[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen
(now Town Council) of the Town of North Branford 4-27-1938. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This purpose of this chapter is to organize
a Fire Department in the Town of North Branford.
There shall be in the Town of North Branford
a Department of Fire Services to be managed, controlled and directed
as the law requires.
[Amended 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119; 10-10-1995 by Ord. No.
189]
The Board of Fire Commissioners shall consist of five (5) members appointed in accordance with Article 5 of the Charter. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Council in accordance with § C5-4 the Charter. At the first meeting of the Board following each biennial election, the Board shall elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary to serve as officers of the Board for a term of two (2) years. In the event of removal or resignation of any such officer after the vacancy thus created has been filled by the Council, the Board shall hold a special election to replace the vacated officer. The Board may adopt bylaws for the orderly transaction of its business not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119]
Before engaging in any activities of the Board,
each duly elected Commissioner shall be sworn to the faithful performance
of duty as a Fire Commissioner by the Town Clerk. The Board shall
make an annual report to the Council, the substance of which shall
be published in the annual report of the Town of North Branford. The
Board shall, not less than one hundred twenty (120) days before the
end of the fiscal year, file with the Town Manager, on forms prescribed
and provided by the Manager, detailed estimates of proposed expenditures
to be made on behalf of the Department of Fire Services for the ensuing
fiscal year. Members of the Board of Fire Commissioners shall serve
without compensation, except that actual expenditures of any member
incurred while on official business may, with the approval of the
Board, be reimbursed to the member from funds budgeted for such expenses.
[Amended 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119; 6-16-1981 by Ord. No.
140]
The Board of Fire Commissioners shall have the
control of all equipment, apparatus, buildings, land and supplies
purchased by or donated to the Town of North Branford for fire protection
services. The Board is authorized, subject to approval of the Council,
to enter into written agreements with any volunteer fire company or
companies within the town for the protection thereof from fire. Such
agreements may provide for financial assistance between the town and
the volunteer companies, loans to such companies of town-owned equipment
and fire-fighting apparatus, institution of supervised training and
preventive maintenance programs and any other reasonable rules and
regulations agreed upon by the parties, designed to provide effective
and efficient fire service for the Town of North Branford. The Board
shall also have the power to enact rules and regulations to govern,
supervise and discipline all firemen.
[Amended 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119]
By a majority vote of its members, the Board
shall appoint a Chief of Fire Services to serve in this capacity for
a term of three (3) years, except that the first officer so appointed
shall serve until December 31, 1977. All appointments to this office
shall be made not later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration
of the term of office of the incumbent officer. The effective dates
of the appointee's term of office shall be recited in the resolution
of the appointing Board and recorded in its minutes. Before assuming
office, each appointed Chief of Fire Services shall be sworn to the
faithful performance of his duties by the Town Clerk.
[Added 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119; amended 6-16-1981 by Ord. No.
140]
The Chief of Fire Services shall be responsible
for the supervision of the education, training and preparedness of
all firemen and volunteer firemen performing fire services in the
Town of North Branford. He shall be responsible for the preparation
and supervision of preventive maintenance programs for the care and
protection of fire apparatus, buildings and equipment owned by the
town. He shall assist the Board of Fire Commissioners in the preparation
of its annual report and budget. He shall attend the meetings of the
Board of Fire Commissioners and provide the Board with monthly reports
of all fire services performed in the town, including the number of
firemen or volunteers available, equipment condition, injuries and
any other information requested by the Board. He shall perform any
other similar and related duties assigned to him by the Board, including
but not limited to responsibility for the enforcement of any rules
and regulations as enacted by the Board and to the extent the Board
so prescribes.
[Added 7-9-1974 by Ord. No. 119]
A Chief of Fire Services appointed pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter shall not be dismissed during his
term of office unless he has been given notice in writing of the specific
grounds for such dismissal and has been given an opportunity to be
heard in his own defense, personally or by counsel, at a public hearing
before the Board of Fire Commissioners. Such public hearing shall
be held not less than five (5) nor more than ten (10) days after such
notice. In all such hearings, a verbatim transcript shall be recorded.
Any person so dismissed may take an appeal therefrom in accordance
with the provisions of Section 7-302, Connecticut General Statutes.
[Added 1-16-2018 by Ord.
No. 252]
A.Â
General purpose. The Board of Fire Commissioners and Town Council
have determined that the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens
and taxpayers of the Town of North Branford are promoted by requiring
certain structures to have a key lock box installed on the exterior
of the structure to aid the North Branford Fire Department in gaining
access to the structure when responding to calls for emergency service.
For purposes of this section, an emergency is defined as any incident
requiring entry into a structure by the North Branford Fire Department,
including, but not limited to, fire and/or fire alarm, smoke, medical
and/or medical alarm or 911 call. The key lock box system is being
adopted nationally and will operate on a master key basis that will
expedite entry into a structure during an emergency and equally important
is the fact that the key lock box system will eliminate forced entries
into structures thereby avoiding costly and time-consuming efforts
in gaining access to locked structures during an emergency. For purposes
of this section, an emergency is defined as any incident requiring
entry into a structure by the North Branford Fire Department, including,
but not limited to, fire and/or fire alarm, smoke, medical and/or
medical alarm or 911 call.
B.Â
Process.
(1)Â
Key lock box system.
