There is hereby adopted by the city for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, that certain code known as the 2021 International Fire Code, including appendices B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, and N, and all revisions thereto, and the whole thereof, save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended, said code as revised herein also being sometimes referred to as the fire prevention code. A copy of the 2021 International Fire Code shall be filed in the office of the planning and development services department, and in the office of the fire marshal. The same is hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, and from the date on which this section shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the city.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-19-051, sec. 1, adopted 12/19/19; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)
Corporation counsel
used in the fire prevention code, it shall be held to mean the attorney for this city.
Fire code official
used in the fire prevention code, it shall be held to mean fire marshal for this city.
Municipality
used in the fire prevention code, it shall be held to mean this city.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)
(a) 
Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this article:
Aboveground
shall mean any storage tank, as defined herein, which any portion thereof is aboveground, excluding valves and pipes into and out of the tank.
Combustible liquid
shall mean a liquid having a flash point of one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit or higher per NFPA-30, the Flammable and Combustible Liquid Code, 2021 edition, and as amended thereafter.
Flammable liquid
shall mean a liquid having a flash point of less than one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit per NFPA-30, the Flammable and Combustible Liquid Code, 2021 edition, and as amended thereafter.
Storage location
shall mean any area which contains no less than one hundred (100) square feet within which one (1) or more fuel storage tanks are to be located. Each storage location shall be located no less than one hundred (100) linear feet from any other storage location.
Storage tanks
shall mean any container in excess of one hundred (100) gallons, which is used to store any hydrocarbon material including, but not limited to, gasoline, diesel and kerosene.
(b) 
Permit required.
Every owner shall obtain a permit from the fire marshal for any of the following prior to the commencement of construction of such facilities:
(1) 
A belowground (or underground), liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or flammable or combustible liquid storage tank.
(2) 
An aboveground storage tank for liquefied natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas. No new storage locations shall be permitted which will contain a fuel storage tank with a liquid capacity of more than two thousand (2,000) gallons or which will contain two (2) or more fuel storage tanks with an aggregate liquid capacity of more than four thousand (4,000) gallons.
(3) 
An aboveground storage tank for a flammable or combustible liquid. No new storage locations shall be permitted which will contain a fuel storage tank with a liquid capacity of more than one thousand (1,000) gallons or which will contain two (2) or more fuel storage tanks with an aggregate liquid capacity of more than two thousand (2,000) gallons.
(c) 
Proper tank for aboveground storage of flammable or combustible liquids.
Any new tank or tank system used in the city for aboveground storage of flammable or combustible liquids shall be designed, constructed, installed, operated and maintained in accordance with NFPA-30, titled "Flammable and Combustible Liquid Code, 2012 edition," and as amended thereafter.
(d) 
Proper tank for aboveground storage of liquefied natural gas.
Any new tank or tank system used in the city for aboveground storage of liquid natural gas shall be designed, constructed, installed, operated and maintained in accordance with NFPA 59A, titled "Standard for the Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquified Natural Gas, 2019 edition," and as amended thereafter.
(e) 
Proper tank for aboveground storage of liquefied petroleum gas.
Any new tank or tank system used in the city for aboveground storage of liquefied petroleum gas shall be designed, constructed, installed, operated and maintained in accordance with NFPA-58, titled "Liquefied Petroleum Gas, 2020 edition," and as amended thereafter.
(f) 
Tank location.
In addition to location restrictions listed in NFPA-30, "Flammable and Combustible Liquid Code, 2021 edition," no new tank used for the aboveground storage of flammable or combustible liquids may be placed or used within one hundred (100) feet of property zoned or used for residential use. New tanks added to existing bulk plants are excluded from this provision.
(g) 
Noncompliance; denial or revocation of certificate; order to cease operations.
Upon finding of non-compliance with this article, the fire marshal may revoke or deny the renewal of a permit and order the person or firm owning or operating the tank to cease all or part of its operation in this city until in compliance. No one shall operate or own a storage tank without a valid permit.
(h) 
Establishment of limits of districts in which storage of flammable or combustible liquids, liquefied petroleum gas, or liquefied natural gas in aboveground tanks is prohibited.
