[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Bradford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-5-1968 by Ord. No. 2793; amended in its entirety 5-14-2024 by Ord. No. 3296 and 12-23-2025 by Ord. No. 3305]
A. 
The City of Bradford has determined that the adoption of the 2018 International Fire Code, with amendments, as the Fire Code of the City of Bradford, as recommended by the City of Bradford Fire Chief, is in the best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Bradford.
B. 
The City of Bradford hereby adopts the "International Fire Code, 2018 Edition," and then, henceforth, the City of Bradford will comply with the most recent edition of this code, use by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended, of which three copies have been and are now filed in the office of the City Administrator, and one copy of which is on file in the Fire Code Office of the City of Bradford Fire Department, being marked and designated as the International Fire Code, including Appendix Chapters B, C, D, E, and F, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Fire Code of the City of Bradford, regulating and governing the safeguarding of life and property from fire and explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling, and use of hazardous substances, materials, and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings and premises as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Fire Code on file in the office of the City Administrator are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in full in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions, and changes, if any, prescribed in § 111-4 of this article, and the same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, from the date on which this article shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the corporate limits of the City of Bradford.
Fees shall be set by resolution by City Council, and the Master Fee Schedule is available for viewing on the City's website.
Any person who shall violate any provision of the code hereby adopted or fail to comply therewith commits a summary offense and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
A. 
Section 101.1. Insert: "The City of Bradford, McKean County."
B. 
The provisions of Section 103.2 shall be amended read as follows:
"The fire code official shall be appointed by the fire chief; and the fire code official shall not be removed from office except for cause and after full opportunity to be heard on specific relevant charges by and before the appointing authority."
C. 
Permits. The provisions of Section 105 are herein amended so that the provisions of Subsection 105.1.2 shall read as follows:
Types of permits. There shall be four types of permits as follows:
1.
Operational permit. An operational permit allows the applicant to conduct an operation or a business for which a permit is required by Section 105.6 for either:
1.1.
A prescribed period.
1.2.
1.2. Until renewed or revoked.
2.
Construction permit. A construction permit allows the applicant to install or modify systems and equipment for which a permit is required by Section 105.7.
3.
Annual fire safety inspection permit. An annual fire safety inspection permit will be required on all properties that are referred to in the Fire Code. The annual fire safety inspection will ensure that the buildings that receive a fire safety inspection are in compliance with the Fire Code.
4.
Use and occupancy permit. A use and occupancy permit would be under the Fire Code when no other building permit would be required for the business to commence operations. This would ensure the business would be in compliance with all fire safety issues.
D. 
Board of appeals. The provisions of Section 109 shall be amended to read as follows:
109.1. Board of Appeals established. There is hereby established a Board of Appeals, which shall consist of a minimum of three members who are qualified with experience and training to pass on matters pertaining to the fire code and who are not employees of the City of Bradford. The Fire Code Officer shall be an ex officio member but shall have no vote on any matter before the Board. The Board shall be appointed by the City Council and shall serve staggered and overlapping terms. The City Council shall appoint a minimum of two alternate members, who shall be called by the Board Chairman to hear appeals during the absence or disqualification of a member.
E. 
Section 110.4. Insert: "Summary," "not to exceed $1,000" and "90 days."
F. 
Section 112.4. Insert: "$500," "Not to exceed $1,000."
G. 
The provisions of Section 507.5.1 shall be amended to read as follows:
Where required. Fire hydrants shall be provided in sufficient number and be located in a manner that will enable the required fire flow to be delivered through hose lines to any important structure. Fire hydrant locations shall be determined by the fire code official, but in no case shall a hydrant be located in excess of 500 feet from an important structure on a street or road, or 300 feet from any portion of the exterior of a building, or greater than 100 feet from a Fire Department connection. All exceptions noted in this section are deleted.
H. 
Section 1103.5.3. Insert: "by January 1st, 2026."
I. 
Explosives and fireworks. The provisions of Chapter 56, Subsection 5601.2.4, Financial responsibility, shall be amended to read as follows:
"Before a permit is issued, as required by Section 5601.2, the applicant shall file with the City a corporate surety bond in the principal sum of $2,000,000, or a public liability insurance policy for the same amount in favor of the City, as it relates to blasting, and a specific second certificate of insurance naming the City as an additional insured, with a specific reference to the blasting activities, for the purpose of the payment of damages to persons or property that arise from or caused by the conduct of any act authorized by the permit upon which any judicial judgment results. The fire code official is authorized to specify a greater or lesser amount when, in his or her opinion, conditions at the location of use indicate a greater or lesser amount is required. Government entities shall be exempt from this bond requirement."
