[Adopted 9-15-1998 by Ord. No. 98-0-4]
A.
There is hereby established the office of Fire Marshal
of the Township. The Fire Marshal, when duly appointed and qualified, shall
be an officer of the Township and shall have the powers and duties hereinafter
set forth.
B.
The Fire Marshal need not be a resident of the Township
and shall have actively served at least five years prior to his appointment
as a municipal fireman or as a member of a duly organized volunteer fire company
and who shall have had training and schooling in the area of fire prevention.
C.
The Fire Marshal shall be appointed by the Township Supervisors
during the month of January in each even-numbered year and shall serve for
a term of two years and until his successor is appointed and shall qualify.
D.
A vacancy in the office of Fire Marshal shall occur upon
the death, resignation or upon a resolution of the Township removing him from
office with or without cause. In the event of a vacancy in the office, such
vacancy shall be filled by appointment, made by the Township, of a qualified
person who shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
A.
The Fire Marshal shall have the right and duty to inspect
any building, other than a private dwelling as herein defined, in the Township,
and to order the owner or tenant of the building to make repairs, alterations,
or removal of materials or to take any other reasonable measures to eliminate
fire hazards as defined herein and in the codes adopted herein. The Fire Marshal
shall make such inspections only upon probable cause as defined herein, written
complaint, or invitation, and shall give written notice of his intention to
inspect to the owner and where appropriate, to the tenants of the building.
The removal of any fire hazard specified by the Fire Marshal upon such inspection
shall be at the expense of the owner of the property. The abatement of any
structural fire hazard shall be at the expense of the owner of the property.
B.
The Fire Marshal shall have the right to inspect a private
dwelling only upon the written invitation of the owner or tenant of such building
or upon written notice from officers of the Kilbuck Township Fire Department,
the Kilbuck Police Department, or a County of Allegheny or a Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania fire enforcement official, or the Building Inspector of the
Township. Such written notice must set forth that it is based on probable
cause that a fire hazard exists upon the premises. In the event of such invitation
or notice, the Fire Marshal may inspect the premises upon written notice to
the owner or tenant of the building.
C.
If, upon lawful inspection, the Fire Marshal discovers
the existence of a fire hazard within any building or structure in the Township,
he may issue an order specifying the nature of the hazard and requiring that
the hazard be repaired, removed, or otherwise abated within a period of 30
days. If the owner or tenant of the property containing or constituting such
hazard fails to correct the same or has failed to take reasonable action to
do so within the prescribed period of time, the Fire Marshal shall have the
authority to issue a citation invoking the penalties hereinafter set forth;
provided, however, that should the Fire Marshal find that the fire hazard
is of such character or severity as to constitute an immediate, present danger
to the safety of the occupants of the building, he may then order abatement
thereof forthwith and may issue a citation to the appropriate property owner
or tenant within three days of such order if such hazard is not then abated.
D.
The Fire Marshal shall have the right, at his discretion,
to attend any fire within the Township and shall attend any such fire when
requested to do so by the Fire Chief of the Township. The Fire Marshal shall
not have the power or authority to direct, take charge of or dispatch any
fire equipment or fire fighters or issue orders to any person directly involved
in fighting a fire, except under the direct orders and control of the Fire
Chief or senior officer at the fire.
The Township Supervisors may appoint a Chief Deputy Fire Marshal, who
shall have all the qualifications of the Fire Marshal as hereinabove set forth.
Such Chief Deputy Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal shall, upon the specific
direction of the Fire Marshal and under his supervision, have the authority
to perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Fire Marshal. In the
event of the incapacity of the Fire Marshal or his temporary absence from
the Township, the Deputy Fire Marshal shall exercise the powers and duties
of the Fire Marshal.
A.
Any person who has been aggrieved by an order of the
Fire Marshal, or Chief Deputy Fire Marshal, or Deputy Fire Marshal, as the
case may be, may appeal the same within 10 days from the date thereof to the
Fire Code Review Board.
B.
The Fire Code Review Board will consist of the members
of the Board of Supervisors, the Borough Building Inspector, and an officer
appointed by the vote of the membership of the volunteer fire company.
C.
The review board shall have the power to review, approve,
modify or rescind any such order, after hearing.
A.
When any portion of this article is found to be in conflict
with any building, zoning, safety, health or other applicable law, ordinance
or code of the Township, or any provision of rules and regulations of the
Allegheny County Health Department, including the Bureau of Air Pollution
Control, the provisions of which establish a higher standard for the promotion
of and the protection of the safety, health and welfare of the public, such
higher standards shall prevail.
B.
The provisions of this article are severable and if any
word, words, part, parts, provision, section, sentence, clause or exception
shall be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such illegality, invalidity
or unconstitutionality shall not affect or impair any of the remaining words,
parts, provisions, sections, clauses, sentences, or exceptions of this article.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Township that this article would
have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional part had not
been included herein.
A.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
article or of the fire codes adopted hereby, or who fails to comply herewith,
or who violates or fails to comply with any lawful order of the Fire Marshal
or a duly authorized Deputy Fire Marshal within the time fixed in such order,
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary
offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $300 nor more than
$1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant
may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days. Each day
or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue
shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this article that
is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.[1]
B.
The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall
not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and all such convicted
persons shall be required to correct such violation within a reasonable time
which, if not otherwise specified, shall be deemed to be a period of 10 days.
Each day thereafter that the violations are not abated shall constitute a
separate offense hereunder.
C.
The penalties and remedies set forth herein shall not
act as a bar to any action which may be taken upon the same violation pursuant
to general municipal law. In the case of firms or associations, the penalties
may be imposed upon the partners or members thereof, and in the case of corporations,
upon the officers thereof.
