Town of Salem, NH Chapter 314 Life Safety

[HISTORY: Adopted by the 2009 Town Meeting of the Town of Salem (Ch. 216 of the 1995 Code); amended in its entirety by the Board of Selectmen 11-2-2015. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Building construction — See Ch. 210.

Fires and fire prevention — See Ch. 260.

§ 314-1 Title.

This chapter shall be known as the "Town of Salem Life Safety Code."

§ 314-2 Adoption of standards.

[Amended by the 3-18-2017 Town Meeting]

The Town of Salem hereby adopts, pursuant to RSA 155-A, RSA 674:51 and RSA 674:51-a, for the purpose of establishing standards to safeguard life from fire occurring in buildings and structures, that certain code known as the "NFPA 101 Life Safety Code 2015 edition," adopted as part of the New Hampshire State Fire Code, as amended, as fully as if set out herein, except for the amendments set forth below and designated as § 314-3, and from the date on which this chapter shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling for the maintenance and construction of all buildings and structures therein contained within the Town of Salem.

§ 314-3 Amendments to code.

A. The Life Safety Code is amended by providing that the authority having jurisdiction under this code shall be the Chief of the Fire Department or in his absence the Chief assigned to direct and control the Fire Prevention Bureau as required in § 260-4B.

B. As defined in the Life Safety Code, Section 3.3.36.3, "apartment buildings" includes apartment-type buildings in whatever legal form of ownership they exist, including condominiums.

[Amended by the 3-18-2017 Town Meeting]

C. Townhouse-type condominium units with their own exit directly to grade level shall be considered one- and two-family dwellings in determining the requirements imposed by the Life Safety Code only when each unit is separated by a two-hour fire barrier, as defined in the International Building Code, and extending from the floor of the lowest level to the underside of the roof.

D. When in the opinion of the code official additional exit or emergency lighting is necessary to safeguard the public and occupants of a structure, signs and lights shall be installed as directed.

E. [1]Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, sprinklers shall not be required in any single-family or two-family dwelling or manufactured housing unit.

[1] Editor’s Note: Former Subsection E, which provided amendments to specific sections of the Life Safety Code, was repealed by the 3-18-2017 Town Meeting.

§ 314-4 Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm, corporation, or organization who or which shall violate a provision of the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) or this chapter or fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall erect, install, alter, repair or do work in violation of approved construction documents or directives of the code official or of a permit or certificate issued under provisions of this code shall be guilty of a violation for the first offense, punishable by a fine as authorized pursuant to RSA 676:17. Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be upon second and subsequent violations guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine as authorized pursuant to RSA 676:17. Each day that a violation or misdemeanor continues after notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense.