The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutOrdinance 1377 ORDINANCE NO. 1377 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, ADOPTING A FIRE PREVENTION CODE; PRESCRIBING REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS TO LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM FIRE AND EXPLOSION; ESTABLISHING A BUREAU OF FIRE PREVENTION; ESTABLISHING APPEAL PROCEDURES; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OR A FINE NOT LESS THAN $50.00 NOR MORE THAN $200.00 FOR FIRE LANE VIOLATION; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OR A FINE NOT LESS THAN $50.00 NOR MORE THAN $1,000.00 FOR VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER PORTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1377; ADOPTING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, that; Section 1. An ordinance to provide the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, with rules and regulations to improve public safety by promoting the control of'fire hazards; regulating the installation, use, and maintenance of equipment; regulating the use of structures, premises, and open areas; providing for the abatement of fire hazards; establishing the responsibilities and procedures for code enforcement; and setting forth the standards for compliance and achievement of the objectives. This code shall be known as the City of North Richland Hills Fire Prevention Code. This code adopts the 1984 Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1, and its incorporated standards and codes as published in the National Fire Codes of the National Fire Protection Association and listed in Annex A and B of the NFPA Fire Prevention Code and being particularly the first .edition thereof. The same are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein. Not less than two copies of the adopted issue of the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1, and the adopted standards and codes of the National Fire Codes shall be filed in the office of the City Secretary and the provisions thereof shall be controlling limits of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas. Section 2. Each of the codes and standards, published by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269, is adopted in its entirety as a supplement and addition to the Code text of the Fire Prevention Code of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, as if the same were incorporated and set forth at length herein. NFPA codes and standards that are current as of April 1, 1984 are adopted. The Codes and Standards adopted herein are on file in the office of the City Secretary for reading and copying. Section 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate this ordinance, to permit or maintain such a violation, to refuse to obey any provision thereof, or fail or refuse to comply with any such provision or regulation except as variation may be allowed by the action of the Fire Chief in writing, or his designee. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 2 Proof of such unlawful act or failure shall be deemed prima facie evidence that such act is that of the owner or other person in control of the premises. Prosecution or lack thereof of either the owner, occupant, or the person in charge shall not be deemed to relieve any of the others. Section 4. The Fire Prevention Code shall be enforced by the Fire Prevention Division in the Fire Department of the City of North Richland Hills which is hereby established and which shall be operated under the supervision of the Fire Chief. The City Manager of the City of North Richland Hills shall appoint the Fire Chief either by examination or interview for determining his qualifications and shall on the authority of the City Manager assure and accomplish the duties of Fire Chief. The Fire Chief will be the administrator of the Fire Prevention Division and shall be responsible for the direct administration and enforcement to the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1. The Fire Chief of the City of North Richland Hills, Fire Department may also designate such number of personnel assigned to Fire Prevention Division. Section 5. It shall be the duty of the personnel assigned to the Fire Prevention Division to enforce all laws and ordinances pertaining to Fire Codes of the City of North Richland Hills. They shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as are set forth in other sections of this ordinance, and as may be conferred and imposed from time to time by law. The Fire Chief of the City of North Richland Hills Fire Department may delegate any of his powers or duties under this ordinance to the Division Chief in charge of the Fire Prevention Division. The Fire Chief of the City of North Richland Hills may also designate such number of personnel in such Division of Fire Prevention as shall be from time to time authorized by the City Manager. Section 6. The Fire Prevention Division shall have the authority to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of any fire or explosion involving a loss of life, injuries to persons, or destruction or damage to property. When in the opinion of the Fire Chief,or his designee reasonable cause exists that the fire or explosion may have been of incendiary origin, the Fire Chief, or his designee shall have the authority to take custody of all physical evidence relating to the cause of the fire or explosion and to continue the investigation to conclusion. Proprietary information which may relate to trade secrets or processes shall not be made part of the public record except as may be directed by a court of law. