[Adopted 11-16-2022 by Ord. No. 1069[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. III,
Fire Prevention Code, adopted 2-20-2019 by Ord. No. 1040.
That a certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of South Whitehall Township, being marked and designated as the International Fire Code, 2018 Edition, as published by the International Code Council, as well as any and all amendments from time to time, is hereby adopted as the Fire Code of South Whitehall 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 hereby 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 South Whitehall Township and hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes prescribed in § 144-14 of this article. In the event that any future amendment of the International Fire Code results in a re-numbering or a change to the structure of the International Fire Code or the local amendments adopted hereby in any manner, references contained herein shall be to the applicable concept only without regard to any change in the structure and numbering scheme such that the reference in this ordinance shall apply to the renumbered amendments (regardless of section numbers) to give full force and effect to the concepts found herein.
The following additions, insertions, and modifications shall
be made in the 2018 International Fire Code at the sections hereinafter
indicated, and any section not referenced herein is adopted in its
entirety.
A.
Chapter 1: Scope and Administration.
(1)
Section 101 GENERAL and subsections thereof are hereby
adopted in their entirety and amended as follows:
(a)
101.1 Title. Insert: “South Whitehall Township,
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.”
(2)
Section 105 PERMITS and subsections thereof are hereby
adopted in their entirety and amended as follows:
(a)
105.6 Required Operational Permits shall be amended
to read:
The fire code official is authorized to issue operational permits
for the following operations, which are adopted in their entirety
and renumbered as follows. All other subsections of Section 105.6
shall be deleted in their entirety.
i
105.6.2 Amusement buildings — Renumbered 105.6.1.
ii
105.6.14 Exhibits and trade shows — Renumbered 105.6.2.
iii
105.6.15 Explosives — Renumbered 105.6.3.
iv
105.6.21 Hazardous materials — Renumbered 105.6.4.
v
105.6.30 Miscellaneous combustible storage — Renumbered
105.6.5.
vi
105.6.32 Open burning — Renumbered 105.6.6.
vii
105.6.38 Pyrotechnic special effect materials — Renumbered
105.6.7.
(b)
105.7 Required construction permits shall be amended
to adopt Section 105.7.9 only which shall be renumbered 105.7.1. All
remaining subsections of 105.7 are deleted in their entirety.
The fire code official is authorized to issue construction permits
for the following work (it being noted that all other construction
permits shall be governed by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction
Code):
i
105.7.1 Flammable and combustible liquids. A construction
permit is required:
a.
To install, repair or modify a pipeline for the transportation of
flammable or combustible liquids.
b.
To install, construct or alter tank vehicles, equipment, tanks, plants,
terminals, wells, fuel-dispensing stations, refineries, distilleries
and similar facilities where flammable and combustible liquids are
produced, processed, transported, stored, dispensed or used.
c.
To install, alter, remove, abandon or otherwise dispose of a flammable
or combustible liquid tank.
(3)
Section 106 FEES and subsections thereof are hereby
adopted in their entirety and amended as follows:
(a)
106.1 Fees is amended to read in its entirety as
follows:
A permit shall not be issued until the fees have been paid,
nor shall an amendment to a permit be released until the additional
fee, if any, has been paid. Fees required by this ordinance for inspections,
permits and other items shall be established by resolution of the
Board of Commissioners and as amended from time to time.
(4)
Section 109 BOARD OF APPEALS and subsections thereof
are hereby adopted in their entirety and amended by adding/inserting
the following:
(a)
109.3 Qualifications shall be amended to read:
The Board of Appeals shall consist of members who shall possess
the level of education and experience in prevention deemed appropriate
by the Township’s Board of Commissioners.
(b)
109.4 Jurisdiction of the Board shall be inserted
to read as follows:
All appeals and hearings regarding any dispute or matter under
this Code, or any decision or determination by the code official under
this Code, shall be held before the Township’s Fire Code Board
of Appeals, as established hereby.
