[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Millsboro 8-5-1985 by Ord. No. XXXIV. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall be applicable unless the context indicates to the
contrary:
Include all buildings used for the transaction of business
(other than that covered under mercantile) for the keeping of accounts
and records and similar purposes. Minor office occupancy incidental
to operations in another occupancy shall not be considered for purposes
of review under this chapter.
Includes all buildings used for the gathering of groups of
six or more persons for purposes of instruction.
That portion of accessibility to a building or parcel of
land which is necessary for emergency vehicles to gain access to exits,
standpipe connections and building perimeter of a building during
an emergency or like condition.
The Chief of Police of the Town of Millsboro or his duly
authorized representative.
A fire lane providing perimeter access for emergency vehicles
and personnel to a building, the lane to be delineated and marked
by shrubbery or other plantings.
Include factories making products of all kinds and properties
devoted to operations, such as processing, assembling, mixing, packaging,
finishing or decorating and repairing.
Those used for purposes such as medical or other treatment
or care of persons suffering from physical or mental illness, disease
or infirmity; for the care of infants, convalescents or aged persons,
and for penal or corrective purposes. Institutional buildings provide
sleeping facilities for the occupants and are occupied by persons
who are mostly incapable of self-preservation because of age, physical
or mental disability or because of security measures not under the
occupants' control.
Includes shopping centers, stores, markets and rooms for
the display and sale of merchandise. Mercantile occupancies are broken
down into three classes as noted below:
Class A: all stores having aggregate gross area
of 30,000 square feet or more or utilizing more than three floor levels.
Class B: all stores of less than 30,000 square
feet aggregate gross area, but over 3,000 square feet, or utilizing
any floors above or below street floor level.
Class C: all stores of 3,000 square feet or
less aggregate gross area and limited to street floor only.
Two or more classes of occupancy occurring in the same building,
in which case the most stringent requirements shall apply to the building,
except as set forth in the definition of "place of assembly" below.
The building's perimeter, which normally constitutes the
building's exterior walls, and shall be measured at and along the
uppermost portion of the building's exterior wall.
Includes, but is not limited to, all buildings
or portions of buildings used for gathering together 50 or more persons
in commercial places of assembly and 100 or more persons in noncommercial
places of assembly. Places of assembly shall include those facilities
used for such purposes as deliberation, worship, entertainment, amusement
or awaiting transportation. Places of assembly are classified as follows:
Class A: capacity of 1,000 persons or more.
Class B: capacity of 300 to 1,000 persons.
Class C: capacity of 100 to 300 persons.
Occupancy of any room or space for assembly
purposes by less than 100 persons in a building classified for a primary
use shall be classed for the primary use for purposes of review under
this chapter.
The principal entrance/exit to a building and/or developed
parcel of land.
That portion of the emergency access which shall serve the
primary exits and typical storefront portions of a building or developed
parcel of land.
HOTELSIncludes buildings or groups of buildings under the same management in which there are more than 15 sleeping accommodations for hire, primarily used by transients who are lodged with or without meals, whether designated as a hotel, inn, club, motel or by any other name. So-called apartment hotels shall be classified as hotels because they are potentially subject to transient occupancy like that of hotels.
APARTMENT BUILDINGSIncludes buildings containing three or more living units with independent cooking and bathroom facilities, whether designated as apartment house, tenement, garden apartment or by any other name.
DORMITORIESIncludes buildings where group sleeping accommodations are provided for persons not members of the same family group in one room or in a series of closely associated rooms under joint occupancy and single management, as in college dormitories, fraternity houses, military barracks and ski lodges, with or without meals.
LODGING OR ROOMING HOUSESIncludes buildings in which separate sleeping rooms are rented providing sleeping accommodations for a total of 15 or less persons, on either a transient or permanent basis, with or without meals, but without separate cooking facilities for individual occupants, except as provided in one- and two-family dwellings.
ONE- AND TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGSIncludes dwellings in which each living unit is occupied by members of a single family, with rooms rented to outsiders, if any, not accommodating more than three persons.
The required exits from either the sides or rear of a building
which are not customarily used for customer entrance/access.
That portion of an emergency access which shall provide accessibility
to secondary exits, fire department connections and alike features
of fire protection which are not normally considered as part of the
storefront portions of a building or parcel of land and do not normally
have customary access by the public.
Includes all buildings or structures utilized primarily for
the storage or sheltering of goods, merchandise, products, vehicles
or animals.
The purpose of this chapter is to specify basic
design and marking criteria in order to provide access by emergency
equipment and personnel to buildings, fire hydrants, standpipe and
sprinkler connections and exits to buildings in multifamily residential
buildings, commercial buildings, public and private places of assembly
and buildings involving educational, institutional, industrial and
storage occupancies, and to avoid requirements which might involve
unreasonable hardships or unnecessary inconvenience and interference
with the normal use of a building or a parcel of land but to require
compliance with a minimum degree of accessibility.
A.
This chapter sets forth the design and marking of
fire lanes and other such items necessary to locate effectively and
extinguish a fire or similar emergency around a building or upon property.
B.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit
the design or marking of fire lanes and similar matters by the owner
when, in the opinion of the enforcing authority, such marking exceeds
the provisions of this chapter.
A.
The provisions of this chapter encompass new and existing
buildings and properties; provided, however, that for an existing
building or existing parcel of land, the provisions hereof are not
intended to require access to the degree that would be required in
the construction of new roads but it is intended to require uniform
marking and Fire Department accessibility.
B.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable
to a single commercial establishment, whether new or existing, having
less than a total of 2,500 square feet of floor space.
No modifications, alterations, additions or change in occupancy shall be made to any building, structure or land unless there is compliance with the provisions of this chapter except as provided in § 97-4B of this chapter.
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter or any person who fails to comply with the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be
fined not less than $25 nor more than $200 or be imprisoned for a
term of not less than five days nor more than 30 days, or both, and
shall pay the costs of prosecution.
For the purpose of this chapter, each day that
a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
A.
Every building, structure and property shall be provided
with sufficient emergency entrances and exits in order to provide
effective ingress and egress to and from the building by emergency
personnel to necessary equipment, including but not limited to fire
hydrants, Fire Department connections, drafting pads, standpipes and
sprinkler systems.
B.
All emergency ways shall be clearly marked pursuant
to the applicable provisions of this chapter.
C.
All emergency exterior accessways shall be continuously
maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full and instant
use in the event of an emergency.
D.
Every fire lane, hydrant, Fire Department connection
and other like equipment shall be maintained by the property owner
in order to keep said equipment properly marked, in good operating
condition and visible at all times.
E.
In the absence of any specific provisions in this
chapter, signs or other notification, the color yellow shall denote
"no parking."
F.
All fire hydrants installed pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter shall meet the specifications of the Town of Millsboro
and shall be approved by the Chief of Police.
A.
The location of a fire lane is dependent upon many
considerations, such as occupancy, building height, type of construction
and property grade.
B.
The following criteria are submitted as a guide for
the design and construction of fire lanes:
(1)
A fire lane to be used for one-way traffic shall have
a minimum width of 24 feet.
(2)
A fire lane to be used for two-way traffic shall have
a minimum width of 24 feet.
(3)
Fire lanes shall be constructed pursuant to the specifications
of the Town of Millsboro for street construction.
(4)
All places of assembly and commercial establishments shall be provided with a fire lane not less than 24 feet in width. The fire lane shall extend for the entire length of the main area for ingress and egress to the building. The area of building perimeter shall be calculated pursuant to § 97-10G.
B.
Fire lanes, both primary and secondary, shall not
be located closer than 10 feet to an exterior wall of a building.
C.
Fire lanes, both primary and secondary, shall not
be located further than 50 feet from an exterior wall if one or two
stories, 40 feet if three or four stories and 30 feet if over four
stories in height.
