[Adopted 4-28-2009 by L.L. No. 12-2009]
A.
This Legislature
hereby finds and determines that ensuring the proper functioning of
fire safety equipment in Suffolk County is essential to protecting
public safety.
B.
This Legislature
also finds and determines that at a recent fire in a private cooperative
community in Selden, firefighters experienced difficulty in performing
their duties due to inadequate water flow coming from a fire hydrant.
C.
This Legislature
further finds and determines that fire hydrants and the water flow
from hydrants in private residential communities within Suffolk County
are not maintained by towns and villages, but are instead the responsibility
of the private owner.
D.
This Legislature
finds that, pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3, private
fire hydrants are to be tested for operation and flow each year.
E.
This Legislature
determines that, while the towns and villages are the entities primarily
involved in the inspection and maintenance of fire hydrants, Suffolk
County has a role to play in making certain that all the necessary
parties have the information they need to fight fires as safely and
efficiently as possible.
F.
Therefore,
the purpose of this article is to require private residential communities
to annually file a certification with Suffolk County that they have
performed the required annual test of their fire hydrants and have
provided the results of those tests to their town or village fire
marshal and local fire department.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Suffolk County Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency
Services.
The person(s) and/or corporation(s) that holds a possessory
interest in a parcel of real property on which a private residential
community is built, the person(s) or corporation(s) hired for the
purpose of providing day-to-day management of a private residential
community, or the person(s) responsible for ensuring that the annual
fire hydrant testing is performed under New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3
for that specific property.
A residential community containing apartments, condominiums,
townhouses, cooperative housing, and one- or two-family homes that
utilize a private community water system, as defined in Suffolk County
Sanitary Code § 760-601, and which is required to annually
inspect and test fire hydrants pursuant to § 508.5.3 of
the New York State Fire Code.
A.
The owner of a private residential community shall submit a copy
of the report generated from its annual fire hydrant testing performed
pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3 to the town
or village fire marshal and local fire department within 30 days of
receiving the original report. The aforementioned report shall include,
but not be limited to, the water pressure level coming out of each
hydrant as measured by pounds per square inch (psi) and a calculation
of the number of gallons of water per minute from each hydrant based
on a reading of 20 psi of flowing pressure.
B.
The owner of a private residential community shall submit a complete sworn affidavit, the form of which shall be established by the Department, with the Department that said owner has performed the fire hydrant testing which must be conducted annually under New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3, and has filed a report containing the information described in Subsection A with its local town or village fire marshal and local fire department. This affidavit shall be filed with the Department within 15 days after the report described in Subsection A is filed with the town or village fire marshal or the local fire department.
A.
Owners who fail to file a report or an affidavit as required in § 471-10 shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 for each day beyond December 31 that the affidavit remains unfiled with the Department. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
Any owner who submits a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement
to the Department shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000, six months'
imprisonment, or both. Each violation shall constitute a separate
offense.
The Department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as
it deems necessary for the implementation and enforcement of any provisions
of this article. Such rules shall govern the conduct of adjudicatory
proceedings relating to the assessment of civil penalties herein authorized
and such other penalties authorized under this article. Such rules
shall further provide for due process procedural mechanisms and any
other mechanisms deemed necessary by the Department.
This article shall apply to all fire hydrant operability tests
required pursuant to New York State Fire Code § 508.5.3
for the calendar year 2009 and all such tests for each subsequent
year.
This article shall take effect on the 90th day immediately subsequent
to its filing in the Office of the Secretary of State.