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 3 Every fire shall be reported in writing to the Fire Prevention Division within three (3) days after the occurrence of the same by the fire department officer in whose jurisdiction such a fire has occurred. Such report shall contain a statement of all facts relating to the cause, origin, and circumstances of such fire, the extent of the damage thereof, the insurance upon such property, and such other information as may be required, including the injury, death or rescue of persons. Section 7. The Fire Chief and/or his assistants shall be responsible for the issuance of permits, certificates, notices, approvals, and other orders pertaining to fire control and fire hazards as provided for in this Code. Section 8. The Fire Prevention Division shall inspect or cause to be inspected all premises as required by the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1, and shall make such orders as may be necessary for the enforcement of the laws, ordinances governing the same and for safeguarding of life and property from fire. Section 9. Whenever any inspector, as defined above, shall find in any building, or upon any premises or other places, combustible or explosive matter or dangerous accumulations or rubbish or unnecessary accumulation of waste paper, boxed shavings, or any highly flammable materials especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger property; or shall find obstructions to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors, or windows, liable to interfere with the operations of the Fire Department or egress of occupants in case of fire, he shall order the same to be removed or remedied, and such order shall forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant of such premises or buildings, subject to the appeals procedure provided for in the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1. Any owner or occupant failing to comply with such order within a reasonable period after the service of the said order shall be liable to penalties as hereinafter provided. Section 10. The Fire Prevention Division shall compile and keep a record of all fires and of all facts concerning the same, including injuries, rescue of persons and 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. Such record shall be made daily from the reports made by Fire Department personnel under the provisions of this ordinance. All such records shall be open to the public. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 4 Section 11. The Fire Prevention Division shall make an annual report of the activities of its division and shall transmit this report to the Fire Chief of the City of North Richland Hills. The report shall contain all proceeding under the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1, with such statistics as the Fire Chief may wish to include therein. Section 12. The City Manager or Fire Chief of the City of North Richland Hills shall also recommend any amendments to the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No. 1 or ordinance which, in his judgment, shall be desirable. Section 13. The provisions of the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No.1, shall apply equally to both public and private property, and shall apply to all structures and their occupancies, except as otherwise specified. Section 14. This act shall be deemed an exercise of the police powers of the City of North Richland Hills for the preservation and protection of the public health, peace, safety, and welfare, and all provisions of the Fire Prevention Code of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No. 1 shall be liberally construed for the purpose. Section 15. Appeals of the decisions made by the Fire Prevention Division in the interpretation of the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA No. 1 and its enforcement shall be appealed to the Board of Appeals. Section 16. It shall be in violation of this ordinance to use any wood shingles as part of the construction material on structures classified as multi-family (including duplexes) or commercial building. All single family dwellings using wood shingles or shakes shall be factory pressure treated with a fire retardant chemical to meet class C fire resistant requirements of the National Fire Protection Association No. 256. Existing wood shingles or shake roofs may be repaired with wood shingles or shakes providing the area repaired does not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the entire area of the roof, otherwise the entire roof shall be replaced with material specified in the code. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 5 Section 17. Any apartment, condominium, hotel, motel, or townhome, three or more stories in height or more than thirty-five feet elevation from finished floor level, shall be equipped with a fire protection sprinkler system that meets the minimum standards of N.F.P.A. Standard 13D. 1. The system shall be installed on all floors of the building. 2. The sprinkler heads installed in occupied areas of the structure shall be fused at 165 degrees Fahrenheit unless otherwise approved by the Fire Chief. 3. Any multi-family structure over thirty-five feet in height shall be equipped with a sprinkler system that meets the requirements of N.F.P.A. Standard 13. 