D.
Primary fire lanes shall be required to run along the front of the building as determined by the primary entrance/exit, windows, balconies, etc. In cases where there is more than one primary entrance/exit, each shall be served by a primary fire lane even if this exceeds the percent accessibility as required in Subsection G of this section.
E.
Secondary fire lanes are acceptable to achieve the
remaining required perimeter accessibility percentage and to provide
access to Fire Department connections and secondary exits. In the
case where it is determined that no primary fire lanes are required,
secondary fire lanes may be used.
F.
Perimeter accessibility may be reduced 40% when building
is completely protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed
in accordance with NFPA 13 and approved by the Building Inspector
or his duly authorized representative.
G.
Perimeter accessibility percentages.
|
Type of Occupancy
|
Number of Stories
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Place of assembly:
|
1-2
(Up to 25 feet)
|
3-4
(25 feet to 50 feet)
|
Over 4
(Over 50 feet)
| ||
|
Class A
|
85%
|
100%
|
100%
| ||
|
Class B
|
70%
|
90%
|
100%
| ||
|
Class C
|
50%
|
75%
|
100%
| ||
|
Educational:
| |||||
|
All schools
|
50%
|
85%
|
100%
| ||
|
Day-care facilities
|
60%
|
90%
|
100%
| ||
|
Institutional
|
60%
|
100%
|
100%
| ||
|
Business
|
30%
|
65%
|
100%
| ||
|
Mercantile:
| |||||
|
Class A
|
75%
|
100%
|
100%
| ||
|
Class B
|
50%
|
70%
|
85%
| ||
|
Class C
|
25%
|
50%
|
65%
| ||
|
Residential
|
35%
|
70%
|
100%
| ||
|
Industrial
|
Will be reviewed on an individual basis
| ||||
|
Storage
|
Will be reviewed on an individual basis
| ||||
|
NOTE: Any building not classified above will
be reviewed on an individual basis.
| |||||
B.
Demarcation lines on primary exits from a building
to a fire lane shall be measured from the center line of the exitway
and shall extend for a distance of eight feet on either side of the
center line of the exitway closest to the fire lane.
C.
Demarcation lines on secondary exits shall be measured
from the center line of the exitway and shall extend for a distance
of six feet on either side of the center line of the exitway closest
to the fire lane.
D.
Markings need not be located on sidewalk surfaces,
but shall extend from the end of the sidewalk surface to the fire
lane.
E.
No objects, stands, displays or other impediments
to pedestrian and vehicular traffic shall be located within the demarcation
area.
B.
Approved signs (Figure No. 7[2]) shall be located along the curb or building line and
shall be spaced at intervals of not more than 150 feet. All signs
shall be located not less than six feet above the pavement and no
higher than eight feet above the pavement.
[2]
Editor's Note: Figure No. 7 is included at the end of this chapter.
C.
The words "FIRE" and "LANE" shall be stenciled on
the road surface and read in such a way that the word "FIRE" shall
be nearest the driver as he approaches the printing.
D.
Each word shall be at least 10 feet in height and
12 feet or 24 feet in width so as to define the location of each lane.
E.
The distance between the first and second word shall
be not less than 30 feet.
F.
The distance from the word "LANE" of the preceding
message to the word "FIRE" of the upcoming message shall be not more
than 100 feet.
G.
Each fire lane shall be clearly defined by a demarcation
line of not less than four inches wide on each side and parallel to
the fire lane.
H.
The beginning and end of each fire lane shall be denoted
by demarcation lines not less than four inches in width.
B.
Where fire hydrants are located along the curbline,
the area between the fire hydrant and the fire lane shall be stenciled
with the words "NO PARKING" which shall extend for a distance of 15
feet measured from the center line of the fire hydrant.
C.
Where fire hydrants are located on a curb island extension
in such a manner that the hydrant is directly accessible to the traffic
lane or the fire lane, the curb island extension shall be painted
for the distance it traverses the traffic lane. The words "NO PARKING"
shall be stenciled thereon.