J. 
Notification. The provisions of Section 5601.6 shall be amended as follows:
Section 5601.6 Notification. Whenever a new explosive material storage or manufacturing site is established, including a temporary job site, the local law enforcement agency, and the fire department shall be notified 48 hours in advance, not including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, of the type, quantity, and location of explosive materials at the site. Prior to the issuance of the blasting permit, the applicant shall notify all property owners within 500 feet of the blast-affected area, this notification shall be done five working days prior to the blasting activities by certified mail, return receipt requested. Issuance of the blasting permit may be withheld if the applicant fails to provide evidence of compliance with this code.
K. 
All geographic limits referred to in certain sections of the 2018 International Fire Code are to comply with The City of Bradford Zoning Code.
This article shall not apply to new construction that is otherwise regulated or under construction through permits issued under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and the International Codes which are mandatorily adopted by the City of Bradford.
All provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Bradford, or any ordinance or parts thereof, unaffected by the provisions of article shall remain in full force and effect. All provisions of the City of Bradford Code of Ordinances, or parts thereof, that are inconsistent with the terms of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency.
The provisions of this article are declared to be severable. If this article or any provision thereof is declared to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall have no effect on the remaining provisions of this article or the provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Bradford, McKean County, Pennsylvania, as it was the intent of the City Council that it would have adopted the article even with the offending language removed.
[Adopted 4-23-1928 by Ord. No. 2052]
The portion of the City of Bradford bounded and described below is hereby established and prescribed as the fire limits of the City of Bradford within which no building shall hereafter be constructed, reconstructed or added to except of brick, stone, iron or other incombustible materials, with walls, roof, etc., in strict accordance with the Building Code of the City of Bradford:[1]
Beginning at a point, said point being the center of the intersection of Main, East Main and High Streets; thence northeasterly along the center line of East Main Street to a point, this point being the intersection of East Main and Raub Streets; thence westerly to a point, this point being the intersection of Forman and Hilton Streets; thence westerly along the center line of Forman Street to a point, this point being the intersection of Forman and Davis Streets; thence northerly along the center line of Davis Street to a point, this point being 100 feet north of the intersection of Forman and Davis Streets; thence westerly parallel with Forman Street and distant 100 feet north of the center line of said Forman Street to a point, this point being in the center line of Bishop Street and distant 100 feet north of the intersection of Forman and Bishop Streets; thence northerly along the center line of Bishop Street to a point, this point being in the center line of the Erie Railroad Company's right-of-way; thence southwesterly along the center line of the Erie Railroad Company's right-of-way to a point, this point being the intersection of the Erie Railroad Company's right-of-way and West Washington Street; thence westerly along the center line of West Washington Street to a point, this point being the intersection of West Washington and Center Streets; thence southerly along the center line of Center Street, this point being in the center line of South Center Street and distant 100 feet south of the intersection of Center and Barbour Streets; thence easterly parallel with Barbour Street and distant 100 feet south from the center line of said Barbour Street to a point, the point being in the center line of Bushnell Street and distant 100 feet south of the intersection of Barbour and Bushnell Streets; thence southerly along the center line of Bushnell Street to a point, the point being the intersection of Bushnell and West Corydon Streets; thence easterly along the center line of West Corydon Street to a point, the point being the intersection of Corydon Street and South Avenue; thence southerly along the center line of South Avenue to a point, the point being distant 150 feet south of the intersection of Corydon Street and South Avenue and on the center line of South Avenue; thence easterly along a line, said line being parallel to Corydon Street and distant 150 feet south of the center line of Corydon Street to a point, the point being the intersection of North and River Streets; thence easterly along the center line of North Street to a point, the point being the intersection of North and High Streets; thence north along the center line of High Street to the place of beginning.[2]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 80, Building Construction.
[2]
Editor's Note: Former Ch. 111, Art. III, of the 1995 Code, Smoke Alarms, adopted 2-28-1989 by Ord. No. 3125, which immediately followed this section, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).