Township of Lower Allen, PA Chapter 103 Fire Prevention

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Lower Allen 5-26-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 103-1 Intent.

The purpose of this chapter is to establish the minimum requirements consistent with nationally recognized good practice for providing a reasonable level of life safety and property protection from hazards of fire, explosion, or dangerous conditions in new and existing buildings, structures and premises, and to provide safety to firefighters and emergency responders during emergency operations.

§ 103-2 Adoption of standards.

[Amended 1-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]

The International Fire Code, 2018 Edition, including Appendix B, C, D, I, K and N, is hereby adopted as the Fire Code of Lower Allen Township.

§ 103-3 Applicability.

[Amended 1-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]

The Fire Code of Lower Allen Township shall apply to any situation where the requirements of the International Fire Code 2018 are not referenced in any of the International Codes currently adopted by UCC regulations and administered and enforced under the Township's Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) program established in Chapter 70 of this Code.

§ 103-4 Revisions to International Fire Code 2018 standards.

[Amended 1-23-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]

The following regulations are hereby enacted to facilitate administration and enforcement of a national model code within Lower Allen Township.

A. The text of Chapter 1, Scope and Administration, is amended as follows:

(1) Section 101.1, Title, is amended by inserting "Lower Allen Township."

(2) Section 103, Department of Fire Prevention, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with new Section 103, Fire Prevention Agencies, as follows:

103.1 General. The Department of Public Safety shall be charged with the task of implementing, administering and enforcing this code. Police officers and law enforcement officers within the Department of Public Safety are hereby authorized to institute appropriate action for violations of Section 104.11.2, Obstruction of Fire Department operations; Section 307.1.1, Prohibited open burning; Section 307.3, Extinguishment authority for open burning; and Section 503.4, Obstruction of fire apparatus access roads, including fire lanes.

103.2 Appointment. The Public Safety Director is hereby authorized to designate law enforcement officers from within the Department to serve as Fire Code Official and Deputy Fire Code Officials for the purpose of administering and enforcing this code in accordance with this chapter. The Board of Commissioners shall appoint the Public Safety Director, the law enforcement officers within that department, and all Public Safety Department police and law enforcement officers.

(3) Section 105.1.1, Permits required, is amended by replacing the first sentence as follows: "Permits required by this code, not issued by the Building Code Official for matters subject to the UCC and regulated by Chapter 70, shall be issued by the Fire Code Official."

(4) Section 105.6, Required operational permits, is amended by adding new section 105.6.51, Fire suppression and detection systems, as follows: "An operational permit is required for all occupancies except those classified as R-3 in Section 202 of this code, General Definitions, Occupancy Classification, that are equipped with fire suppression and/or fire detection systems that must be maintained in accordance with NFPA 25 or NFPA 72 standards."

(5) Section 109.1, Board of appeals established, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 109.1, Board of Appeals established, as follows: "For matters not subject to the UCC and regulated by Chapter 70 of this Code, for which a Board of Appeals has been established in accordance with § 70-5, a Board of Appeals for this code is hereby created to hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions or determinations made by the Fire Code Official relative to the application and interpretation of this code. The Board of Commissioners shall serve as the Fire Code of Lower Allen Township Board of Appeals, shall adopt rules of procedure for conduction its business, and shall render all decisions and findings in writing to the appellant with a duplicate copy to the Fire Code Official. When deemed necessary to address technical matters, the Board may retain individuals who are qualified by experience and training to advise it on matters pertaining to hazards of fire, explosions, hazardous conditions or fire-protection systems. These technical advisors may not be employees of the Township."

(6) Section 110.4, Violation penalties, is amended by inserting "summary offense" at [SPECIFY OFFENSE], "$1,000" at [AMOUNT] and "10" at [NUMBER OF DAYS].

(7) Section 110, Violations, is amended by adding new Section 110.3.5, Penalty for obstruction of fire apparatus, as follows: "When a violation of Section 503.4, Obstruction of fire apparatus access roads, involves a parked vehicle within a fire apparatus access road that is posted with signs or other markings approved by the Fire Code Official that contain the words, NO PARKING-FIRE LANE, an enforcement action shall be initiated by any authorized police officer or law enforcement officer in accordance with Chapter 209, Vehicles and traffic, § 209-8, Violation notice issuance; payment. The penalty shall be a fine of $50; however, failure to comply with provisions of § 209-8A shall subject the person receiving the violations notice to a summary offense proceeding authorized by § 209-8B, and the penalty provisions of this code contained in Section 110.3.5 shall apply."

(8) Section 110.4, Failure to comply, is amended as follows: "condition, shall be liable to a fine of not more than $1,000."

(9) Section 106.2, Schedule of permit fees, is amended as follows: ". . .schedule as established by a resolution of the Board of Commissioners."

(10) Section 307.1.1, Prohibited open burning, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 307.1.1, Prohibited open burning, as follows: "Open burning that is offensive or objectionable because of smoke emissions or when atmospheric or local conditions make such fires hazardous shall be prohibited. Burning of any material that must be recycled, or disposed at an approved solid waste facility in accordance with a Township ordinance or state statute is also prohibited."

(11) Section 307.3, Extinguishment authority, is amended as follows: "The Fire Code Official and any other person authorized by Section 103.1 to enforce this code is authorized . . .".

(12) Section 307.4.2, Recreational fires, is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows: "Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material unless contained in a noncombustible outdoor fireplace, fire pit or fire ring. Recreational fires in Township parks shall be further restricted by applicable regulations in Chapter 151, Parks and Playgrounds."

(13) Section 5704.2.9.6.1, Locations where above-ground tanks are prohibited, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 5704.2.9.6.1, Locations where aboveground storage tanks are prohibited, as follows: "Storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks outside of buildings is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Lower Allen Township except the C-2, I-1 and I-3 Districts."

(14) Section 5706.2.4.4, Locations where above-ground tanks are prohibited, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 5706.2.4.4, Locations where aboveground storage tanks are prohibited, as follows: "Storage of Class I and Class II liquids in aboveground tanks is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Lower Allen Township except the C-2, I-1 and I-3 Districts."

(15) Section 5806.2, Limitations, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 5806.2, Limitations, as follows:" Storage of flammable cryogenic fluids in stationary containers is prohibited within any zoning district depicted on the Zoning Map of Lower Allen Township except the C-2, I-1 and I-3 Districts."

(16) Section 6104.2, Maximum capacity within established limits, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with a new Section 6104.2, Maximum capacity within established limits, as follows: "The geographic limits in which the aggregate capacity of any one installation of liquefied petroleum gas shall not exceed a water capacity of 2,000 gallons (7570 L) for the protection of heavily populated or congested areas cannot be established by Lower Allen Township because the Propane and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act (35 P.S. §§ 1329.1 through 1329.19) does not permit municipalities to prohibit or regulate storage of these materials."