D.
The distance between a fire hydrant and the nearest
demarcation line of a fire lane shall be no greater than seven feet.
E.
The steamer connection on all fire hydrants shall
be positioned so as to be facing the fire lane.
F.
No fire hydrant shall be located within a parking lot in such a manner that it can be surrounded by parked vehicles. In the case of an existing fire hydrant, markings shall be provided as set forth in Subsection G of this section.
G.
Where fire hydrants are located in parking lots or
other areas susceptible to being blocked by parked vehicles, they
shall be marked as follows:
(1)
Fire hydrants shall be protected in all directions
for a distance of seven feet with barriers or curbs as shown in Figure
No. 4.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Figure No. 4 is included at the end of this chapter.
(2)
One access lane which may be a traffic lane with a
minimum width of 16 feet shall extend through the parking area and
shall be adjacent to the demarcation area of the fire hydrant.
(3)
The access lane shall extend from a through traffic
lane to a through traffic lane.
The following criteria shall be used in designating
and marking standpipe and sprinkler connections:
A.
All standpipe and sprinkler corrections shall be marked
pursuant to Figure No. 6.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Figure No. 6 is included at the end of this chapter.
B.
Demarcation lines shall be measured from the center
line of the connection and shall extend for a distance of four feet
on either side of the connection.
C.
Markings need not be located on sidewalk surfaces
but shall extend from the end of the sidewalk surface to the public
way.
D.
No objects, stand, displays or other impediments to
vehicular or pedestrian traffic shall be located within the demarcation
area.
A.
All lines marking demarcation lines shall be four
inches in width.
B.
All demarcation lines shall be yellow in color and
only a vivid and durable paint suitable for road surfaces shall be
used.
C.
When the words "FIRE LANE" are required on road surfaces,
the width for principal letter strokes shall be 12 inches for a primary
fire lane (24 feet in width) and eight inches for a secondary fire
lane (12 feet in width).
A.
All forestry lanes shall be not less than 16 feet
in width.
B.
Forestry lanes shall be constructed with not less
than six inches of crusher-run stone on a well-compacted base of select
material with a four-inch maximum cover of topsoil and seed.
C.
All forestry lanes shall be marked by the use of trees
and shrubs not smaller than three feet and not larger than five feet,
with a minimum distance between trees and shrubs located on each side
of the forestry lane of 20 feet.
D.
Trees and shrubs of the same size and type shall be
placed at the end of the forestry lane to designate its termination
point as set forth in Figure No. 8.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Figure No. 8 is included at the end of this chapter.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand
or park a motor vehicle in any place which has been designated and
properly identified as a fire lane pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter ordinarily designated for a fire hydrant or standpipe connection,
except in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic
control device.
B.
Any person violating the provisions of this section
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall
pay a fine not less than $10 nor more than $25 and shall pay the cost
of prosecution, provided that, with the consent in writing of the
person charged with the violation under this section, the Chief of
Police or his designated representative is authorized to accept and
receive, without hearing, not less than $10 as a penalty for such
violation.
C.
Any police officer of the town, while in the performance
of his duty, may remove or cause to be removed any motor vehicle parked,
stopped or left standing in a fire lane or in a location so as to
cause an obstruction to the accessibility to a fire lane, fire hydrant
or standpipe connection. If any motor vehicle is removed pursuant
to the provisions of this section before the same shall be released
therefrom, the owner or operator shall pay the fine imposed pursuant
to the provisions of this section, the costs of removal and a reasonable
charge for storage, not to exceed the amount set forth from time to
time by the Town Council for each day or part thereof that the vehicle
is so stored and any court costs. In addition, said owner or operator
shall sign a receipt for such motor vehicle prior to its being released
to him by the storage facility. In the event that the payment is made
under protest, a bail bond for further appearance shall be posted
as required by a court of competent jurisdiction.
