[HISTORY: 1988 Code §§ 14-1—14-25 adopted
as amended through December 31, 2013. Additional amendments noted
where applicable and include Ord.
No. 12-2020; Ord.
No. 50-2021; Ord.
No. 60-2022.]
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act (P.L.
1983, c. 383), the New Jersey Fire Code shall be locally enforced
in the Township of Wayne.
The Fire Prevention Code of the municipality shall consist of
a certain code known as the "New Jersey Uniform Fire Code," adopted
February 18, 1985, and is hereby incorporated in this chapter as if
set forth at length. Required copies thereof have been placed on file
in the office of the Township Clerk and in the Fire Bureau and shall
remain in said offices so long as this chapter is in effect, for use
and examination by the public.
The Wayne Township Fire Bureau shall be the local enforcing
agency for the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the codes and regulations
adopted under it in all buildings, structures and premises within
the established boundaries of Wayne, other than owner-occupied one-
and two-family dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements
of the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Uniform Fire Code.
The Fire Bureau, as designated by this chapter, shall carry
out the periodic inspections of life hazard uses required by the Uniform
Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of the Department of Community
Affairs.
[Amended 12-15-2021 by Ord. No. 50-2021]
In addition to the inspection fees required pursuant to the
Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs, the
following additional inspections and non-life-hazard annual registration
fees shall be required:
A.
Inspections
and Non-Life Hazard Annual Registration fees.
(2)
Assessed fees shall be satisfied by the 30th day after its issuance.
(3)
Unpaid fees outstanding after the 30th day may result in a penalty
equal to the amount of the unpaid fee. Ten additional days will be
granted for payment of the fee plus penalty.
(4)
Any person who fails to immediately pay a money judgment entered
against him pursuant to this section is subject to the penalties in
accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12.
(5)
All moneys recovered in the form of penalties shall be paid into
a dedicated trust account and shall be appropriated for the enforcement
of the Act.
(6)
If the fee and penalty remain unpaid after the thirty-day extension
period, the enforcing agency may institute legal proceedings in Municipal
Court pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-12 et
seq.).
[Amended 12-15-2021 by Ord. No. 50-2021]
The life-hazard use registration fees established by the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.9(a), shall be as provided in Chapter 75, Fees.
A.
The
response of Fire Bureau personnel to fire alarm conditions shall apply
to all occupancies.
B.
Upon
the occurrence of a fire alarm in any of the afore-listed occupancies,
during the normal business hours of the Fire Bureau, there may be
a response from Fire Bureau personnel. The following constitute legitimate
reasons for a response from the Fire Bureau:
(1)
To enforce the Fire Code or Fire Ordinance and to issue documentation,
violations and notification as may be required by the Township of
Wayne.
(2)
To assist the Fire Chief or his duly authorized representative. This
may be done with any knowledge acquired during previous fire inspections
performed by Fire Bureau personnel. This shall be of fire-staff-type
assistance, not fire-command-type assistance.
C.
Response
to all occupancies after normal business hours may occur by on-call
Fire Bureau personnel or by the Fire Official or by request of the
Fire Chief or Police Department, when made through the headquarters
communications center.
D.
Response
of the Fire Bureau to residential fire alarm conditions may be by
request of the Fire Chief or Police Department. This chapter shall
not interfere with the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.3(a)25,
on investigation contained in Subchapter 3, Organization, Administration
and Enforcement.
A.
All
fire hydrants shall be installed subject to the approval of the Fire
Official or his duly authorized representative.
B.
Fire
Department connections shall have an approved fire hydrant installed
no more than 100 feet from the siamese connection location or as approved
by the Fire Official. All fire hydrants and Fire Department connections
shall be maintained accessible and visible at all times.
C.
This
location of hydrants to Fire Department connections shall apply to
all new construction.
A.
As
used in this chapter, "false alarm" shall mean the transmission either
directly or indirectly to the Police Department of the Township of
Wayne of any automatic fire alarm, smoke alarm, fire sprinkler water
flow alarm, or carbon monoxide alarm that was not caused by a fire,
a smoke condition or such other condition that is beyond the control
of the owner.
B.
The
Police Department shall report all false alarms to the Fire Bureau
which shall investigate and determine the cause of the false alarm.
The Fire Bureau shall maintain a list of all false alarms. Said list
shall identify the locations of the false alarms and the number of
false alarms at the location during the calendar year.
A.