(c)
109.5 Burden of Proof, and Sustaining Code and Fire Code
Official shall be inserted to read as follows:
The appellant shall have the burden of proof of showing, by
clear and convincing evidence, that the provision of the Code or the
decision or determination by the fire code official under this Code
which is the subject of the appeal or hearing, should be interpreted
or modified as claimed by the appellant. In the absence, failure,
or inability of the appellant to furnish and show such clear and convincing
evidence, the provision of the Code or the decision or determination
by the fire code official under this Code which is the subject of
the appeal of hearing shall be sustained.
(d)
109.6 Record shall be inserted to read as follow:
109.6.1 Initially Informal: Such hearings may be
initially informal, without a stenographic recording, and a full and
complete record need not be kept by said Board of Appeals. In any
event, the Board of Appeal’s decision shall be certified in
writing by the Board’s secretary to both the appellant and the
fire code official.
109.6.2 Formal Record, Prior Notice, and Costs: PROVIDED, that any party to any such appeal or hearing (including
but not limited to the appellant of the fire code official) may nevertheless
request that such appeal or hearing be held initially in a formal
manner, or reheard a single time as of right in such a formal manner,
with all testimony stenographically recorded and a full and complete
record of the proceedings kept. The party making such a request shall
furnish written notice to that effect to all other parties to such
appeal or hearing, at least 10 days before the commencement of such
hearing or appeal, and the party making such a request shall also
agree to pay all of the costs thereof, in accordance with Section
553. –
Hearing and Record of Chapter 5 – Practice and Procedure,
Subchapter B. –Practice and Procedure of Local Agencies, of
the Pennsylvania “Local Agency Law”, codified at Title
2 of Purdon’s Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated,
Section 553 – Hearing and Record (2 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 553), as
amended.
(e)
109.7 Court Review shall be inserted to read as
follows:
All additional, further or subsequent appeals, hearings, or
rehearings, from any decision or determination under this Code by
the Township’s Fire Code Board of Appeals, shall be to the Lehigh
County Court of Common Pleas. All such appeals, hearings, or rehearings
shall be on the basis of a full and complete record of the prior proceedings
before the Township’s Board of Appeals, pursuant to Chapter
– Subchapter B. – Judicial Review of Local Agency Action”,
Section 751 et seq., particularly Section 754. Disposition of Appeal,
(b) Complete Record (2 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 754), as amended
(5)
Section 110 VIOLATIONS and subsections thereof are hereby
adopted in their entirety as amended as follows:
(a)
110.3.3 Prosecution of violations is amended to
read in its entirety as follows:
If the notice of violation is not complied with within the time
specified by the Fire Code Official, then the Fire Code Official may,
subject to approval by the Township Manager or their designee, request
the Township Solicitor to institute the appropriate legal proceedings
to restrain, correct or abate such violation, or to require removal
or termination of the unlawful occupancy of the structure, in violation
of the provisions of this Code or of any order or direction made pursuant
thereto. The Township’s Police Department shall be empowered
to make arrests for any offense against this Code or orders of the
Fire Code Official affecting the immediate safety of the public. The
Fire Code Official shall issue citations for any offense against this
Code.
(b)
110.4 Violation penalties is amended to read in
its entirety as follows:
Persons who shall violate a provision of this code or shall
fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall erect,
install, alter, repair or do work in violation of this Ordinance,
or directive of the fire code official, or of a permit or certificate
used under provisions of this code, shall be guilty of a Summary Offense,
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of the enforcement
action including reasonable attorney’s fees or, in default of
payment, may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not to exceed
90 days. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has
been served shall be deemed a separate offense punishable by a separate
fine as set forth herein.
(6)
Section 112 STOP WORK ORDER and subsections thereof
are hereby adopted in their entirety and amended as follows:
(a)
112.4 Failure to comply is amended to read in its
entirety as follows:
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 be liable
for a fine of not less than $600 or more than $1000.
B.
Chapter 3: General Requirements.
