A.
This chapter shall provide the Village of Ardsley
with rules and regulations to improve the public safety by promoting
the control of fire hazards; regulating the use of structures, premises
and open areas; providing for the abatement of fire hazards; establishing
the responsibilities and procedures for code enforcement; and setting
forth the standards for compliance and achievement of these objectives.
B.
This chapter shall be known as the "Fire Prevention
Code of 1978."
C.
This chapter adopts the Fire Prevention Code of the
National Fire Protection Association and its incorporated standards
and codes as published in the National Fire Code of the National Fire
Protection Association and listed in Appendix A[1] of this Fire Prevention Chapter, and being particularly the 1981 Edition thereof (save and except those portions such as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended by § 112-16). The same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein. Not less than two copies of the adopted issue of the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No. 1, and the adopted standards and codes of the National Fire Codes shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk, and the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the Village of Ardsley.
[Amended 10-5-81 by L.L. No. 2-1981]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is located at the
end of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate
this chapter, to permit or maintain such violation, to refuse to obey
any provision thereof or to fail or refuse to comply with any such
provision or regulation, except as variation may be allowed by the
action of the Fire Marshal in writing. Proof of the unlawful act or
failure shall be deemed prima facie evidence that such act is that
of the owner or other person in control of the premises. Prosecution
or lack thereof of either the owner, occupant or the person in charge
shall not be deemed to relieve any of the others.
A.
The Fire Chief or, if he so designates, the Fire Marshal
of the Ardsley Fire Department shall be responsible for the enforcement
of the Fire Prevention Code. The Fire Chief of the Ardsley Fire Department
may detail such members of the Fire Department as inspectors as shall
from time to time be necessary.
B.
To assist in the performance of the responsibilities
and duties placed upon the Fire Chief of the Fire Department, a Bureau
of Fire Prevention in the Ardsley Fire Department is hereby created.
C.
This Bureau shall operate under the supervision of
the Fire Chief of the Ardsley Fire Department. The Fire Chief of the
Fire Department shall designate a fire official of the Ardsley Fire
Department as Fire Marshal. The Fire Marshal shall be the administrator
of the Bureau (Department or Division) of Fire Prevention. The Fire
Marshal shall be responsible for the direct administration and enforcement
of the Fire Prevention Code as may be set forth by the Fire Chief
of the Ardsley Fire Department. The Fire Marshal shall be appointed
on the basis of examination or other method for determining his qualifications.
The Fire Chief of the Ardsley Fire Department may also designate such
number of technical inspectors as shall from time to time be authorized
by the Village Board of Trustees. Such technical inspectors shall
be selected through an examination to determine their fitness for
the position.
A.
It shall be the duty of the officers of the Bureau
of Fire Prevention to enforce all laws and ordinances of the Village
of Ardsley covering the following:
(1)
The prevention of fires.
(2)
The storage and use of explosives and flammables.
(3)
The installation and maintenance of automatic and
other fire alarm systems and fire extinguishing equipment.
(4)
The maintenance and regulation of fire escapes.
(5)
The means and adequacy of exit in case of fire from
factories, schools, hotels, lodging houses, asylums, hospitals, churches,
halls, theaters, amphitheaters and all other places in which numbers
of persons work, live or congregate, from time to time, for any purpose.
(6)
The investigation of the cause, origin and circumstances
of fires.
(7)
The maintenance of fire cause and loss records.
B.
They shall have such powers and perform such other
duties as are set forth in other sections of this chapter and as may
be conferred and imposed from time to time by law. The Fire Chief
of the Ardsley Fire Department may delegate any of his powers or duties
under this chapter to the Fire Marshal.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal of
the Ardsley Fire Department to investigate and to recommend to the
Village of Ardsley such additional local laws or amendments to existing
local laws as he may deem necessary for safeguarding life and property
against fire.
The Fire Chief of the Fire Department shall
prepare instructions for the Fire Marshal and his assistants and forms
for their use in the reports required by this chapter.