Penalties for false alarms transmitted from a multifamily residential
complex, business, commercial, eleemosynary and/or industrial premises
shall be as follows:
|
Number of Alarms Within a Calendar Year
|
Penalty
|
|---|---|
|
First 2
|
Warning only
|
|
3rd
|
$200
|
|
4th
|
$300
|
|
5th
|
$500
|
|
6 or more
|
$1,000
|
B.
Penalties for false alarms transmitted from single-family detached
dwellings, individual townhouses and condominium unit dwellings shall
be as follows:
|
Number of Alarms Within a Calendar Year
|
Penalty
|
|---|---|
|
First 2
|
Warning only
|
|
3rd
|
$100
|
|
4th
|
$200
|
|
5th
|
$300
|
|
6 or more
|
$500
|
C.
Any person, firm, company or corporation that causes to be transmitted
a false alarm as the result of installing, repairing, testing, tampering
with or performing any work to an automatic fire alarm, smoke alarm,
fire sprinkler, water flow alarm, carbon monoxide alarm system, or
as a result of structural alterations, renovations, remodeling or
construction shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $200 nor
more than $1,000 for each transmission of a false alarm.
D.
All penalties assessed for violation of this chapter shall be paid
into the Fire Bureau Penalty Account.
Blocking access, interfering or tampering with or causing malicious
damage to any fire alarm, suppression system, fire communications
system, fire detection, first-aid, fire-fighting system, device, unit
or part thereof shall result in a mandatory fine of $500 per day per
violation. During an actual alarm, the condition shall result in a
mandatory fine of $500 per day per violation. Fines shall remain in
effect until conditions are deemed corrected by the Fire Bureau. Failure
to comply shall result in an issued summons to appear in court. Fines
assessed from this chapter shall go into the Fire Bureau penalty account.
The minimum size of portable fire extinguishers for job site
location concerning hot tar kettles shall be 15 pounds. The type shall
be B:C dry chemical. The minimum number of portable extinguishers
per each kettle job site shall be:
A.
No person shall use or operate any fire hydrant intended for use
of the Fire Department for suppression purposes unless such person
first secures permission from the Fire Official and the Supervisor
of Water and Services. Failure to obtain such permission shall be
deemed unlawful.
B.
This section shall not apply to the use of such hydrants by a person
employed by and authorized to make such use by the Supervisor of Water
and Sewers.
C.
A person who violates or causes to be violated the provisions of
this section shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $500 for
each violation. This shall be in addition to such penalties as may
be enforced by other municipal agencies.
A.
The Fire Official shall recommend to the Director of Public Works
the location or relocation of new or existing fire hydrants and the
placement or replacement of inadequate water mains located upon public
property and deemed necessary to provide an adequate fire flow and
distribution pattern. This shall be done in conjunction with advice
from the Supervisor of Water and Sewers.
[Amended 2-19-2020 by Ord. No. 12-2020]
B.
A fire hydrant shall not be placed into or removed from service until
approved by the Fire Official and the Supervisor of Water and Sewers.
A.
All new and existing occupied structures located more than 150 feet
from a public street or which require quantities of water beyond the
capabilities of the public water distribution system or which have
areas remote from existing hydrant locations shall have additional,
properly placed fire hydrants, as approved by the Fire Official.
B.
Such fire hydrants shall be capable of supplying fire flows as required
by the Fire Official and shall be connected to a water system in accordance
with accepted engineering practices.
C.
The Fire Official shall designate and approve the number and location
of fire hydrants.
D.
Private hydrants shall not be placed into or removed from service
until approved by the Fire Official.
A.
No person shall erect, construct, place or maintain any bumps, fences,
gates, bars, pipes, wood or metal horses or any other type of obstruction
which would prevent or hinder access to a fire hydrant in or on any
street within the Township.
B.
The word "street," as used in this chapter, shall mean any roadway
accessible to the public for vehicular traffic, including but not
limited to private streets or access lanes, as well as all public
streets and highways within the boundaries of the Township.
C.
Exceptions to the prohibitions of Subsection A above may be granted in writing upon good cause shown by the Fire Official, provided that no such proposed obstruction shall be of such design or nature that injury may occur to fire suppression personnel or damage may occur to fire suppression equipment.
D.
Any person responsible for installations in violation of Subsection A above shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $500 per day per violation.
E.
Penalties shall be enforced and collected by the Fire Official under
the authority of the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code.
[Ord. No. 53-2014; amended 2-19-2020 by Ord. No. 12-2020]
A.
