A.
The Uniform Code and this chapter shall be administered
and enforced by the Director of Community Development, the Fire Marshal
and the Building Inspector:
(1)
The Fire Marshal shall enforce the Fire Code of New
York State. In addition, the Fire Marshal shall also enforce jointly
with the Building Inspector those provisions of the Uniform Code dealing
with building construction related to fire prevention and firesafety.
(2)
The Building Inspector shall enforce all other provisions
of the Uniform Code not specifically delegated to the Fire Marshal
and shall jointly enforce with the Fire Marshal those provisions of
the Uniform Code dealing with building construction related to fire
prevention and firesafety.
B.
Fire Marshal and the Building Inspector.
(1)
The Office of the Fire Marshal shall be headed by
a Town official designated as the Fire Marshal, who shall be appointed
by the Town Board, on the basis of examination to determine his or
her qualifications. The Fire Marshal may be assisted by one or more
Deputy or Assistant Fire Marshals, who shall have the power to act
generally for and on behalf of the Fire Marshal. Additionally, the
Fire Marshal may be assisted by one or more other employees as may
be deemed necessary to carry out the functions of the office. The
Fire Marshal may also be identified as the "authority having jurisdiction,"
the "code official," or the "Code Enforcement Official" when laws,
codes, ordinances, rules, or regulations make such references consistent
with the scope and intended duties of the Fire Marshal.
(2)
The Office of the Building Inspector shall be headed
by a Town official designated as the Building Inspector and who shall
perform the duties of the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector
may be assisted by one or more Deputy or Assistant Building Inspectors,
who shall have the power to act generally for and on behalf of the
Building Inspector. Additionally, the Building Inspector may be assisted
by one or more other employees as may be deemed necessary to carry
out the functions of the office.
C.
The Fire Marshal may be assisted by the Chiefs of
the Fire Departments located and established within the limits of
the Town of Irondequoit. Each of the Fire Chiefs and their duly authorized
assistants shall have the authority to make fire prevention inspections
under the Uniform Code within the area or areas served by their respective
fire districts. A copy of any inspection report or other report of
other official action shall be filed with the Fire Marshal.
D.
The Town Board of the Town of Irondequoit may appoint
a temporary Fire Marshal or Building Inspector in the event that such
officer becomes unable to perform his or her duties due to illness
or disability and such temporary technical investigators, inspectors
or consultants as may be necessary upon request of the Fire Marshal
or the Building Inspector.
A.
Except as otherwise specifically provided by law,
ordinance, rule or regulation or except as herein otherwise provided,
the Building Inspector shall administer and enforce all the provisions
of laws, codes, ordinances, rules, regulations and orders applicable
to the location, design, materials, construction, alteration, repair,
equipment, maintenance, use, occupancy, removal and demolition of
buildings, structures and appurtenances thereof.
B.
The Fire Marshal shall administer and enforce all
laws, codes, ordinances, regulations and orders applicable to life
safety, fire prevention and firesafety. The Fire Marshal shall also
prescribe regulations consistent with nationally recognized good practice
for the safeguarding, to a reasonable degree, of life and property
from hazardous conditions of fire arising from the use or occupancy
of buildings and from the storage of hazardous substances, materials
and devices. The Fire Marshal shall perform firesafety and property
maintenance inspections, including but not necessarily limited to:
(1)
Firesafety and property maintenance inspections of
buildings or structures which contain an area of public assembly shall
be performed at least once every 12 months.
(2)
Firesafety and property maintenance inspections of
buildings and structures being occupied as dormitories shall be performed
at least once every 12 months.
(4)
Firesafety and property maintenance inspections may
also be performed at any time upon the request of the property owner,
or his agent; upon receipt of a written statement or other information
giving reason to believe that conditions or activities failing to
comply with the Uniform Code exist.
C.
The Building Inspector shall receive and review permit
applications, together with applicable drawings and other documents
as may be required, and shall issue permits for the construction,
installation, alteration, repair, removal and demolition of buildings,
structures or portions or accessories thereof and for equipment, plumbing,
electrical and other appurtenances thereof. He or she shall inspect
the premises for which such applications have been received or such
permits have been issued for the purpose of assuring compliance with
all applicable laws, codes, ordinances, rules and regulations. The
Building Inspector shall issue certificates of occupancy for the purpose
of certifying that the work has been completed in conformance with
all requirements inherent in the issuance of the permit thereof.
