[Amended 6-17-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024]
No person shall open, interfere with or draw water from any
fire hydrant in the City without first obtaining a written permit
from the Superintendent of Water and Sewers authorizing such use,
except that fire hydrants may be opened by or on the order of any
member of a fire department within the City in case of fire or other
emergency for the purpose of attaching thereto fire hose and equipment.
A.
The following regulations shall govern the use of any fire hydrant
in the City:
(1)
Whenever a fire hydrant is to be opened and used by any non-City
entity, a written permit from the Superintendent of Water and Sewers
shall be first acquired.
(2)
A permit to open, interfere with, or draw water from any fire hydrant
shall only be issued under special circumstances as determined by
the Superintendent of Water and Sewers in its sole discretion, such
as when a property is under construction and sufficient water is not
yet available on site or to gather engineering data, such as, but
not limited to, flow data and line pressures.
(3)
No permit to open, interfere with, or draw water from any fire hydrant
may be issued unless the applicant has first paid the permit fee set
forth in the City Schedule of Fees. If the permit is issued for the
use of a public hydrant the permittee shall also pay a monthly rental
fee as set forth in the City Schedule of Fees.
(4)
No permit shall be issued between November 15 and March 15, nor shall
any permittee be allowed to open or draw water from any fire hydrant
during this time.
(5)
All permits issued herein shall expire no later than November 15
or within 180 calendar days of issuance, whichever occurs first.
(7)
The permittee shall be solely responsible for paying for water drawn
from any fire hydrant based upon the usage thereof.
(8)
No tools or implements shall be used to open fire hydrants except
such tools that are approved for the operation of fire hydrants. No
use of pipe wrenches, pump pliers or channel locks is permitted.
(9)
Swimming pools and other bodies of water shall not be filled from
fire hydrants.
(10)
The permittee shall be responsible for any damage to public
fire hydrants and/or property caused by the use of any fire hydrant.
(11)
In addition to the use regulations set forth herein, the Superintendent
of Water and Sewers may prescribe such reasonable conditions and restrictions
upon the permittee.
All privately owned fire hydrants in the City of Beacon shall
be operated and maintained in compliance with the following standards
and specifications. Privately owned fire hydrants shall mean any fire
hydrant within the City which is owned or controlled by a person,
partnership, corporation, or entity other than a federal, state, county
or local government.
A.
New installations of privately owned fire hydrants after the filing
of this local law shall conform to the following standards in addition
to any other requirements set forth herein.
(1)
Prior to the installation of any new private fire hydrant a
permit shall be acquired from the City of Beacon Water Department
and a fee shall be paid as set forth in the City's Schedule of
Fees.
(2)
The City of Beacon Water Department shall oversee the installation
of all new private fire hydrants, which shall conform to the applicable
federal, state, and local regulations, including but not necessarily
limited to the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code and/or
NFPA.
(3)
Privately owned fire hydrants shall be appropriately designed
and specified on site plans.
(4)
Be breakaway style if located within 15 feet of any street or
right-of-way.
(5)
Upon installation and prior to the flowing of any water via
a newly installed private fire hydrant, the City of Beacon Water Department
shall be contacted and shall inspect the private fire hydrant. No
water shall be allowed to flow through any private fire hydrant without
documentation by the City of Beacon Water Department of the inspection(s)
and a determination that the private fire hydrant complies with all
applicable standards, rules and regulations.
B.
Maintenance, standards, and specifications. All private fire hydrants
shall comply with the following standards and specifications, regardless
of when so installed:
(1)
Be in compliance with the New York State Fire Code, and such
other county, state, or federal laws, rules and regulations applicable
to privately owned fire hydrants.
(2)
Be mechanically complete and in good working condition.
(3)
Be accessible and free of obstructions, including but not limited
to, all vegetation, landscaping, snow, and other obstructions for
at least three feet away from fire hydrants. Any private fire hydrant
shall have a snow marker between the period of November 15 and March
15 if such hydrant is located outdoors at ground level.
(4)
Be free of rust and corrosion.
(5)
Be painted with the City of Beacon identifying colors and have
flow rating bands per NFPA standards.
(6)
Drain completely within 60 minutes of closing the valve(s).
(7)
Have outlet caps secured.
(8)
Have gaskets which do not leak when the hydrant is on.
(9)
Have an operating nut which is not in worn condition and does
not have rounded corners.
(10)
Open in a counter clockwise direction.