The head of the Fire Bureau shall be the Fire Official/Fire Subcode
Official. There may be a Senior Fire Inspector and Fire Inspectors
as may be deemed necessary and recommended by the Director of Public
Works and approved by the Business Administrator.
(1)
The Fire Subcode Official shall report to and perform his duties
under the authority of the Construction Official.
(2)
The Fire Official shall report to the Director of Public Works.
(3)
The Senior Fire Inspector shall report to and perform his duties
under the authority of the Fire Subcode Official/Fire Official and
shall be in charge in the absence of the Fire Subcode Official/Fire
Official.
(4)
The Fire Inspector(s) shall report to and perform his/her duties
under the authority of the Fire Subcode Official/Fire Official.
C.
Minimum continued education courses for the positions of Fire Subcode
Official and Senior Fire Inspector and Fire Inspectors shall be as
mandated by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the
Uniform Construction Code.
D.
Minimum licenses for Fire Inspectors shall be as follows:
(1)
Licensed Fire Inspector by the State of New Jersey Department of
Community Affairs.
E.
The Fire Subcode Official/Fire Official shall be appointed to terms
of four years. Tenure shall be granted in both of the above positions
with the commencement of a second term of four years of service as
set by the New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code Act, N.J.S.A.
52:27D-126. After the granting of tenure rights, no official shall
be removed from office except for just cause after a fair and impartial
hearing. Previous service as the Fire Subcode Official/Fire Official
or in another position comprising the same responsibilities to Wayne
Township shall be counted for tenure.
F.
The Fire Subcode Official/Fire Official shall be responsible for
the supervision of the Fire Bureau.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
A.
Key box. When a nonresidential property within the Township of Wayne
is protected by an automatic alarm system or a fire sprinkler system,
a key box of a UL type approved by the Wayne Fire Official shall be
installed on the property location.
B.
Ordering the equipment. The owner and/or occupant of a nonresidential
property or their agent shall be responsible for ordering and installing
a Knox Company Rapid Entry System or its commercial equivalent.
C.
Type of equipment. The rapid entry system shall have a single lock
and alarm tamper switch. If the building is protected by a burglary
alarm system(s), it shall be connected so that in the event the box
is open or removed from the building, an alarm will sound. If the
building is not protected by a burglar alarm system, the box may,
in the owner's discretion be connected to the fire alarm system, provided
the connection is on the fire side signaling an alarm. Connection
to the fire alarm requires the box to be zoned alternately from any
fire detection and noted on the fire alarm annunciator panel as a
rapid entry system.
D.
Box contents. The box shall contain:
E.
General. All new commercial and/or manufacturing buildings constructed after the effective date of this section, including all existing commercial and/or manufacturing buildings when there is a change of tenancy or ownership, or when reconstruction is in excess of 30% of the usable building footage shall provide a key box at a location approved by the Fire Official. The key box shall be provided with all keys as set forth in Subsection D above. The box keys shall be provided prior to occupancy and/or final inspection.
F.
Exemptions from this section. Any structure or site that has a twenty-four-hour,
seven-day-a-week, on-site guard service shall be exempted from the
provisions of this section.
G.
Fines and penalties. Any person violating the provisions of this
section, after having received a prior written warning notice by the
Fire Official, shall be subject to a fine of $200 for each violation.
[Amended 12-15-2021 by Ord. No. 50-2021]
A.
The Fire Bureau shall inspect all residential occupancies for compliance
with the required number of approved smoke detectors, carbon monoxide
detectors and portable fire extinguishers in accordance with the Township
of Wayne ordinances and the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code.
B.
Fire Bureau inspection shall occur prior to the time of resale, renting
or change of occupancy for residential purposes. Upon inspection,
a certificate of smoke detector, carbon monoxide and portable fire
extinguisher compliance (CSDCMAPFEC) shall be issued by the Fire Official.
C.
Where applicable, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors may
be battery-operated units, as approved by the Fire Official. Smoke
detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and portable fire extinguishers
shall be UL-listed, FM-approved or carry the seal of an authorized
recognized approval agency.
D.
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors shall be installed
as recommended by the manufacturer and approved by the Fire Official
or his authorized representative. Portable fire extinguishers shall
be installed in accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code N.J.A.C.
5:70-4.19.
A.
All structures, including but not limited to office buildings, strip
malls and malls containing more than 4 separate rental spaces, shall
have the main entrance door(s) and all exterior door(s) properly marked.
The marking shall consist of the following:
B.
All structures three stories or more containing more than one interior
stairwell shall have all stairwell doors marked both on the interior
of the building as well as the interior of the stairwell. The marking
shall consist of the following:
C.