The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall investigate
the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring in the
Village of Ardsley by which property has been destroyed or damaged
and, so far a possible, shall determine whether the fire is the result
of carelessness or design. Such investigations shall begin immediately
upon the occurrence of such a fire. The Fire Marshal shall take charge
immediately of the physical evidence, shall notify the proper authorities
designated by law to pursue the investigation of such matters and
shall further cooperate with the authorities in collection of evidence
and in the prosecution of the case. Every fire shall be reported in
writing to the Bureau of Fire Prevention within 10 days after the
occurrence of the same by the Fire Department officer in whose jurisdiction
such a fire has occurred. Such report shall be in such form as shall
be prescribed by the Fire Marshal of the Ardsley Fire Department and
shall contain a statement of all facts relating to the cause, origin
and circumstances of such fire, the extent of damage thereof and such
other information as may be required, including the injury, death
or rescue of persons.
A.
Before permits may be issued as required by this code,
the Fire Marshal or his assistants shall inspect and approve the receptacles,
processes, vehicles, buildings or storage places to be used for any
such purposes.
B.
The Fire Marshal shall inspect or cause to be inspected
all premises on a periodic basis and shall make such orders as may
be necessary for the enforcement of the laws and ordinances governing
the same and for the safeguarding of life and property from fire.
C.
Whenever any inspector, as defined above, shall find
in any building, or upon any premises or other places, combustible
or explosive matter or a dangerous accumulation of wastepaper, boxes,
shavings or any highly flammable material especially liable to fire
and which is so situated as to endanger property; or shall find obstructions
to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors or windows, liable
to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or egress
of occupants in case of fire, he shall order the same to be removed
or remedied, and such order shall forthwith be complied with by the
owner or occupant of such premises or buildings, subject to the appeals
procedure provided for in the Fire Prevention Code.
D.
Any owner or occupant failing to comply with such
order within a reasonable period after the service of said order shall
be liable to penalties as hereinafter provided.
E.
The service of any such order may be made upon the
occupant of the premises to whom it is directed, either by delivering
a copy of the same to such occupant personally or by delivering the
same to and leaving with any person in charge of the premises or,
in case no such person is found upon the premises, by affixing a copy
thereof in a conspicuous place on the door to the entrance of said
premises. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such an order upon
the owner of the premises, such order may be served either by delivering
to and leaving with the said person a copy of the said order or, if
such owner is absent from the jurisdiction of the officer making the
order, by mailing such copy by certified mail to the owner's last
known post office address.
The Fire Marshal shall compile and keep a record
of all fires and of all the facts concerning the same, including injuries,
death, rescue of persons and statistics as to the extent of such fires
and the damage caused thereby.
The Fire Marshal shall make an annual report
of the activities of the Bureau of Fire Prevention and shall transmit
this report to the Chief Executive Office of the Village of Ardsley
through the Fire Chief of the Ardsley Fire Department. The report
shall contain all proceedings under the Ardsley Fire Prevention Code.
The Fire Chief of Ardsley Fire Department or
the Fire Marshal shall also recommend any amendments to the Ardsley
Fire Prevention Code which, in his judgment, shall be desirable.
The provisions of the Ardsley Fire Prevention
Code shall apply equally to both public and private property, and
it shall apply to all structures and their occupants except as otherwise
specified.
This chapter shall be deemed an exercise of
the police powers of the Village of Ardsley for the preservation and
protection of the public health, peace, safety and welfare, and all
the provisions of the Ardsley Fire Prevention Code shall be liberally
construed for that purpose.
Any person committing an offense against any
provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty
of a violation pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of New York,
punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The
continuation of an offense against the provisions of this chapter
shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a separate
and distinct offense hereunder.
A Board of Appeals is hereby established.
Certain appendixes of the Fire Prevention Code
of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No. 1, are hereby
included as a part of this Fire Prevention Chapter. The same are hereby
adopted and are marked Appendix B, respectively.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is located at the
end of this chapter.
