves will not be allowed on any Standard 13 system.
H.
Sprinkler heads above and below ceilings, and in all areas with a six inch or more vertical void and a twenty-four-inch or greater connecting horizontal space.
A.
Occupied and unoccupied buildings, or portions thereof of any construction having a sprinkler/suppression system in place, shall maintain all sprinklers/suppression and standpipe systems and all component parts in a workable condition at all times, and it shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant to reduce the effectiveness of the protection these systems provide, except that this shall not prohibit the owner or occupant from temporarily reducing or discontinuing the protection where necessary for the purpose of conducting tests, repairs, alterations, or additions; provided that the tests, repairs, alterations, or additions are done in such a way as to avoid the creation of a safety hazard.
B.
The Chief of the Fire Department or the Chief's designee shall be notified before such tests, alterations, or additions are started.
Any building having more than one sprinkler riser shall have the risers separately zoned and wired to a local fire alarm control panel to provide zone identification upon activation. The fire alarm control panel shall be located as near as possible to the main exit door. There shall also be a building map located at the fire alarm control panel showing each zone.
A lock box or boxes shall be provided outside the structure at locations designated by the Fire Department on any buildings regulated hereunder, containing a key to allow access to all Fire Department areas, except that, for one and two-family dwellings, the lock box requirement is optional.
[Amended 12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 24-163]
Any mixed-use, multifamily, or commercial/industrial structure containing a sprinkler/suppression system shall be required to have a yearly test completed on the system by a qualified, Maine-licensed sprinkler technician. A written copy of the yearly test report shall be forwarded to the Fire Chief's Office by the Maine-licensed technician, or the technician's firm; however, if the technician, or their firm, is not paid in full for the inspection services within 30 days of the inspection, the Fire Department shall consider the inspection incomplete and in violation of this section of the article.
When any violation of any provision of this article shall be found to exist, the Town Attorney, as designated by the Town Council and upon notice from the Fire Chief or their designee, is hereby authorized and directed to institute any and all actions and proceedings either legal or equitable, that may be appropriate or necessary to enforce the provisions of this article in the name of the Town.
Any person, firm or corporation being the owner or having control or use of any building or premises who violates any of the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of a civil violation and shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each violation. Each day such violation is permitted to exist after notification shall constitute a separate offense. Fines maybe waived if the property owner enters into a binding consent agreement providing for improvements to the property that will substantially reduce violations of this article to the Fire Chief's reasonable satisfaction and be completed within a reasonable time frame in their opinion.
[Amended 12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 24-163]
A.
A sprinkler/suppression system shall be installed in all areas of all new buildings meeting any or all of the following requirements.
(1)
Three or more stories in height; or
(2)
Thirty six or more feet in height; or
(3)
One hundred thousand cubic feet in volume or 10,000 square feet in floor area; or
(4)
All newly constructed residential dwelling units and/or lodging units which are attached to one another, whether vertically or horizontally, in a configuration of three or more units. Examples include, but not limited to, all new one and two-family dwelling units, multiplex housing, residential condominium units, garden apartments, hotels, motels, boarding homes and lodging houses, or any residential unit attached horizontally, or vertically, to a commercial or industrial unit; or
(5)
All mixed-use structures.
B.
Changes of occupancy. In any building or structure, whether necessitating physical alteration or not, a change from one NFPA occupancy classification to another, or from one occupancy sub-classification to another sub-classification of the same occupancy, shall be permitted only if such structure, building, or portion thereof conforms with the requirements of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and this article applying to new construction for the purpose of new use. This section complies with the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Section 13.12, as adopted by the Town of Gorham and State of Maine.
[Amended 12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 24-163]
A.