4. Upon installation completion, the installer of the sprinkler system shall furnish the office of the Fire Prevention Division with a copy of "as built" plans for the system and a letter stating the name of the company installing the system, date of completion, a statement that the system has been installed to meet the requirements of the ordinance, and the notarized signature of the installer. Commercial structures three or more stories in height or more than thirty-five feet elevation from finished floor level, shall be protected by a complete approved N.F.P.A. fire protection sprinkler system. 1. Any structure of two or more stories with a gross square footage of 25,000 square feet or more shall be equipped with a complete fire protection sprinkler system that is N.F.P.A. approved. 2. Each installation shall be constructed in compliance with N.F.P.A. Standard 13 - "Standard for Sprinkler Systems". 3. Upon completion, the installer shall furnish the office of the Fire Prevention Division with a copy of "as built" plans for the system and a letter stating the name of the company installing the system, date of completion, a statement that the system has been installed to meet the requirements of the ordinance, and the notarized signature of the installer. Section 18. Any residential occupancy having a living area below grade level shall have two (2) means of egress, one of which shall have a door leading directly to the outside of the structure. Stairways and ramps leading from outside the exit to grade level shall conform to N.F.P.A. 101, Chapter 5. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 6 Any means of escape into any portion of the living quarters shall be protected by a Twenty (20) minute rated fire door at the top of the stairs leading out of the basement. This provision of Ordinance 1377 will include structures or parts of structures which may be converted to living areas in the future. Section 19. Any occupancy used for business, mercantile, residential, health, penal, educational, industrial and storage shall be separated from the other occupancies by construction having a fire resistive rating of not less than one hour. 1. Fire resistive construction shall extend from the floor to the bottom of the roof deck or the sub-floor of the next floor level. 2. Occupancies which require fire resistive separation greater than one hour shall be indicated by the appropriate N.F.P.A. Standards. 3. Those occupancies which are required to have automatic sprinkler systems in accordance with N.F.P.A. Standard 13 shall be exempt from fire separation requirements, except as noted in N.F.P.A. Standards. Section 20. Fire lanes shall be provided for all buildings when required by authority having jurisdiction. 1. Fire lanes shall be at least 20 feet in width with the edge closest to the building at least 10 feet from the building. 2. Any dead-end road more than 300 feet long shall be provided with a turn-around at the closed end at least 90 feet in diameter. 3. Fire lanes shall be identified by red lines 6" in width, with "NO PARKING FIRE LANE" stenciled in white over the red stripping every 20'. Section 21. Any motor vehicle, vehicle or combination thereof, which is designed to carry or transport a cargo or payload considered a hazardous material by the 1984 National Fire Code, that is loaded or unloaded is prohibited to park within 150 feet of any and all structures, buildings, public thoroughfares, railroads, and is also prohibited to park on city streets or in residential areas of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas unless said vehicle is in the process of loading or unloading its cargo or payload. Hazardous material vehicles will not be parked in public garages. Ordinance No. 1377 Page 7 Section 22. The installation, maintenance and continuous operation of smoke detectors in every individual living unit having sleeping accommodations are required to be installed by the owners. Section 23. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the Code hereby adopted; or shall fail to comply therewith; or shall violate or fail to comply with any order made thereunder; or shall build in violation of any details, statements, specifications, or plans submitted or approved thereunder; or shall operate not in accordance with the provisions of any certificate, permit, or approval issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken; or who shall fail to comply with such order as affirmed or modified by the Fire Chief and/or the City Manager, or by a court of competent jurisdiction within the time fixed herein shall severalty for each and every violation and noncompliance, respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine not less than $50.00 nor more that $200.00 for fire lane violation; providing for a penalty or fine not less than $50.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for violation of any other portion of Ordinance No. 1377 The imposition of a penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation nor shall the violation be permitted to continue. All such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time, and when not otherwise specified, the application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforcement or removal of prohibited conditions. PASSED AND APPROVED this 14th day of July, 1986. ~~ Mayor ATTEST: /1 /J, 1 \.JL..;~/.z¡';"--/ ~.Á.L4...J ~anette Rewis, City Secretary APPRO...VED) AS. TO. FORM AND LE~ITY: / / Y {/:AJ~/ll L/ (-; L1 ¿If . {/ , / -._ V" Rex McEntire, Attorney Amended by 1814 Repealed 1377 Description Date Amended June 22, 2001