[Adopted 10-15-1979 by Ord. No. 758, approved 10-15-1979; amended in its entirety 4-2-2007 by Ord. No. 1221, approved 4-2-2007]
[Amended 4-3-2018 by Ord.
No. 1348, approved 4-3-2018]
A.
The Borough shall maintain the position of Fire Marshal, who shall report to the Borough Manager of the Borough of Middletown; and two subordinate positions, one of which shall be entitled "Deputy Fire Marshal" and shall be second in command in the absence of the Fire Marshal; and the other shall be entitled "Assistant Fire Marshal" and shall be third in command in the absence of the Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal. The Deputy Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshal shall report to the Fire Marshal. The officers serve at the discretion of the Borough Manager and will likewise take the oath before the Mayor as detailed in § 23-6.
B.
To be eligible to hold the office of Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal,
or Assistant Fire Marshal of the Borough, an individual must:
(1)
Have attained the age of 26 years;
(2)
Be an active, experienced firefighter, in good standing with MVFD
for a period of at least five years;
(3)
The Fire Marshal need not be a resident of the Borough, but the Fire
Marshal must reside within a twenty-five-mile radius of the Middletown
Borough Hall building; and
(4)
Have completed such training classes as to qualify him or her as
a Fire Marshal.
C.
The Fire Marshal, in conjunction with the Borough Code Enforcement Officer, may be responsible for the enforcement of the Borough Uniform Construction Code, pursuant to Chapter 114 of the Borough of Middletown Code of Ordinances, and any and all applicable National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Uniform Fire Codes, and/or all NFPA Fire Codes, as such may exist or be created; herein adopted as the Fire Code of the Borough of Middletown.
D.
The Fire Marshal, in conjunction with the Dauphin County or State
Fire Marshal, shall be responsible for assisting with the investigation
of the cause of any fire, as requested or required.
E.
The Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal, and Assistant Fire Marshal
shall be volunteer firefighters serving Middletown and they shall
continue to enjoy all the benefits, insurance protection and other
emoluments of a volunteer firefighter. It is intended that these benefits
shall apply to their performance of the duties as Fire Marshal and
to the risks attendant thereupon.
F.
Full police powers, including power to take into custody or arrest
or to remove an individual(s) from a fire or explosion site, is hereby
conferred upon the Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal, and Assistant
Fire Marshal. Such powers may be exercised upon view and without warrant
in order to implement the authority and responsibility vested in such
office.
G.
A penalty in furtherance of this chapter is hereby imposed for obstructing
investigations by the Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal, or Assistant
Fire Marshal as follows:
(1)
If the investigation of fires or explosions, under any law of the commonwealth, is impeded or obstructed, or if there is attempted or actual access by any person or persons to such buildings, structures or premises until evidence has been properly processed, or disturbance, removal or suppression of any physical evidence relating to the cause or origin of such fire or explosion, knowingly or with reason to know, or in violation of orders in the Fire Marshal, or Deputy Fire Marshal, or Assistant Fire Marshal, then, in accordance with § 127-14 of Chapter 127, Code Enforcement, any person, upon conviction in proceedings before a District Justice, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution and, in default of payment thereof, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days; each occurrence to be considered a separate violation.
The Chief Fire Marshal or an Assistant Fire Marshal is hereby
authorized to inspect all apartments, hotels, rooming houses, business
places and public buildings at least once every six months and to
make a report thereof to the owner and to the Office of Code Enforcement
of any hazards found thereon and to give notice thereof to the owner
and, if the same be leased, to the lessee thereof (Frey Estate tenants
of long-term leaseholds shall be treated as owners for this provision),
with instructions to abate said hazard within 10 days from the date
of said notice.