When a building is enlarged, altered, or renovated, a sprinkler/suppression system must be installed in the enlarged, altered, or renovated portion if, as a result of the enlargement, alteration, or renovations, the building as a whole will meet the criteria listed in § 116-13A(1) through (5) above, or if the renovations are equal to or greater than 75% of the then current building value as shown on the assessment records of the Tax Assessor of the Town of Gorham, an appraisal from a licensed appraiser in the State of Maine, value established from a realtor website such as Zillow.com or Realtor.com or a fair market analysis from a licensed realtor in the State of Maine.
B.
When a new dwelling or lodging unit is created in, or added to, an existing building, a sprinkler/suppression system must be installed in the new dwelling unit if the creation of the new unit meets the criteria of § 116-13A(4) or (5).
C.
When any other applicable ordinance, code, regulation, rule or statute requires a sprinkler/suppression system, then such appliance must be installed accordingly.
[Amended 12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 24-163; 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82; 2-3-2026 by Order No. 26-12]
Commencing with the effective date of these amendments, all new dwelling units, including those that are single-family or duplex houses, including those that are one- or two-family dwellings and all newly constructed or newly repurposed dwelling units, are required to be sprinklered. The automatic sprinkler/suppression system shall comply with the following:
A.
All new residential dwelling units, including all new one and two-family dwellings, including all newly constructed or newly re-purposed dwelling units, shall be equipped with an NFPA 13D or 13R automatic sprinkler/suppression system. All areas of the building will have sprinkler coverage, with the following exceptions:
(1)
Closets, as allowed under 13D or 13R unless they are used for laundry room or storage of flammable liquids.
(2)
Attics, when the attic is not boarded over, has no stairway or ladder leading to the attic, and the shuttle hole is not bigger than 24 inches by 24 inches or 576 square inches, and the attic is not used for storage and that at least one smoke detector, hard-wired, into the other detectors in the house, are placed in the attic.
(3)
Attached garages, if there is no living space above or in the garage space and a fire separation requirement and a twenty-minute fire door is placed between the house and the garage, along with at least one functioning heat detector in the garage. In addition, a sprinkler/suppression system stub shall be installed in the garage and overhead area to allow for the extension of the sprinkler/suppression system into these areas if required in the future. The location of the stub shall be noted on the sprinkler/suppression system plans.
(4)
The sprinkler/suppression system is not required to be monitored by an outside source. However, an electric alarm bell and a flashing red LED light or a combination horn/light unit shall be located on the outside of the building.
(5)
A single 2 1/2 inch Fire Department connection is to be placed on the outside of the building. Exception: combination systems and one- and two-family dwellings connected to a Portland Water District's public watermain.
B.
Exemptions.
(1)
Tiny homes as defined under 29-A M.R.S.A. § 101(80-C) shall be exempt from the requirements of this article, Fire Suppression Systems.
(2)
One and two-family dwellings on a family gift lot, provided that no person may obtain more than one sprinkler permit exemption during the time this chapter is in effect.
A.
Appeals shall lie from the decision of the Fire Chief to the Board of Appeals and from the Board of Appeals to the Superior Court as provided by law.
(1)
The Board of Appeals shall have the following powers and duties:
(a)
Administrative Appeals to hear and decide where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Fire Chief in the enforcement of this Code. The action of the Fire Chief may be modified or reversed by the Board of Appeals by majority vote.
B.
In all cases, a person aggrieved by a decision of the Fire Chief shall commence their appeal within 30 days after issuance of a written decision by the Fire Chief. The appeal shall be filed with the Town Clerk on forms to be approved by the Town Council, and the aggrieved person shall specifically set forth on said form the grounds for said appeal. A fee in such amount(s) and for such purpose(s), as the Town Council may from time to time establish by Council order, shall be paid by the appellant to the Town of Gorham at the time of filing their appeal, which shall not be refundable. Each appeal shall be filed on a separate form. A separate fee shall be assessed for each appeal except that a single fee shall be assessed for multiple appeals filed by the same appellant, concerning the same property, and scheduled to be heard by the Board of Appeals at the same proceeding.
C.
