[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Montville as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-11-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-6]
The purpose of this article is to establish requirements for new construction
and/or repair of certain buildings to include an integrated rapid-entry key
box system in order that the Fire Department has safe and rapid access to
such buildings for lifesaving, fire-fighting and other emergency situations
as well as to insure protection of members of fire departments.
The words and phrases set forth in this article shall have the following
meanings:
Any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use
and/or occupancy by a person or persons, or business of any kind.
The area of a building upon all floor levels, including floors above
and below the ground floor, within and without the principal exterior walls.
Any building other than a dwelling unit.
Any house or building, or portion thereof, which is occupied or designed
to be occupied as a home or residence of one or more persons.
The Fire Marshal and/or all of his designated agents, including any
fire fighter.
This article shall apply to the following:
A.
All commercial buildings for which a building permit
is issued for construction on or after September 1, 2005 and which commercial
building exceeds 20,000 square feet of building area.
B.
All buildings for which a building permit is issued for
construction on or after September 1, 2005, and which building contains more
than six living units and utilizes common corridors to access such living
units.
C.
All buildings for which a building permit is issued for
construction on or after September 1, 2005, and which building is protected
by a fire protection signaling system.
D.
All buildings to which renovations and/or repairs are
made and such renovations and/or repairs conducted within a three-year period
from the issuance of a building permit exceed 50% of the fair market value
of the building prior to the making of such renovations and/or repairs, as
determined by the Town's Assessor.
E.
All buildings in which the building area is increased.
F.
All buildings damaged by fire or other causes to an extent
of more than 50% of their physical value thereof prior to the time the damage
was incurred as determined by the Town's Assessor and for which a building
permit is issued after September 1, 2005, for the restoration, repair and/or
renovation thereof.
This article shall not apply to dwelling units.
Every building subject to the requirements of this article shall be
equipped with a rapid-entry system. The rapid-entry system shall be of a type
approved by the Fire Marshal. The rapid-entry system shall consist of a key
vault, which shall contain all materials necessary for safe and unaccompanied
entry to a building and controlling emergency systems. The key vault shall
utilize the master key system approved by the Fire Marshal and shall be subject
to the following criteria:
A.
The Fire Marshal shall control the rapid entry system
operation.
B.
No key or lock utilized for the entry or the securing
of the rapid-entry system shall be installed without written authorization
from the Fire Marshal.
C.
The key vault shall be installed on the exterior of the
building in a location approved in a site plan review by the Fire Marshal.
D.
The key vault shall be located and installed in an easily
accessible location and shall be no less than 5 1/2 and no greater than
seven feet above finished grade.
E.
The key vault shall contain:
(1)
Keys to all locked points of ingress to the building,
including interior doors;
(2)
Keys to elevator controls;
(3)
Keys to emergency system controls;
(4)
Cards used for card entry systems;
(5)
Keys to other areas as deemed necessary by the Fire Marshal;
(6)
Pertinent documents or instructions as deemed necessary
by the Fire Marshal.
F.
All keys and cards must be clearly labeled and shall
not be on rings of greater than 10 keys per ring. For the purposes of this
section, if codes, swipe cards, or any other system is utilized for ingress
to a building, the term "keys" shall have the equivalent meaning.
The building owner and/or occupant shall be responsible for notifying
the Fire Marshal in the event locks are changed or the type of occupancy is
changed. Notification must be given within 48 hours of the time of such changes.
Any building owner found to be in violation of the provisions of this
article after receiving due notice from the Fire Marshal of such violation
shall be fined up to $90 per month for each month found not to be in compliance
after due notice is given.