D.
The Fire Marshal or the Building Inspector shall issue
appropriate notices or orders to remove illegal or unsafe conditions,
to require the necessary safeguards during construction or demolition
and to assure compliance with all applicable laws, codes, ordinances,
rules and regulations.
E.
The Fire Marshal or the Building Inspector may require
the performance of field or laboratory tests by qualified persons,
service bureaus, agencies or accredited and authoritative testing
laboratories whenever he or she may deem it necessary or appropriate
to assure compliance with the provisions of applicable laws, codes,
ordinances, standards, specifications, rules and regulations.
F.
The Fire Marshal may assist, where practicable, in
the investigation of the cause and origin of any fire occurring in
the Town which is of a suspicious nature or which involves loss of
life or injury to persons or by which property has been substantially
destroyed.
G.
The Fire Marshal or the Building Inspector shall be
notified as soon as practicable of all working fires which involve
structural damage which threatens the continued occupancy of the premises
or where such fire causes the death or serious injury of any person.
H.
The Fire Marshal and the Building Inspector shall
be authorized to recommend qualifications, training programs and criteria
for the certification of inspectors should it be deemed necessary
or appropriate.
I.
The Fire Marshal and the Building Inspector shall
keep official records of all transactions and activities of the office,
including records of all applications received, all permits and certificates
issued, fees charged and collected, inspections conducted and notices
and orders issued.
J.
The Fire Marshal and the Building Inspector may adopt
policies and procedures for the administration and enforcement of
this chapter and the Uniform Code. Such policies and procedures shall
not conflict with the Uniform Code or this chapter.
K.
The Fire Marshal and/or the Building Inspector shall
investigate complaints which allege or assert the existence of conditions
or activities which fail to comply with the Uniform Code. The process
for responding to such complaints shall include any of the following
steps as may be appropriate.
(1)
Performing an inspection of the conditions or activities
alleged and documenting the results of said inspection;
(2)
Providing the property owner and/or other persons
who may be responsible for the violation with notice of the violation
and opportunity to correct same;
(3)
Issuing a stop-work order; and/or
(4)
Performing an inspection to ensure that the violation
has been corrected and preparing a report to document same.
L.
The Fire Marshal shall serve within the emergency
operation plan of the Town of Irondequoit, assisting and serving as
liaison with other emergency services within the Town.
A.
The provisions of the Uniform Code relating to maintenance,
housekeeping and behavior regulations so as to protect life and property
against the hazards of fire, explosion and the release of toxic gases
arising from the storage, handling or use of combustible or hazardous
substances, materials or devices shall apply equally to new and existing
buildings and conditions.
B.
Where this chapter may apply to situations lawfully
existing prior to the effective date of the Uniform Code and/or this
chapter, the Fire Marshal and the Building Inspector shall have the
authority to permit the continuance of those conditions not in strict
compliance with the terms of this chapter where the exceptions do
not constitute a distinct hazard to life or property.
The Fire Marshal may, in his or her sole discretion,
delegate fire inspection authority to personnel employed by any large
integrated industrial concern or other authorized agency which, in
his or her sole opinion, maintains adequate fire-protection and fire-prevention
services. The Fire Marshal shall investigate, at any time or interval
that he or she may deem necessary, to determine that the firesafety
standards so maintained are substantially equivalent to the modified
provisions of this chapter.
A.
Whenever the Fire Marshal or the Building Inspector
shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied
for or when it is claimed that the provisions of the Uniform Code
do not apply or that the intent and meaning of the Uniform Code have
been misconstrued or misinterpreted, the person affected may appeal
from the decision of the Fire Marshal or the Building Inspector to
the Board of Review, established under the applicable provisions of
the New York State Executive Law § 381, as amended or changed.
B.
The procedures set forth in the New York State Executive
Law referred to above for appeals shall not prohibit the Fire Marshal
or the Building Inspector from immediately removing a hazard or ordering
the immediate closing of the building or premises until a violation
of the law has been corrected when such hazard or existence of such
violation constitutes, in the sole discretion of the Fire Marshal
or the Building Inspector, a distinct hazard to life or public safety.