Before taking action on any appeal, the Board of Appeals shall hold a public hearing. The Town Clerk shall cause notice of the appeal to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least seven days prior to the date of hearing. The notice of appeal shall be in a form which the Town Clerk deems to be an adequate summary of the appeal.
D.
Following the filing of an appeal, the Town Clerk shall notify the Fire Chief and the appeal shall be in order for hearing within 60 days of the receipt of the appeal.
E.
For the purposes of this section, the owners of property shall be considered to be the parties listed by the Assessor of Taxes for the Town of Gorham as those against whom taxes are assessed. Failure of any property owner to receive a notice of public hearing shall not necessitate another hearing or invalidate any action by the Board of Appeals.
F.
At any hearing, a party may appear by agent or attorney. Hearings shall not be continued to other times except for good cause.
G.
The Fire Chief or their representative as designated by the Town Manager shall attend all hearings and may present to the Board of Appeals all plans, photographs, or other material the Manager deems appropriate for an understanding of the appeal.
Notwithstanding the provisions of 1 M.R.S.A. § 302, or any other provisions of applicable law, the amendments shown above shall be applicable, to the maximum extent allowed by law, to any and all residential, commercial, institutional or industrial property for which no building permit has in fact been lawfully obtained as of October 5, 2018, the date on which these amendments first appeared on the Town Council agenda.
[Adopted 8-8-2017]
This article is intended to provide a program for local building plan review other than one and two-family dwelling units. This program shall be optional for the applicant who may choose to apply for local review of building plans or chose to apply for review of building plans through the State Fire Marshal.
The Town hereby adopts the 2006 edition of NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code, as amended by the State of Maine, except that NFPA 1, Section 1 and Section 10 are hereby deleted and appeals shall be made in accordance to § 116-24 of this article.
A.
The Town, through its Fire Department, may provide review of building plans, other than one and two-family dwelling units, as an option to the review provided by the State Fire Marshal.
B.
This review does not include barrier-free construction review/permits which are done separately through the State Fire Marshal.
[Amended 8-5-2025 by Ord. No. 25-82]
For projects reviewed by the Town of Gorham, the fee schedule shall be set from time to time by the Town Council.
The Fire Inspector shall be primarily responsible for enforcement of the Fire Prevention Code and review of Commercial and Industrial building plans under the general supervision of the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief may detail such members of the Fire Department, as inspectors, as shall from time to time be necessary for the review of the building plans and subsequent enforcement, if necessary.
A.
Any person, being the owner or tenant or having control of any property or structure or part thereof which violates any of the provisions of the said Fire Prevention Codes and/or another section of this article or who fails to conform to any of the provisions thereof, after having received a ten-day notice of such violation, shall be subject to the penalty provisions pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452. The Fire Inspector, Fire Chief, or a person designated by the Fire Chief may cause a notice of violation or order to be served on the person responsible for the violation or noncompliance condition, in violation of the provisions hereof or in violation of a plan or of a detail statement made with a permit application. Such order shall direct the discontinuance of the illegal action or condition and the abatement of the violation. If the notice is complied with promptly, the Fire Inspector or Fire Chief, or a person designated by the Fire Chief, may issue a civil summons, or after consulting with the Town Manager, may request the Town Attorney to initiate the appropriate enforcement, to restrain, correct or abate such violation.
B.
Such violations shall be punishable by a fine, as set forth in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452, together with such injunctive relief or administrative remedies, as may be available. Each and every day such a violation continues after the ten-day notice period shall constitute a separate offense. In addition, the Town may seek recovery of costs and any other legal and equitable remedies as may be available to the Town.
A.
Any decision by the Fire Inspector may be appealed to the Fire Chief within 30 days after issuance of a written decision by the Fire Inspector.
B.
A person aggrieved by a decision by the Fire Chief may appeal to Superior Court as provided by law or may submit a new application to the State Fire Marshal. If a new application is submitted to the State Fire Marshal, such application shall be considered a new application and any fees paid as part of the local application shall be non-refundable.