(1)
Section 307 OPEN BURNING, RECREATIONAL FIRES AND PORTABLE OUTDOOR
FIREPLACES and subsections thereof are hereby adopted in their
entirety and amended as follows:
(a)
307.1.1 Prohibited open burning is amended to add
the following:
Open burning shall not be used for waste disposal purposes, shall be of the minimum size for the intended purpose, and the fuel chosen must minimize the generation and emission of air contaminates. Burning of any of the recyclable materials that are identified in Section § 288-32 (Recyclable Materials), Article II (Recycling) of the Code of the Township of South Whitehall, as amended, shall be prohibited in compliance with the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of July 28, 1988, P.L. 556, No. 101, as amended.
(b)
(307.2 Permit required is amended to read in its
entirety as follows:
A permit shall be obtained from the fire code official in accordance
with Section 105.6 prior to kindling a fire for recognized silvicultural
or range or wildfire management practices, or the prevention or control
of disease or pests. Application for such approval shall only be presented
by and permits issued to the owner of the land on which the fire is
to be kindled.
(c)
307.4.1 Bonfires is amended to read in its entirety
as follows:
Bonfires shall be prohibited.
(d)
307.4.3 Portable outdoor fireplaces is amended to read in its entirety as follows:
Portable outdoor fireplaces shall be used in accordance with
the manufacturer’s instructions and shall not be operated within
15 feet (3,048 mm) of a structure or combustible material.
(e)
307.5 Attendance is amended to read in its entirety
as follow:
Open burning, recreational fires and the use of portable outdoor
fireplaces shall be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished.
Not fewer than one portable fire extinguisher complying with Section
906 with a minimum 4-A rating or other approved on-site fire-extinguishing
equipment, such as dirt, sand, water barrel, garden hose or water
truck, shall be available for immediate utilization.
C.
Chapter 5: Fire Service Features.
The geographic limits referred to in the following sections
of the 2018 International Fire Code are hereby established as the
geographic, political, and corporate boundary lines of South Whitehall
Township, in their entirety.
A.
5704.2.9.6.1 (geographic limits in which the storage of Class I and
Class II liquids in above-ground tanks outside of buildings is prohibited).
B.
5706.2.4.4 (geographic limits in which the storage of Class I and
Class II liquids in above-ground tanks is prohibited).
C.
5806.2 (geographic limits in which the storage of flammable cryogenic
fluids in stationary containers is prohibited).
D.
6104.2 (geographic limits in which the storage of liquefied petroleum
gas is restricted for the protection of heavily populated or congested
areas).
Ordinance No. 488, Ordinance No. 963, Ordinance No. 1040 and
all other ordinances, resolutions and other regulations of the Township,
or any parts of ordinances, resolutions and other regulations of the
Township, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. All other provisions
of the ordinances, resolutions and other regulations of the Township
of South Whitehall, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania shall remain in full
force and effect.
A.
The provisions of this article and of the Code hereby adopted, insofar
as they are the same as those ordinances and/or Codes in force immediately
prior to the enactment of this article, are intended as a continuation
of such ordinances and Codes, and not as new enactments.
B.
Nothing in this article or in the International Fire Code hereby
adopted shall be construed to affect and suit or proceeding pending
in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any
cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any Code, act
or ordinance hereby repealed; nor shall any just or legal right or
remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this Code
or ordinance.
In all matters that are regulated by the law of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or by regulations of departments or agencies of the
Commonwealth promulgated by authority of law, such laws or regulations,
or other ordinances of the Township, as the case may be, shall control
where the requirements thereof are the same or in excess of the provisions
of this article.
The provisions of this article are declared to be severable.
If any article, section, subsection, paragraph, clause, phrase or
provision of this Code or this article or the application thereof
is held invalid or ineffective, in whole or in part, the invalidity
shall not affect any other article, section, subsection, paragraph,
clause, phrase or provision or application of this Code or this article,
and the remaining provisions shall be given full force and effect
as completely as if the part or parts held invalid had not been included
herein.
This article shall be effective immediately.
