[Adopted 9-24-1976 by Ord. No. 1174; amended in its entirety 3-14-1985 by Ord. No.
1347 (Ch. 5, Part 3, of the 1986 Code of Ordinances)]
[Amended 6-27-1991 by Ord. No. 1434; 4-8-1993 by Ord. No. 1463; 8-10-2000 by Ord. No. 1648]
The City of Washington hereby adopts those standards as set
forth in the 2000 BOCA International Fire Code, published by the Building
Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., together with
all subsequent amendments, supplement, updates and modifications to
said code, which shall automatically be incorporated and adopted in
this article as if fully set forth herein. Copies of the latest edition
of the said BOCA Code shall be on file with the Fire Chief, City Clerk
and Building Inspector.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Fire Prevention
Ordinance of the City of Washington."
[Amended 4-8-1993 by Ord. No. 1463]
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular
number, and words in the singular number include the plural number.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
The City of Washington.
The Fire Chief of the City of Washington.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
There is hereby created in the Department of Fire a Fire Prevention
Division, supervised by the Fire Chief. The Fire Prevention Division
may consist of the Chief of the Fire Department and a Deputy Inspector
so designated by the Chief.
[Amended 4-24-1986 by Ord. No. 1356]
The Fire Prevention Division, under the supervision of the Fire
Chief, shall enforce all laws and ordinances covering the following:
A.
Inspection of potential fire hazards.
B.
Abatement of existing fire hazards.
C.
Investigation of the cause, origin and circumstances of fires.
D.
Control and use of explosives and flammables.
E.
Regulation of the maintenance of fire escapes.
F.
Regulation of the maintenance of automatic and other private fire
alarm systems and fire extinguishing equipment.
G.
Control of the means and adequacy of exits in case of fire from factories,
schools, hotels, lodging houses, hospitals, churches, halls, theaters,
and all other places in which numbers of persons work, meet, live
or congregate.
H.
Enforce this Fire Code.
I.
Educational fire prevention programs.
The Chief, or his Deputy Inspector, shall have the right and
authority to enter any building, structure, or premises within the
corporate limits of the City for the purpose of making inspections
or investigations at all reasonable hours, provided that, except in
cases of emergency, the right and authority conferred by this section
shall not apply to the entry of a private residence unless written
notice shall contain a statement of the time that inspection will
be made and shall also contain a statement of the purpose of such
inspection or investigation.
A.
Scope of inspection authorized. The inspection and examination authorized
by this article shall be for the purpose of reporting and correcting
the following fire hazards pertaining to buildings and their occupants:
(1)
Disrepair.
(2)
Age and dilapidated condition.
(3)
Faulty or unapproved construction.
(4)
Inadequate fire escapes or lack of means of egress.
(5)
Inadequate fire alarm protection.
(6)
Inadequate fire extinguishing equipment.
(7)
Materials and buildings especially susceptible to fire.
(8)
Conditions endangering other property or occupants.
(9)
Any other fire hazards dangerous to life or property.
It shall be the duty of the Chief, or his Deputy Inspector,
in addition to the inspections required below, to inspect as often
as he shall find necessary to the enforcement of this article all
buildings and premises in the City.
A.
Buildings and premises. The Chief or Deputy Inspector shall inspect
all buildings and premises not less than once a year.
B.
Place of public assembly. The Chief or Deputy Inspector shall inspect
all places of public assembly not less than once a month.
C.
Places housing dangerous materials. The Chief or Deputy Inspector
shall inspect, not less than four times a year, all hazardous manufacturing
processes, storages or installations of gases, chemical, oils, explosives
and flammable materials.
Where violations of this article or of any other laws or ordinances
relating to fire hazards are found by the Chief or Deputy Inspector,
he shall serve a written order to correct the violation upon the owner,
operator, occupant or other person responsible for the violation.
A.
Method of service. The order required herein shall be served in one
of the following ways:
(1)
By making personal delivery of the order to the person responsible.
(2)
By leaving the order with some person of suitable age and discretion
upon the premises.
(3)
By affixing a copy of the order to the door at the entrance of the
premises in violation.
(4)
By mailing a copy of the order to the last known address of the owner
of the premises by registered mail.
(5)
By publishing a copy of the order in a local paper once a week for
three successive weeks.
B.
Time for compliance. The order required herein shall set forth a
time limit for compliance, dependent upon the hazard and danger created
by the violation. In cases of extreme danger to persons or property,
the Chief or his Deputy Inspector shall have the authority to require
compliance immediately upon service of the order.