(a)Â
The following structures shall be equipped with a key lock box
at or near the main entrance or such other location required by the
Fire Chief:
[1]Â
Commercial or industrial structures protected by an automatic
alarm system or automatic suppression system, or such structures that
are secured in a manner that restricts access during an emergency;
[2]Â
Multi-family residential structures that have restricted access
through locked doors and have a common corridor for access to the
living units;
[3]Â
Governmental structures and nursing care facilities.
(b)Â
All newly constructed structures subject to this section shall
have the key lock box installed and operational prior to the issuance
of an occupancy permit. All structures in existence on the effective
date of this section and subject to this section shall have one year
from the effective date of this section to have a key lock box installed
and operational.
(c)Â
The Fire Chief shall designate the type of key lock box system
to be implemented within the Town and shall have the authority to
require all structures to use the designated system.
(d)Â
The owner or operator of a structure required to have a key
lock box shall, at all times, keep a key in the lock box that will
allow for access to the structure.
(e)Â
The Fire Chief shall be authorized to implement rules and regulations
for the use of the lock box system and define the process that building
owners must follow.
C.Â
Installation.
(1)Â
The Fire Chief shall require the installation of a key box in an
accessible location on each building (or cluster of buildings) identified
in order to allow the Fire Department immediate access to verify the
existence of a fire or other emergency.
(2)Â
The key box may have a tamper switch connected to the building's
fire alarm system.
(3)Â
The key box may be surface or flush mounted. The Fire Department
shall possess the only keys to the key boxes and will open the box
for the building contractor, owner and/or occupant for installation
of the unit or for changing its contents.
D.Â
Contents of key box. The key box shall contain only those items such
as properly labeled door keys, elevator keys, fire alarm keys or keys
for other doors for rooms (e.g., utility rooms and fixed fire suppression
rooms) that may be occupied or may present a fire potential or as
specified below:
(1)Â
When there are hazardous materials or other hazards that may provide
a toxic environment for emergency service personnel or that may require
special handling requirements, the key box shall also contain lists
of such hazardous materials, fire pre-plans related thereto or directions
for special handling.
(2)Â
The key box shall contain a list of building key holders or appropriate
supervisory personnel to be notified when the Fire Department must
gain emergency entry into the building.
(3)Â
The contents will be reviewed annually by NBFD personnel.
E.Â
Fire Department notification. In the event that locks are changed
or the hazardous contents of the building are changed, the Fire Department
shall be notified immediately and arrangements shall be made for changing
the key box contents.
F.Â
Record of entry. Each time emergency access is made to a building
through use of a key box, the building owner or occupant, as appropriate,
on record in the key box will be notified by the Fire Department.
Such notification will include the reason for entry, the area entered
and the action taken. The Fire Department will record a record of
such entry on a file provided by the Fire Chief.
G.Â
Effective date. This section shall take effect twenty-one days after
publication of its approval.
H.Â
Penalty. Any person who owns or operates a structure subject to this
section shall be subject to the penalties for any violation of this
section, provided that the minimum fine for a violation of this section
shall be $100 per thirty-day period of non-compliance, not to exceed
$500 in a calendar year. The Fire Chief or his/her designee(s) shall
have the enforcement responsibilities under this section. Billing
for penalties shall be conducted by the Town's Finance Department.
For the purpose of this article, compliance is a signed agreement
to order the key box system. As a means to allow business owners ample
time to purchase and install the key boxes, any existing business
at the time of the effective date of this section will have a period
of six months from the effective date to have their key box installed
and containing all the necessary information delineated above.
[Added 10-16-2018 by Ord.
No. 255]
A.Â
Plan review fees.
(1)Â
General
(a)Â
The plan review fees set forth in § 40-10 shall be paid in full prior to the Office of the Fire Marshal taking any action to review or approve plans submitted or resubmitted to said office. All such fees paid to the Office of the Fire Marshal shall be nonrefundable.
(b)Â
No plan review fees set forth in § 40-10 shall apply to plans submitted or resubmitted by municipal or state governmental agencies, subdivisions, or entities.
(c)Â
While the Office of the Fire Marshal does not have jurisdiction
on one- or two-family residential structures, unless called in by
the Building Official, they do have jurisdiction on new construction
of single-family homes and, further, new subdivisions require a plan
review by the Office of the Fire Marshal.
(d)Â
The purpose of this fee schedule is to allow the Fire Marshal's
Office of the Town of North Branford to collect fees in connection
with the Fire Marshal's fire inspection and plan review responsibilities
and other activities within the boundaries of the Town of North Branford,
Connecticut, that are regulated by the North Branford Town Code, the
State Fire Safety Code, the State Fire Prevention Code, the Connecticut
General Statutes and/or the regulations promulgated by the State Fire
Marshal's Office or the Department of Public Safety.
(e)Â
Proceeds derived pursuant to this section will be collected at the time any applicant submits plans falling under the categories listed in Subsection A(1)(d) above. Said proceeds will be accounted for as General Fund revenue, in the same manner as building permits or planning and zoning permits.
(2)Â
Building plan reviews. The following fees shall be paid by the applicant
upon submitting or resubmitting any building plans for review and
approval by the Office of the Fire Marshal to ensure compliance with
State Fire Safety Code provisions:
(a)Â
$8 per each $1,000 of value, rounded up.
(b)Â
Fire Marshal plan review fee may include, but shall not be limited
to, the following:
[1]Â
Initial plan review.
[2]Â
Above-ceiling inspection as required.
[3]Â
Behind-wall inspection as required.
[4]Â
All fire detection equipment in-service inspection as required.
[5]Â
All fire suppression equipment in-service inspection as required.
[6]Â
Final review for issuance of certificate of occupancy.