(11)
Be a Mueller manufactured fire hydrant, if erected subsequent
to the effective date of this article.
(12)
No person or entity may shut off, disconnect, remove, or disable
a private fire hydrant without the prior written approval of the City
of Beacon.
(13)
It shall be strictly prohibited to open or draw water from a
private fire hydrant, except in the case of a bona fide emergency
or when performing legitimate inspections in accordance with the requirements
herein, without the prior written approval of the City of Beacon Water
Department.
(14)
The City of Beacon shall be permitted to access and inspect
all private fire hydrants as necessary and upon reasonable prior notice.
In the event such property owner or person in control of a privately
owned fire hydrant refuses permission, the City Attorney may seek
an administrative search warrant for the purposes of City personnel
performing such inspection.
(15)
Failure to meet such standards herein shall be cause to deny
either a temporary or final permit by the City of Beacon, or the revocation
of any existing permits.
C.
Duty to repair. The owner of such land in which a privately owned
fire hydrant is located has the affirmative duty to repair or replace
any fire hydrant in accordance with the standards herein. Upon notice
of required repairs by the City of Beacon, the property owner must
complete such repairs and certify that the hydrant meets all required
standards herein within 30 calendar days of the notice. Such repairs
shall be at the sole cost and expense of the owner. Failure of the
City of Beacon to notify any owner of a privately owned fire hydrant
that such hydrant is not in good working order shall not relieve such
owner of the affirmative obligation to ensure that the hydrant is
in good working order and complies with the applicable standards,
regulations, and rules herein.
D.
Inspections. All privately owned fire hydrants shall be inspected
annually at the owner's expense, in accordance with the applicable
local, state, and federal laws, rules and regulations. Any person
or entity who owns or controls a private fire hydrant in the City
of Beacon shall have the affirmative obligation, without request from
the City, to cause such inspections to be made. Any such person or
entity who owns, controls, operates, or maintains any private fire
hydrant shall submit a copy of the report generated from its annual
fire hydrant testing performed pursuant to the New York State Fire
Code and NFPA to the Building Inspector of the City of Beacon. The
report shall include, but not be limited to, the water pressure level
coming out of each hydrant as measured by pounds per square inch (psi)
and a calculation of the number of gallons of water per minute from
each hydrant based on a reading of 20 psi of flowing pressure.
E.
Annual flushing. All privately owned fire hydrants shall be flushed
annually and performed in a manner to avoid soil erosion and direct
the water flow into a storm drainage system. A permit shall be obtained
from the Superintendent of Water and Sewers prior to the flushing
of any privately owned fire hydrants. All those serviced by the water
line connected to the privately owned fire hydrant shall be provided
at least 48 hours' advance written notice of the flushing. The
owner or operator of the privately owned fire hydrant shall be responsible
for giving such written notice.
F.
Notifications and access. The City of Beacon Building Inspector and
City of Beacon Water Department shall be contacted immediately regarding
any privately owned fire hydrant that:
(1)
Is taken out of service for any reason; or
(2)
Is found to be inoperable or fails the inspection; or
(3)
Upon completion of any work performed on a private fire hydrant.
Prior to placing such private fire hydrant back into service, no water
shall be allowed to flow through any private fire hydrant without
written documentation by the City of Beacon Water Department of an
inspection certifying that the private fire hydrant complies with
all applicable standards, rules, and regulations.
G.
Inspection and registration fee. Any person or entity which owns,
controls, operates, or maintains a private fire hydrant, shall pay
an annual fee as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule for each
such fire hydrant that the person or entity is responsible for, whether
located on private property or private streets.
H.
Penalties. Any person or entity who violates any provision of this section shall be subject to a fine pursuant to § 1-3A of the Code. Prior to commencing any enforcement action for violation of this section, the enforcing person shall grant the property owner 30 days' notice to comply. Each day a privately owned hydrant is not in compliance with this section, and each hydrant found to be in violation of this section, shall constitute a separate offense.
I.
More stringent rules and regulations to apply. The provisions of
the New York State Fire Code, as well as any county, state, and federal
laws or regulations, relating to privately owned fire hydrants shall
remain in full force and effect within the City of Beacon, and shall
be in addition to the provisions set forth in this section. To the
extent there is any conflict with the provisions herein and that contained
in the New York State Fire Code or any county, state, or federal law
or regulation, the more restrictive shall apply.