C.
Appeal from order. A person to whom an order hereunder is directed
shall have the right, within five working days of the service of such
order, to appeal to City Council, which shall review such order within
five working days and file its decision thereon. Unless the order
is revoked or modified, it shall remain in full force and be obeyed
by the person to whom directed. No person to whom an order is directed
shall fail to comply with such order within five working days after
an appeal shall have been determined.
D.
Failure to comply. Any person to whom an order is directed who shall
fail to comply with such order within the specified time shall be
liable to a penalty as hereinafter provided.
E.
Failure to comply. When a person to whom an order is directed shall
fail to comply within the specified time to the Chief's or his
Deputy Inspector's order, or the order of City Council if so
appealed, the City shall take whatever legal steps authorized by law
to correct the hazard, including but not limited to the right to seek
a temporary and/or permanent injunction.
The Chief or his Deputy Inspector shall investigate promptly
the cause, origin and circumstances of each and every fire occurring
in the City in which property has been destroyed or damaged, and if
it appears to the officer making investigation that such fire is of
suspicious origin, he shall then take immediate charge of the physical
evidence and notify the proper authorities designated by law to make
the investigation of such matters and shall further cooperate with
them in the collecting of the evidence and in the prosecution of the
case.
The Fire Chief shall keep a record of all fires and of all the
facts concerning the same, including statistics as to the extent of
such fires and the damage caused thereby, and whether such losses
were covered by insurance and, if so, in what amount. All such records
shall be public.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall submit a quarterly report
on the activities of the Fire Prevention Division to City Council
on the first day of each month.
[Amended 4-24-1986 by Ord. No. 1356]
The Chief or his Deputy Inspector are hereby authorized and
empowered to issue any written permit required by this article and
to attach or prescribe conditions or limitations in the issuance thereof.
A.
Inspection prior to issuance. Before issuing a permit, the Chief
or his Deputy Inspector shall inspect and approve the receptacles,
vehicles, buildings, appliances, installations, equipment or storage
places to be used.
B.
Application for permits. All applications for permits required by
this article shall be made to the Building Inspector in such form
and detail as he shall prescribe.
C.
Period of permits. Every permit granted by the Chief or his Deputy
Inspector shall be for such period as the Chief or his Deputy Inspector
shall determine. Permits shall not be transferable and must at all
times be kept on the premises designated therein and shall at all
times be subject to inspection by the Chief or his Deputy Inspector
and by any officer of the Department of Fire or Department of Police.
D.
Revocation of permits. The Chief or his Deputy Inspector shall revoke
any permit issued under this section when he finds:
(1)
That said permit is being used by any person other than the person
to whom it was issued;
(2)
That the conditions or limitations set forth in said permit have
been violated;
(3)
That violations set forth in any written notice served upon a permittee
by the Inspector have not been corrected within the time required
by said notice; or
(4)
That said permit is being used for any premises or location other
than that for which it was issued.
E.
Required number of permits. One permit only shall be required for
retail establishments dealing in, or manufacturing plants using, two
or more flammable, combustible or explosive materials, or keeping
the same in the establishment at any one time.
F.
Permits required. Permits are required by this article for:
(1)
Flammable liquids. Storage, handling and transportation.
(2)
Liquefied petroleum gases. Handling, transportation and storage.
(3)
Explosives. Use, storage, sale and transportation.
(4)
Mechanical refrigeration systems. Installation and operation.
(5)
Pyrotechnic displays.
(6)
Acetylene generators. Installation and operation.
(7)
Carbide storage.
(8)
Public garages. Repair and storage.
(9)
Tank trucks, tank trailers, tank truck semitrailers. Operation.
(10)
Paint spray booths. Installation and operation.
(11)
Small arms ammunition. Storage and sale of.
(12)
Nitrocellulose film.
(13)
Pyroxylin plastic. Storage and handling of in excess of 25 pounds
(11.35 kilograms).
(14)
Tire retreading and rebuilding plants.
(15)
Installation of hot plates, ranges, broilers, grease hoods and
vents other than residential.
The Chief shall require the officials of public, private and
parochial schools, and other educational institutions to have one
fire drill each month and to keep all doors and exits unlocked during
school hours.
[Amended 4-24-1986 by Ord. No. 1356; 4-8-1993 by Ord. No. 1463]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $300 and/or to imprisonment for a term not
to exceed 90 days. Every day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
