[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Maplewood 11-8-2023 by Ord. No. 3109-23.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Ch. 127,
Fire Prevention, comprising Art. I, Enforcement of Uniform Code, adopted 6-18-1985 by Ord. No. 1676, as amended; and Art. II, Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Alarms,
adopted 10-15-1985 by Ord. No.
1683, as amended.
Pursuant to Section II of the Uniform Fire Safety Act (P.L.
1983, c. 383),[1] the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code shall be locally enforced
in the municipality of the Township of Maplewood.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-193.
The local enforcing agency shall be the Maplewood Fire Prevention
Bureau.
The local enforcing agency (or agencies) shall enforce the Uniform
Fire Safety Act[1] and the codes and regulations adopted under it in all
buildings, structures and premises within the established boundaries
of the Township of Maplewood, 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq.
The local enforcing agency established by § 127-2 of this article shall carry out the periodic inspections of life hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
The local enforcing agency established by § 127-2 of this article shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Maplewood Fire Official.
The local enforcing agency shall be under the direct supervision
of a Township Fire Official, who shall report to the Township Committee
through the Public Safety Committee.
The Fire Official shall serve for a term of one year. Reappointment
shall be made yearly by the Township Committee.
Such inspectors and other employees as may be necessary in the
local enforcing agency shall be appointed by the Township Committee
upon the recommendation of the Fire Official.
Inspectors and other employees of the enforcing agency shall
be subject to removal by the Township Committee for inefficiency or
misconduct. Each inspector or employee to be so removed shall be afforded
an opportunity to be heard by the appointing authority or a designated
hearing officer.
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act,[1] any person aggrieved by any order of the local enforcing
agency (or agencies) shall have the right to appeal to the Construction
Board of Appeals of Essex County.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 and N.J.S.A. 52:27D-208,
respectively.
In addition to the inspection and fees required pursuant to
the Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs,
the following additional inspections and fees shall be required.
The permit fees established by the Uniform Fire Code shall be as provided in Chapter 123, Fees.
Maplewood Fire Prevention Bureau shall be responsible for and
shall annually bill for and take such steps as may be necessary to
collect annual registration fees provided for by the code and sent
to the Township of Maplewood in accordance with the New Jersey Administrative
Code.
A.Â
Every dwelling unit, room or suite subject to this article shall
have installed a minimum of one approved smoke detector on each story
or level, installed in a manner and location approved by the Fire
Official, or his designee, of the Township of Maplewood.
B.Â
Additionally, carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed in dwellings
in a manner and location approved by the Fire Official, or his designee,
of the Township of Maplewood.
Each dwelling unit in a single-family, two-family or multifamily
residence, each guest room or suite in a hotel, motel, rooming house
or boardinghouse and each suite or sleeping area in a dormitory shall
be subject to the terms of this article.
No structure containing a unit, room, suite or area subject
hereto shall be sold after the effective date of this article without
first having met its requirements. No dwelling unit, room, suite or
area subject hereto shall be leased or rented after the effective
date of this article without first having met its requirements. In
the absence of sale or rental, the owner of any dwelling unit, room,
suite or area subject hereto shall comply with the terms of this section
immediately.
An approved smoke detector shall be a photoelectric and/or an
ionization type with an Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., or
FM label affixed to it. An approved carbon monoxide alarm may be battery-operated,
hardwired or of the plug-in type, and labeled in accordance with UL-2034.
The installation of smoke detectors/carbon monoxide alarms,
battery-operated, hardwired or plug-in type, shall be made in accordance
with the regulations of the Fire Official, or his designee, and the
requirements of the manufacturer, both as to the number of detectors
and alarms needed for an area to be protected and as to the method
employed. All such equipment and installations shall comply with regulations
established under NFPA Standard No. 74-1984 and 720-1988 and the Uniform
Construction Code Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A 52:27D-119 et seq.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
convey title to any building in the Township of Maplewood without
first having procured a certificate from the Fire Official, or his
designee, indicating that the premises to be sold or conveyed comply
with the provisions of this article.
It shall be the sole responsibility of the owner to maintain
every smoke detector/carbon monoxide alarm in working order after
it has been inspected by the Fire Official or his designee.
The Fire Official, or his designee, shall have the right to impose a fee upon anyone seeking said inspection in the amount as provided in Chapter 123, Fees.
The penalty for the violation of any provision of this article
shall be a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than 90 days, or both. Noncompliance as to each dwelling
unit, room, suite or area in the same structure shall constitute a
separate violation.