The lettering and numbering shall be at least four inches in height
located not more than three feet from the bottom of the door. The
color shall be contrasting to the door color and approved by the Fire
Official.
D.
The aforementioned requirements shall apply to all structures and
shall be enforced by the Fire Inspection Bureau beginning with the
first annual inspection to be scheduled after the effective date of
this section. Failure to comply with this section will result in a
two-hundred-dollar penalty being assessed. All penalties assessed
under this section shall be paid into the Fire Bureau Penalty Account.
A.
A permit shall be required from the Wayne Township Fire Bureau before
the filming of any motion picture or commercial on any premises within
the Township of Wayne when:
(1)
The filming or any activity related thereto changes the floor plan,
means of egress or exit door configuration in a structure.
(2)
The filming or any activity related thereto involves pyrotechnics/explosives
which are stored on site or used during the filming.
(3)
The filming obstructs access to any lot, street, roadway or building
within the Township.
(4)
The filming employs the use of an aircraft of any type.
B.
Prior to the issuance of a permit and during the operation authorized
by the permit, the Fire Official may require certain fire safety elements
or standards be met, including but not limited to Township ordinances,
New Jersey Uniform Fire Code and NFPA standards. The Fire Official
may require extra protection be added to the structure and a Township
Fire Inspector be present on site. The production company shall be
responsible for the cost of the Fire Inspector and shall be paid to
the Township Treasurer at the current Township rate.
(1)
If at any time during the operation authorized by the permit the
Fire Official or his duly authorized representative feels that the
filming is unsafe, violates the code or is causing a hazard to life
or property, he may take the necessary action to abate the hazard.
(2)
The permit fee of $200 is payable to the Fire Bureau Account and
shall be valid for 30 days from the date of issuance.
(3)
A penalty of $500 shall be assessed for failure to comply with the
terms of this section and shall be payable to the Fire Bureau Penalty
Account.
[Amended 12-21-2022 by Ord. No. 60-2022]
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act,
(N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 and 52:27D-208) any person aggrieved by any order
of the local enforcement agency shall have the right to appeal to
the Passaic County Construction Board of Appeals.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to ignite, display, possess or
use in any manner whatsoever, within any commercial structure, any
pyrotechnics, sparklers and smoke/fog machines.
B.
Exempted from the provisions of this section is any testing or training
exercises conducted by the Township Fire Bureau, Fire Department or
other recognized fire brigade.
C.
Any person violating this section shall be subject to a penalty of
$1,000 per occurrence, payable to the Fire Bureau Penalty Account.
A.
No person shall erect, construct or alter, or cause to be erected,
constructed or altered, any building or structure that is either (a)
over 35 feet in height; (b) exceeds 199,000 square feet in area; (c)
contains below-grade space or parking, without providing adequate
radio coverage for the Wayne Township Police Department, Wayne Township
Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, Office of Emergency Management
and other Township departments that may be called upon to respond
to emergencies. The frequency range utilized by the Township, which
must be supported by adequate radio coverage, is 469 MHz through 481
MHz and 499 MHz through 506 MHz.
B.
For purposes of this section, adequate radio coverage shall include
the following:
(1)
A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm available in 90% of the general
building's areas of each floor of the building when transmitted from
the Township of Wayne communications systems. Critical Areas such
as emergency command centers, fire pump rooms, exit stairs, exit passageways,
and other areas specific by Wayne Township must have 99% coverage.
(2)
A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm received at the Township of
Wayne communications systems when transmitted from 90% of the general
building's area of each floor. Critical Areas such as emergency command
centers, fire pumps rooms, exit stairs, exit passageways, and other
areas specified by Wayne Township must have 99% coverage.
(3)
A 90% reliability factor.
D.
All buildings and structures to which this section is applicable
shall be equipped with any of the following to achieve the required
adequate radio coverage: radiating cable system(s) or internal Distribution
Antenna System (DAS) with 400 MHz and 500 MHz Bi-Directional Amplifier
(BDA) system(s) as needed. Signal booster BDAs shall have FCC type
acceptance in accordance with CFR Title 47, Part 90.219, Use of Signal
Boosters. If any part of the installed system(s) contains an electrically
powered component, the system(s) shall be capable of operating on
an independent battery and/or generator system for a period of at
least two hours without external power input. An automatic-monitoring-notification
system must be in place to monitor BDA for Fault, AC Power loss, Battery
Charger Fault, and Battery low charge conditions. Part 90 Class B
(Broadband Non-Channelized signal booster installations must be registered
with the FCC.
