[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Amityville 12-14-2009 by L.L. No. 33-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that it shall take
effect on January 2, 2010, subject to acceptance and filing by the
Secretary of State.
For the purpose of prescribing rules and regulations governing
conditions hazardous to life and property from fire and explosion,
there is hereby adopted the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code, and amendments thereto ("Uniform Code"), save and
except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended.
Said Uniform Code is hereby incorporated as fully as if set forth
at length herein. A complete copy of said Uniform Code shall be kept
in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be available for inspection
and copying by the public during normal business hours.
The Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code shall be enforced
by the Code Enforcement Officer and the Fire Marshal.
The Code Enforcement Officer is designated as the fire inspector.
The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to designate additional
fire inspectors from time to time provided that they have been duly
certified by New York State.
The Office of Fire Marshal previously established is hereby
continued. Said office shall consist of a Chief Fire Marshal and two
Deputy Fire Marshals who shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject
to the approval of the Board of Trustees, for a term of three years.
Said terms shall be staggered so only one term expires each year.
The Office of the Fire Marshal shall have the authority to determine
the presence of flammable or combustible material in any building
within the Village and to assist the Fire Department in the initial
investigation of any fire in the Village.
The fire inspector(s) and members of the Office of the Fire
Marshal shall have the power at any and all times to enter into and
examine all buildings and ascertain if any flammable or combustible
material is lodged therein.
[Amended 3-8-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to inspect all buildings and premises, as provided in § 49-11 of this Code for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any condition liable to cause fire or endanger life by fire or any violation of the provisions or intent of this chapter.
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer or the Office of the Fire
Marshal shall find in any building or upon any premises dangerous
or hazardous conditions or materials as follows, he shall order such
dangerous conditions or materials to be removed or remedied in such
manner as may be specified by the inspecting officer:
A.
Dangerous
or unlawful amounts of combustible or explosive or otherwise hazardous
materials.
B.
Hazardous
conditions arising from defective or improperly installed equipment
for handling or using combustible or explosive or otherwise hazardous
materials.
C.
Dangerous
accumulations of rubbish, wastepaper, boxes, shavings or other highly
combustible materials.
D.
Accumulations
of dust or waste material in air-conditioning or ventilating systems
or of grease in kitchen or other exhaust ducts or inadequate clearances
to unprotected combustible materials from hoods, grease extractors
and ducts.
E.
Obstructions
to or on fire escapes, designated access openings in exterior walls
for Fire Department use, stairs, passageways, doors or windows, liable
to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or egress
of occupants in case of fire.
F.
Any
building or other structure which, for want of repairs, lack of adequate
exit facilities, automatic or other fire alarm apparatus or fire extinguishing
equipment, or by reason of age or dilapidated condition, or from any
other cause, creates a hazardous condition.
The service of process for violations of this chapter shall
be made upon the owner, occupant or other person responsible for the
conditions, either by delivering a copy of same to such person or
by delivering the same to and leaving it 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 such premises. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such
a process upon the owner of a premises, such process may be served
either by delivering to and leaving with said person a copy of said
process, or, if such owner is absent from the jurisdiction of the
officer making the process, by sending such copy by certified or registered
mail to the owner's last known post office address.
A.
The
Office of the Fire Marshal may assist the Fire Chief in the investigation
of the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring in
the Village which is of suspicious nature or which involves loss of
life or injury to persons or by which property has been destroyed
or substantially damaged. Such investigations shall be begun immediately
upon the occurrence of such fire, and, if it appears that such fire
is of suspicious origin, the Office of the Fire Marshal shall immediately
notify the Police Department of the facts. The Police Department shall
notify the proper authorities designated by law to pursue the investigation
of such matters and shall further cooperate with the authorities in
the collection of evidence and in the prosecution of the case.
B.
Every
fire shall be reported, in writing, by the Police Department to the
Office of the Fire Marshal, within two days after the occurrence of
the same. The report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed
by the Office of the Fire Marshal. Every fire investigated by the
Office of the Fire Marshal shall be reported, in writing, to the Fire
Department, within two days following the occurrence of the same,
by the Fire Marshal or Deputy Fire Marshal performing such investigation.
Said report shall contain a statement of facts relating to the cause,
origin and circumstances of such fire, factors contributing to the
spread of the fire, injury to persons, the extent of the damage, the
insurance upon such property and such other information as may be
required. The Fire Chief shall prepare a report of each and every
fire on a form prescribed by the New York State Secretary of State
and shall submit a copy of said report to the Office of the Fire Marshal
as well as to the New York State agency whose duty it is to collect
such reports. In the event that the Fire Department or the Office
of the Fire Marshal shall require the services of another investigatory
agency, the Fire Department shall request such assistance and shall
receive any report issued by such agency and shall forward a copy
of any such report to the Office of the Fire Marshal.
[Amended 3-8-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
C.
The
Village Attorney and the Police Department, upon request of the Office
of the Fire Marshal, shall assist the Office of the Fire Marshal in
the investigation of any fire which, in their opinion, is of suspicious
origin.
The Fire Department shall keep a record of all fires and of
all the facts concerning the same, including statistics as to the
extent of such fires and the damage caused thereby. Said record shall
be on a form prescribed by the New York State Office of Fire Prevention
and Control.
A.
A permit shall constitute permission to maintain, store or handle
materials or to conduct processes which produce conditions hazardous
to life or property or to install equipment used in connection with
such activities. Such permit does not take the place of any license
required by law. It shall not be transferable, and any change in use
or occupancy of the premises shall require a new permit. Permits shall
be required for the manufacture, storage or sale of the materials
or the conducting of the operations as established by the New York
State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Annual fees for such
permits shall be paid. Such fees shall be established and modified
by the Board of Trustees by resolution.
B.
Before a permit may be issued, the fire inspector shall inspect and
approve the receptacles, vehicles, buildings or storage places to
be used. In cases where laws or regulations enforceable by departments
other than the Code Enforcement Officer are applicable, joint approval
shall be obtained from all departments concerned.
C.
All applications for a permit required by this chapter shall be made
to the Code Enforcement Officer in such form and detail as it shall
prescribe. Applications for permits shall be accompanied by such plans
as required by the Code Enforcement Officer.
D.
Permits shall at all times be kept on the premises designated therein
and shall at all times be subject to inspection by any officer of
the Fire or Police Department or the Code Enforcement Officer or the
Office of the Fire Marshal.
E.
One permit only shall be required by establishments dealing in or
using two or more flammable, combustible or explosive materials to
be kept in the establishment at any one time, but each of the materials
shall be listed on the permit.
The Code Enforcement Officer may revoke a permit or approval
issued if any violation of this chapter is found upon inspection or
in case there has been any false statement or misrepresentation as
to a material fact in the application or plans on which the permit
or approval was based.
[Amended 1-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
It shall be unlawful for any person to store, offer for sale,
expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks within
the Village without a permit issued by the Village Clerk in accordance
with § 405.00 of the Penal Law.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the power to modify
any of the provisions of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
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 modification, when granted or
allowed, and the decision of the Code Enforcement Officer thereon
shall be entered upon the records of the Code Enforcement Officer,
and a signed copy shall be furnished to the applicant.
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer shall disapprove an application
or refuse to grant a permit applied for or when it is claimed that
the provisions of the 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 such decision to the Board of Trustees
of the Village within 30 days of the date of the decision appealed.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall determine and specify, after
giving interested persons an opportunity to be heard, any new materials,
processes or occupancies which shall require permits, in addition
to those now enumerated in this chapter. The Code Enforcement Officer
shall post such list on the bulletin board in the Village Office and
distribute copies thereof to interested persons upon their request.