The storage of flammable or combustible liquids, liquefied petroleum gas, or liquefied natural gas in aboveground tanks is prohibited within the areas of the city zoned as "B-3, Historical and Central Business" district(s). New bulk loading and unloading facilities for tank cars, tank vehicles and similar equipment involved in the storage or transportation of flammable or combustible liquids, liquefied petroleum gas, or liquefied natural gas, in aboveground tanks, are prohibited within the city limits.
(i) 
Special permit required for tank exceeding volumes limits established in subsections 8-23(b)(2) and 8-23(b)(3).
(1) 
Any person or firm desiring to own, install or operate one (1) or more aboveground tanks for the storage of combustible liquids in excess of the volume limits stated in subsections 8-23(b)(2) and 8-23(b)(3) hereinabove, shall submit an application to the fire marshal for a special permit allowing for an increase in the volume capacity of the tank(s). To be considered for such special permit, the owner or operator of the tank facility shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the fire marshal or his deputy that the aboveground tank(s):
a. 
Shall be located only on property zoned as industrial;
b. 
Shall be registered and licensed in compliance with all rules and regulations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
c. 
Shall be designed, built and operated in compliance with all applicable provisions of the International Fire Code, 2021 edition and the National Fire Protection Association Standard 30 entitled "Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code" as referenced by the International Fire Code; and
d. 
Shall contain only combustible liquids having a flash point of greater than one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit, including but not limited to, diesel fuel, biodiesel, motor oil, hydraulic oil and like substances.
(2) 
Special permits may not be issued for aboveground storage tanks containing gasoline or other flammable liquids having a flash point of less than one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit and with a capacity greater than the volume limits detailed in subsections 8-23(b)(2) and 8-23(b)(3) herein above.
(3) 
Within forty-five (45) days after determining that a special permit application meets the requirements of this section, the fire marshal, or his deputy, shall present the matter to the city council for its consideration. No special permit for a tank or tanks exceeding the quantities shown in subsections 8-23(b)(2) and 8-23(b)(3) may be issued without approval by the city council. The fire marshal, or his deputy, shall inspect all tank(s) installed pursuant to a special permit to determine compliance with the requirements of this section.
(4) 
Special permits approved and issued pursuant to this section shall be revocable. The city council, upon request of the fire marshal and after written notice and opportunity to be heard being issued to the permit holder, is authorized to revoke a special permit for non-compliance with the provisions of this section or other applicable law. Where an immediate hazard to life or property exists, however, the fire marshal in such an emergency may order a permit holder to take immediate action, without prior written notice, to correct the issues of non-compliance with the fire prevention code and the provisions of this article or to immediately abate all conditions creating the immediate hazard to life or property. The fire marshal, in such an emergency and without prior written notice to the permit holder, may also order the permit holder to cease any and all operations, occupancy or activity at the affected site. A permit holder that violates an order of the fire marshal shall be subject to the penalties provided for in section 8-26 of this article and as otherwise allowed by law. In the event a permit holder does not immediately comply with an emergency order of the fire marshal, the fire marshal, without prior written notice to the permit holder, may take any and all actions necessary to immediately abate all conditions creating the immediate hazard to life or property.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-19-051, sec. 1, adopted 12/19/19; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)
The fire marshal, as the fire code official of the city, shall have power to approve exceptions 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 exceptions when granted or allowed and the decision of the fire marshal thereon shall be entered upon the records of the department and a signed copy shall be furnished the applicant.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)
Whenever the chief of the fire department shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the fire prevention 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 manager or his designee within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision appealed. Section 109 of the International Fire Code, 2021 edition and all amendments thereto, creating a board of appeals, shall not be applicable to any appeals filed pursuant to any provision of this chapter 8 of this code.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-14-018 adopted 5/15/14; Ordinance O-19-051, sec. 1, adopted 12/19/19; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)
(a) 
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity violating any provision of this article or of any code provision adopted herein shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of not more than $2,000.00, and each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.
(b) 
The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
(Ordinance O-14-007, sec. 1, adopted 2/6/14; Ordinance O-14-018 adopted 5/15/14; Ordinance O-21-029 adopted 10/21/21; Ordinance O-24-019 adopted 8/15/2024)