[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pittsford 7-21-1992 as Ch. 11, Art. I, of the 1992 Code; amended in its entirety 12-7-2006 by L.L. No. 6-2006. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire alarm systems — See Ch. 52, Art. II.
Building construction and maintenance — See Ch. 64.
Numbering of buildings — See Ch. 67.
Unsafe buildings — See Ch. 70.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 116.
A. 
The office of the Fire Marshal is hereby created. The Fire Marshal shall be appointed by the Town Board and shall hold office at its pleasure. It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal to enforce this chapter and all other laws and ordinances relating to the prevention and control of fires. The Fire Marshal shall have such other duties as are assigned by the Town Board.
B. 
In the absence of the Fire Marshal or in addition thereto, the Code Enforcement Officers (including the Building Inspector) appointed pursuant to Chapter 64 of this Code shall have the powers and duties of the Fire Marshal set forth in this chapter.
The Fire Marshal or a Code Enforcement Officer may at all reasonable hours enter any buildings or premises, except the interior of private dwellings which are used solely and exclusively for residential purposes and not otherwise, within the Town of Pittsford, for the purpose of making any inspection or investigation which under the provisions of this chapter he or they may deem necessary.
It shall be the duty of the Fire Marshal or a Code Enforcement Officer to inspect as often as may be necessary or upon the complaint of any person, but not less than once each year, either separately or in conjunction with the inspection required by Article VII of Chapter 64 of this Code, all storages or installations of gasoline, chemicals, oils, explosives and flammable material; all manufacturing processes; churches; nursing homes; multiple residences and apartment buildings; office buildings; and commercial establishments for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause a fire or to impair public safety in the event of a fire on such premises.
Whenever the Fire Marshal or a Code Enforcement Officer shall find in any building or upon any premises combustible or explosive matter or a dangerous accumulation of waste papers, boxes, rubbish or unnecessary accumulation of shavings or any highly flammable material, and so situated as to endanger life or property, or shall find obstruction to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors or windows or access streets or roads liable to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or egress of occupants in case of fire, the Fire Marshal or Code enforcement Officer shall order the same to be removed or remedied.
There shall be a clear area at least 10 feet in radius around all fire hydrants. No bushes, trees, rocks or other obstacles shall be allowed to remain in said clear area, except that trees in existence on May 9, 1972, shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. The Fire Marshal shall order the removal or cause to be removed any such prohibited obstacles.
The Chief of any Fire Department providing fire-fighting services for a property within the Town shall promptly notify the Fire Marshal or a Code Enforcement Officer of any fire or explosion involving any structural damage, fuel-burning appliance, chimney or gas vent.
All orders issued pursuant to §§ 86-4 and 86-5 hereof shall be in writing and mailed postpaid to the occupant of the premises affected by such order or by handing the same personally to the occupant. In the event that the premises are unoccupied, such notice shall be mailed to the owner thereof, and in such case, a notice containing said order shall be posted on the premises.
Such order shall forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant of such premises or buildings, subject to appeal from such order to the Town Board, which shall review such order within 20 days and file its decision therein, and unless such order shall be revoked or modified, it shall remain in full force and effect and shall be obeyed by such owner or occupant. Such appeal shall be in writing and shall specify the grounds upon which it is taken, and a copy of the notice of appeal shall be served on the Supervisor or the Town Clerk of the Town. Any owner or occupant who fails to comply with such order within 10 days after such appeal shall have been determined, or, if no appeal be taken, then within 10 days after the service of such order, shall be liable to a penalty as hereinafter provided.
In the event that said order is not complied with within 10 days after notice is so given or, if an appeal be taken as herein provided, then within 10 days after the determination of said appeal, the Fire Marshal or a Code Enforcement Officer may enter upon the premises and may remove such material or articles causing this fire menace or change or alter the premises so as to remove such fire menace, and the expense thereby incurred shall be assessed against the real property affected, provided that written notice shall have been given to the owner of said premises of such proposed entry, removal, change or alteration, by postpaid mail or personally to such owner at least five days in advance of such entry, removal, change or alteration.
A. 
There shall be fire lanes established and marked on all private property devoted to public use in the Town.
B. 
The establishment and marking of such fire lanes shall be approved by the Fire Marshal.
C. 
The parking, stopping or standing of motor vehicles or otherwise obstructing fire lanes shall be prohibited at all times.
D. 
The owner or occupant of the property shall be responsible for installing, maintaining, repairing and replacing the required markings of fire lanes.
E. 
The width of such fire lanes shall be at least 20 feet.
F. 
The owner or operator of any motor vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing in a fire lane, or otherwise obstructing the same, is guilty of a parking violation and shall be subject to the penalty of a fine of $50. A parking violation ticket, in form as approved by the Town Board, may be served on any violator by the Fire Marshal, any Code Enforcement Officer, the Director or Deputy Director of Public Works, the Highway Superintendent, the Monroe County Sheriff, New York State Police or any other police officer having jurisdiction at the scene of the violation, advising the violator of such fine and providing for payment of the fine by mail to the Town Justice Court, unless the violator wishes to contest the charge, in which event a personal appearance in said Court is necessary. When the absence of the owner or operator of said motor vehicle prevents personal service of the parking violation ticket, the attachment or affixing of the ticket to the vehicle in violation shall be deemed sufficient notice to the operator and owner. Except where the violator contests the charge in Court by a personal appearance within 20 days, failure to pay the fifty-dollar fine within 20 days shall cause an automatic increase to two times said fine amount, and failure to pay said increased fine within an additional twenty-day period shall result in the issuance of a bench warrant by the Town Justice Court for the arrest of said violator.
G. 
Any motor vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing in a fire lane, or otherwise obstructing the same, which constitutes an immediate, imminent or continuous danger to public safety, may be removed by the Fire Marshal, any Code Enforcement Officer, the Director or Deputy Director of Public Works, or the Highway Superintendent and stored in a suitable place at the owner's expense. The owner shall be promptly notified, in writing, that he may redeem his vehicle by paying all expenses and charges necessarily incurred for such removal and storage. If the owner fails to redeem the vehicle within 30 days, the Town may dispose of the vehicle as it deems appropriate.
The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, except those contained in § 86-10, is an offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment. Every 10 days that a violation, except those contained in § 86-10, is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate additional violation.