E.
A baseline In-Building coverage test of the building or structure
to determine if an enhancement signal booster system is required.
If the baseline coverage test indicates that the building has a high
RF Building Loss due to architecture or materials and requires the
installation of a signal booster system, another In-building coverage
test will be performed with the signal booster installed and operational.
Each floor shall be divided into a minimum of 20 evenly distributed
test grids. The baseline In-Building coverage test shall consist of
both signal strength measurements and Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ)
voice test calls performed within each grid cell. The passing criteria
for the baseline In-Building coverage test of Downlink signal strength
is a minimum signal strength of -95 dBm available for 90% of the general
building areas of each floor (Minimum of 18 out of 20 test grids cells
measured signal strength equal or greater than -95 dBm) and 90% of
test voice calls evaluated at a DAQ 3.0 (Speech understandable with
slight effort occasional repetition required due to Noise/Distortion)
level or better of the general building areas of each floor. Downlink
signal strength shall be collected for each grid using a spectrum
analyzer or test radio FCC engineering menu registered on the Wayne
Township radio system. The DAQ voice call test shall be performed
with a pair of test radios registered on the Wayne Township radio
system. A written baseline In-Building Coverage test results report
shall be provided to Wayne Township Chief of Police and/or his/her
designee. If the baseline In-Building Coverage test report results
indicate the building has a coverage deficiency and fails the test
criteria, the building owner shall install a coverage enhancement
signal booster BDA DAS to remediate the deficiency. The building owner
shall repeat the In-Building Test coverage test with the coverage
enhancement signal booster BDA DAS installed and operational. A post
installation coverage enhancement signal booster In-Building Coverage
test results report shall be provided to Wayne Township indicating
compliance with the provisions of this section. If specified for a
given building by Wayne Township, Critical Areas such as emergency
command centers, fire pump rooms, exit stairs, exit passageways, and
other areas specified by Wayne Township must have 99% coverage. All
testing is to be performed at the expense of the applicant for the
building permit, or the owner of the building or structure, in which
the radio amplification equipment might be installed. All tests to
be performed shall be coordinated and scheduled by the Chief of Police
or his/her designee, who retains the right to witness the test, and
will provide two (2) Wayne registered radios capable of measuring
signal strength for testing purposes.
F.
In addition to the initial test, annual tests shall be conducted
and reports submitted for a determination that the radio amplification
system equipment is still functioning at the levels required in this
section. The building owner is required to have a maintenance service
contract for emergency repairs of the BDA DAS system with a 2 hour
response time.
G.
Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the Construction Code
Official shall require proof that substantiates compliance by the
applicant and/or owner of the building or the structure with the provisions
of this section. The plans and specifications, and whatever other
data would be relevant to a determination as to compliance, shall
be filed by the applicant for the building permit, and same shall
be reviewed by the Construction Code Official. Such plan may be reviewed
by other departments of the Township when deemed necessary in the
discretion of the Construction Code Official.
H.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any single-family
dwelling.
I.
Failure to comply with the provisions of this section will result
in a penalty of $5,000.00. Each month of noncompliance will result
in an additional penalty of $5,000.00 for each month of noncompliance.
An appeal of the imposition of the penalty may be made to the Construction
Board of Appeals within 15 days of the date of the original notice
of noncompliance.
A.
ENGINEERED LUMBER
LEA
STRUCTURE
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated.
Prefabricated I-joists, truss joists and truss rafters, and
laminated beams and studs.
Local Enforcement Agency.
Primary, secondary and accessory structures as defined in
the Fire Subcode that have electrical meters that serve the structure.
B.
All new structures constructed with engineered lumber must have a
reflective symbol affixed to each electrical meter. If this is not
possible, the LEA shall designate an alternate location. Buildings
shall be identified during the construction permit application process
and enforced by the Fire Subcode Official.
C.
The reflective symbol shall be in the form of a sticker that states
that the structure is constructed with engineered lumber. Stickers
may be obtained through the Wayne Township Fire Bureau.
D.
Any person violating this section by refusing to use the reflective
symbol or by removing the reflective symbol may be subject to a fine
in an amount of $100 per violation.
E.
The owner of any existing structure that was constructed with engineered
lumber shall be required to complete a lightweight construction certification
prior to the issuance of any type of construction permit. The reflective
symbol shall be placed on the electrical meter. If this is not possible,
the LEA shall designate an alternate location. In addition a reflective
symbol shall be required upon the occurrence of one of the following
events:
