City of New Kensington, PA Chapter 10 Fire Department

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council (now City Council) of the Borough of New Kensington (now City of New Kensington) 10-17-1901 by Ord. No. 154. All references in this chapter to "borough" were changed to "city" and references to "Town Council" were changed to "City Council. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Ambulance Corps — See Ch. 2.

Alarms — See Ch. 57.

Fire Prevention — See Ch. 115.

§ 10-1 Composition.

The Fire Department of the city shall consist of one Chief Engineer and volunteer companies.

§ 10-2 Duties of Fire Chief.

The Chief of the Fire Department shall have sole command at fires over all other officers and members of the Fire Department and all persons who may be present at fires and the entire police force of the city, whose duty it shall be to be present at all fires, and shall take proper measures for the extinguishment of fires and further protection of property, preservation of order and the observance of city ordinances and all rules and regulations of the Fire Department respecting fires, and he shall have sole command of all the officers and members of the Fire Department at all other times, and he shall also examine into the condition of all fire apparatuses of the city and the buildings used by the Fire Department whenever he shall deem it necessary and whenever he is directed to do so by Council. He shall report to Council all accidents by fire and causes thereof as far as practicable, the amount of damage done and the names of the owners and occupants of the buildings burned. Supplies for the Fire Department can be obtained only on his order, and all bills shall be certified by him to the Council for payment; but bills to a greater amount than $5 in any one month shall not be contracted by him without the previous order of the Fire Committee and, further, he shall see that the lines and machinery of the fire alarm telegraph are in good order.

§ 10-3 Captain of volunteer companies.

The volunteer companies shall be commanded by a Captain whose duties it shall be to see that everything is kept clean and neat and ready for immediate use, and he shall preserve order and discipline in his company and perform such other duties as the Chief may direct. In the absence of the Captain, the officer shall take charge and so on; the next highest officer present will perform his duties.

§ 10-4 Oath of office.

The Chief, Assistant Chief, Captains and Lieutenants, before entering on their duties, shall subserve an oath or affirmation that they and each of them will faithfully observe the laws of Pennsylvania and the ordinances of the City of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, relating to their offices and do and perform all the duties of their offices well and faithfully and to the best of their ability.

§ 10-5 Fire Department property.

Within five days after being qualified as aforesaid, the Chief shall file with the City Clerk an itemized list of all the property pertaining to the Fire Department coming into his control and possession, and his receipt for the same, and it shall be his duty to see that the same is kept in good order and repair and, at the expiration of his term of office, by lapse of time, removal or otherwise, however, to turn over to the city said property.

§ 10-6 Officers; rules and regulations.

The Chief shall appoint such other officers in said Department and adopt such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary and proper for the government of the same. Before any rule or regulation adopted by him shall be operative, it must be approved by the City Council. He shall have full power to remove any officer of said Department for cause. Any officer or member so discharged, for any cause, shall have the right to appeal to the City Council, whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.

§ 10-7 Response to fires.

It shall be the duty of all officers and members of the Fire Department, whenever an alarm of fire is sounded, to repair forthwith to the hose house and thence with the apparatus to the scene of the fire. If the apparatus is already gone, they will repair at once to the scene of the fire and report for duty in an orderly manner and under no circumstances whatever leave the fire without the permission of the Chief.

§ 10-8 Defacement of property; obstructing passage.

Every person who shall deface, injure or destroy any property of the Fire Department or shall hinder or obstruct any fire company or any member thereof from freely passing along the streets of said city to or from a fire or in any manner hinder or prevent said fire company or any member of the same from operating at a fire shall forfeit and pay for the use of said city a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $25, to be recovered as debts of like amounts are recoverable, or imprisonment, or both.

§ 10-9 False alarms.

Any person who shall willfully create any false alarm of fire by means of the fire alarm boxes of the city shall forfeit and pay for the use of said city a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100, to be recovered as aforesaid, or imprisonment, or both.

§ 10-10 Key boxes.

[Amended 2-4-2019 by Ord. No. 1-19]

A. Purpose.

(1) It is the intent, purpose and scope of this section to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of New Kensington by requiring newly built commercial structures and renovated, commercial structures to have a key lock box installed on the exterior of the structure to aid the City of New Kensington Police and City of New Kensington Fire Departments in gaining access to the structure when responding to calls for emergency service.

(2) The key lock box system is being adopted nationally and will operate on a master key basis, keyed specifically to the City of New Kensington, that will expedite entry into a structure during an emergency; and 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.

B. Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following terms are defined:

CITY CLERK

Executive Officer for the City of New Kensington or the designee.

FIRE OFFICIAL

The appointed individual responsible for enforcement of the International Fire Code (denoted as the Fire Code Official in the IFC) currently adopted by the City of New Kensington or the designee.

FIRE SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Fire Safety Advisory Committee shall mean the individual Chief of the City of Kensington Fire Departments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or the designee.

IFC

Reference to the current adopted edition of the International Fire Code.

KEY BOX

A secure device with a lock operable only by a fire department master key, and containing entry keys and other keys that may be required for access in an emergency.

POLICE CHIEF

Chief of Police for the City of New Kensington or the designee.

C. System requirements of the International Fire Code.

(1) Access to building openings and roofs. Exterior doors and openings required by the International Building Code shall be maintained readily accessible for emergency access by the Fire Department. An approved access walkway leading from fire apparatus access roads to exterior openings shall be provided when required by the Fire Official.

(2) Maintenance of exterior doors and openings. Exterior doors and their function shall not be eliminated without prior approval. Exterior doors that have been rendered nonfunctional and that retain a functional door exterior appearance shall have a sign affixed to the exterior side of the door with the words "THIS DOOR LOCKED." The sign shall consist of letters having a principal stroke of not less than 0.75 inch (19.1mm) wide and at least six inches (152 mm) high on a contrasting background. Required Fire Department access doors shall not be obstructed or eliminated. Exit and exit access doors shall comply with Chapter 10 of the IFC. Access doors for high-piled combustible storage shall comply with Section 2306.6.1 of the IFC.

(3) Premises identification. New and existing buildings shall have approved address numbers, building numbers or approved building identification placed in a position that is plainly legible and visible from the street or road fronting the property. These numbers shall contrast with their background. Address numbers shall be Arabic numerals or alphabet letters. Numbers shall be a minimum of four inches (102 mm) high with a minimum stroke width of 0.5 inch (12.7 mm).

(4) Key boxes.

(a) Where access to or within a structure or an area is restricted because of secured openings or where immediate access is necessary for life-saving or fire-fighting purposes, the Fire Official is authorized to require a key box to be installed in an approved location. The key box shall be of an approved type and shall contain keys to gain necessary access as required by the fire code official.

(b) An approved lock shall be installed on gates or similar barriers when required by the Fire Code Official.

(5) Key box maintenance. The operator of the building shall immediately notify the Fire Official and provide the new key when a lock is changed or rekeyed. The key to such lock shall be secured in the key box.

D. Designation for the key lock box system.

(1) 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 Official:

(a) 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;

(b) Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access through locked doors and have a common corridor for access to the living units;

(c) Governmental structures and nursing care facilities.

(2) All newly constructed structures subject to this section shall have the key lock box installed, and may be required to be monitored by an approved monitoring company and be operational prior to the issuance of the 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. All vacant commercial structures in the City of New Kensington shall be required to obtain a key lock box accessible by the Police and Fire Departments of the City of New Kensington and required to register the vacant structure with the Code Enforcement Office of the City of New Kensington. It is the requirement of the property owner to update the property status annually with the City of New Kensington Code Enforcement Office.

(a) Exemptions.

[1] The Fire Official or designee shall have the authority to grant a waiver for just cause. Facilities open on a twenty-four-hour basis, onsite security monitoring are examples of organizations that may be granted a waiver. In granting waivers the Fire Official will consider the nature of the business. If at any time the waiver is revoked, the facility would be required to obtain a lock box.

[2] The building owner requests exemption to install the lock box. In the case the Fire Official approves an exemption; the building owner must complete an exemption form accepting responsibility for any damages that may occur due to emergency entrance by the City of New Kensington Police or City of New Kensington Fire Departments.

(3) The Fire Official or designee shall designate the type of key lock box system to be implemented within the City of New Kensington and shall have the authority to require all structures to use the designated system.

(4) 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 in accordance with the current International Fire Code.

(5) The Fire Official shall be authorized to implement rules and regulations for the use of the lock box system.

(6) Any person who owns or operates a structure subject to this section shall complete along with the Fire Official or designee the key lock box record form (see Attachment 1[1]). After completion of the record form, the Fire Official or designee will place in the key lock box a laminated or protected card referencing the content of the key lock box (see Attachment 2[2]). Updates to the content to the key lock box should be conducted by the Fire Code Official or designee and not a member of the New Kensington Fire Departments for key lock box record and security retention.

[1] Editor's Note: Said attachment is on file in the City offices.

[2] Editor's Note: Said attachment is on file in the City offices.

(7) After access to the key lock box, should the content of the key lock box not match the laminated inventory card, the City of New Kensington Police and the Fire Official's office will be notified immediately that there is security issue.

(8) Authorization to the key lock box is limited to authorized persons. The City of New Kensington Fire Official shall determine an authorization list and any person authorized a key for key lock box access shall complete a key lock box key record form (see Attachment 3[3]).

[3] Editor's Note: Said attachment is on file in the City offices.

(9) The New Kensington Fire Chief shall be authorized to request keys for the use on New Kensington emergency vehicles and authorized fire personnel. Should authorized fire personnel change, it is the responsibility of the Fire Chief to notify the Fire Official's office to update 'the Fire Company authorization immediately.

(10) In the event that the Merchants of the City of New Kensington have worked to comply with this chapter and request of the City and maintained the key lock box with the latest updated keys for access to the facility, it would be the responsibility of the Fire Department officer in charge to accept responsibility for Fire Department entry to the facility. Should damage occur to the facility when the proper entry keys are available to the Fire Department by use of the lock box system, the proper Fire Department of the officer in charge would be responsible for any damage incurred to the facility when the proper entry was available by use of the key entry system.

§ 10-11 Uniforms.

Said companies may adopt a uniform, to be approved of by Council, and any person who shall use or wear the same at a fire when so adopted, without permission of said company, shall forfeit and pay for the use of said city a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $20, to be recovered as aforesaid.

§ 10-12 Term of Chief.

The Chief of the Fire Department shall be elected by the Council and shall continue in office for a term of one year but may be suspended or removed by Council for inattention or neglect of duty or other proper causes.

§ 10-13 Assistant Chief, Captains and Lieutenants.

The Chief shall have power to appoint an Assistant Chief who shall have sole control in his absence. Each company shall have power to elect their Captains and Lieutenants and all company officers for a term of one year.

§ 10-14 Return of property; discharge of company.

If any company shall fail to take good care of the property of the city committed to its charge or shall neglect to preserve discipline and good order or fail to perform the services at fires required of it by the Chief, the Council shall, if they deem it expedient, resume possession of said property and discharge said company and its Captain from the services of the city, and every Chief or Captain or officer of the Fire Department shall, at the expiration of his term of services by lapse of time, removal or otherwise, turn over to the city all property of the city pertaining to the Fire Department that they may have in their possession or control.