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Borough of Spotswood, NJ
Middlesex County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (7) Index Notes (4)
[HISTORY: Derived from Ch. XII of the 1969 Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Spotswood (adopted by the Borough Council 5-11-1970 by Ord. No. 278, as amended through 9/94). Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. II.
Fire Division — See Ch. 2, § 2-61.
Fire Department — See Ch. 14.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 72.
Schedule of fees — See Ch. 91, Art. I.
Pursuant to Section 11 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-202, the Uniform Fire Safety Code shall be locally enforced in the Borough of Spotswood.
A. 
Designated. The local enforcement agency shall be the Bureau of Fire Prevention, which is hereby created in the Department of Public Safety, Division of Inspections.
B. 
Organization. The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be part of the Department of Public Safety, Division of Inspection, and shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Fire Marshal, who is hereby designated as the Fire Official, as permitted by N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.2(a), for purposes of enforcing the Uniform Fire Safety Code.
[Amended 3-24-1997 by Ord. No. 1997-527; 10-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2013-01]
C. 
Personnel. The Fire Marshal and fire prevention inspectors of the Bureau shall be appointed in the same manner and shall serve under the same conditions as all other subordinate officers and employees of the Borough, as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:69A-43, provided that they have received and have maintained the appropriate certifications from the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 3-24-1997 by Ord. No. 1997-527]
The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall enforce the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the codes and regulations adopted under it in all buildings, structures and premises within the established boundaries of the Borough of Spotswood, other than owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings, and shall faithfully comply with the requirements of the Uniform Fire Safety Act and the Uniform Fire Safety Code.
The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall carry out the periodic inspections of life hazard uses required by the Uniform Fire Code on behalf of the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
[Amended 10-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2013-01]
The Borough Attorney is hereby appointed to assist the Bureau of Fire Prevention to enforce the Code, as provided for in N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.2(d).
Pursuant to Sections 15 and 17 of the Uniform Fire Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-206 and 52:27D-208, any person aggrieved by any order of the local enforcement agency shall have the right to appeal to the Construction Board of Appeals of Middlesex County.
In addition to the inspections and fees required pursuant to the Act and the regulations of the Department of Community Affairs, the following additional annual inspections shall be required for other than life hazard uses, with the fees therefor as set forth in § 91-5 of Chapter 91, Fees:
A. 
Food service uses. At use group classifications, except residential, wherein cooking equipment is used for the preparation of food for service to the public for either on-premises consumption or off-premises consumption.
B. 
Business uses. At business use group occupancies with a gross floor area, all floors, of 2,500 square feet or greater.
C. 
Storage uses. At storage use group occupancies with a gross floor area of 2,000 square feet or greater.
D. 
Mercantile uses. At all mercantile use group occupancies regardless of site or area.
E. 
Factory uses. At all factory use group occupancies regardless of size or area.
F. 
Multifamily common areas. At all common areas of multifamily use group occupancies.
A. 
Established. The fees for the various use group inspections shall be as set forth in § 91-5 of Chapter 91, Fees.
B. 
When due. The inspection fee shall be paid to the Borough annually by the individual, firm or corporation, as the case may be, during the period of January 2 through January 31 of each year, and filed along with a registration form supplied by the Borough.
C. 
Inspection requested by individual. Where an individual, firm or corporation requests an inspection to be conducted, other than those required by this Code, for the purpose of obtaining a record of such inspection, the fee shall be as set forth in § 91-5 of Chapter 91, Fees.
D. 
Certificate of Fire Code status. The fee for a certificate of fire code status shall be as set forth in § 91-5 of Chapter 91, Fees.
E. 
Permit fees. Permit fees shall be as set forth in the Uniform Fire Code.
The limits in which storage of flammable liquids in outside aboveground tanks is prohibited are hereby established as the entire Borough.
The limits in which storage of explosives and blasting agents is prohibited are hereby established as the entire Borough.
The Mayor, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Fire Marshal of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall act as a committee to determine and specify, after giving affected persons an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes or occupancies which shall require permits, in addition to those now enumerated in the Code. The Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his office and distribute copies to interested persons.
A. 
The Bureau of Fire Prevention, upon approval of the Borough Council in the form of an ordinance, is authorized to establish fire areas on property devoted to public use, including, but not by way of limitation, shopping centers, bowling alleys, churches, swimming pools and similar uses involving parking of sufficient number of motor vehicles to make necessary such regulation for protection of persons and property in case of fire or other emergency.
B. 
The fire areas shall be established to insure fire equipment and other emergency vehicles unobstructed means of ingress and egress to such properties and the buildings, persons, vehicles, fire hydrants and standpipes thereon in case of fire or other emergency.
C. 
The number, location, width, length and markings of such areas shall be determined by the Bureau of Fire Prevention with the approval of the Borough Council. Such determination and approval shall be by ordinance based upon the size, type and location of the building or buildings, use to which the property is put, number of motor vehicles operated or parked upon the property, the number of persons using and occupying the premises, existing means of ingress and egress, the total area of the property, including size of the parking lot or lots, and all other relevant factors.
D. 
The Bureau of Fire Prevention is further authorized, with the approval of the Borough Council by ordinance, to regulate, restrict and prohibit the parking and operation of motor vehicles in and near such fire area, and to impose other regulations necessary to insure that such areas are free from obstruction.
E. 
The Police Department shall have the concurrent jurisdiction together with the Bureau of Fire Prevention to enforce the provisions of this section.
[Added 10-20-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-11]
A. 
Definition. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
OPEN BURNING
The burning of any material in anything other than an approved device or in an uncontained manner. Upon the recommendation of the Borough Fire Marshal, the Borough Fire Department may use open burning for training purposes only.
B. 
Open burning for any reason is hereby prohibited except where permits have been obtained from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and the Borough Fire Marshal.
C. 
Fines. Anyone conducting open burning, without a permit or approval, will be subject to a fine of $500 for the first offense and a fine of $750 for a second and subsequent offenses.