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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Adopting Revisions to Fire Code ORDINANCE NO. 3218 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF AMES, IOWA, BY REPEALING SECTIONS 8.101, 8.103, 8.105, 8.106, 8.107, AND 8.108 AS THEY NOW EXIST AND ENACTING NEW SECTIONS 8.101, 8.103, 8.105, 8.106, 8.107 AND 8.108 FOR THE PURPOSE OF BRINGING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE MOST RECENT UNIFORM CODE; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HERE- WITH; ESTABLISHING A PENALTY AND SETTING AN EFFEC- TIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED, by the City Council for the City of Ames, Iowa: Section One. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa is hereby amend- ed by repealing Sec. 8.101 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.101 as follows: "Sec. 8.101. UNIFORM FIRE CODE ADOPTED. The 1991 Edition of the Uniform Fire Code as published by the International Conference of Building Officials, Whittier, CAL. is hereby adopted by the City of Ames, Iowa, for the purpose of prescribing regulations pertaining to conditions hazardous to life from fire and explosives, together with the deletion, additions and modifications hereinafter stated. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Two. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa is hereby amended by repealing Sec. 8.103 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.103 as follows: "Sec. 8.103. INCINERATORS AND OPEN BURNING. Delete Division II of Article 11 of the Uniform Fire Code relating to incinerators and open burning. The use of incinerators and open burning is hereby prohibited except as specifically provided elsewhere in the Municipal Code. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Three. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa is hereby amended by repealing Sec. 8.105 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.105 as follows: "Sec. 8.105. FIRE APPARATUS ACCESS ROADS. Deleting Sec. 10.201, UFC, and insert in lieu thereof the following: (a) General. Fire apparatus access roads shall be provided and maintained in accordance with the provisions of this section for all buildings and structures. Such roads may be required by the fire chief for existing buildings when emergency access to a structure is not adequate. All fire apparatus access road designations made by the fire chief which are signed or marked for enforcement under chapter 18 of 8-1 Mar. 19, 1993 the Municipal Code shall be in writing and that list shall be maintained at one location available to the public. EXCEPTION: i) When access roadways cannot be installed due to topography, waterways, non-negotiable grades or other similar conditions, the chief may require additional fire protection as specified in Sec. 10.501(b) . (b) Where Required. Fire apparatus access roads shall be re- quired for every building when any portion of an exterior wall is locat- ed more than 150 feet from fire department vehicle access. EXCEPTIONS: i) When buildings are completely protected with an approved automatic fire sprinkler system, the provisions of this sec- tion may be modified; ii) When there are not more than two buildings of Group R, Division 3 or Group M occupancy completed at a site and no further development occurs, the requirements of this section may be modified, provided, in the opinion of the chief, fire fighting or rescue operations would not be impaired. iii) When there are not more than two Group R, Division 3 or Group M occupancies or a single commercial building under construction in an area of new development, the location requirements of this subsection may be modified temporarily to require fire apparatus access roads when any portion of an exterior wall is located more than 300' from fire department vehicle access. This modification shall be permitted only during the period prior to occupancy. (c) Width. Fire apparatus access roads shall have unobstructed width of 20 feet. EXCEPTIONS: i) When there are not more than two Group R Division 3 or Group M occupancies or a single commercial building under construction in an area of new development, the width re- quirements may be temporarily modified during the period prior to occupancy, as approved by the Chief, when, in the opinion of the chief, fire fighting or rescue operations would not be impaired. The minimum width of such road shall be 121. ii) When there are not more than two Group R, Division 3 or Group M occupancies completed at a site, and no further development occurs, the width requirements may be modified as approved by the chief, when, in the opinion of the chief, fire fighting or rescue operations would not be impaired. The minimum width of such road shall be 12'. 8-2 Mar. 19, 1993 (d) Vertical Clearance. Fire apparatus access roads shall have an unobstructed vertical clearance of 131611, except the fire chief may allow less clearance provided the reduction does not impair access by fire apparatus and it is clearly signed indicating the actual clearance. (e) Surface. Fire apparatus access roads shall be designed and maintained to support the imposed loads of fire apparatus and shall be provided with a concrete or asphalt surface not less than 5" depth so as to provide all-weather driving capabilities. EXCEPTIONS: i) When there are not more than two Group R Division 3 or Group M occupancies or a single commercial building under construction in an area of new development, the surface re- quirements may be temporarily modified during the period prior to occupancy, as approved by the Chief, when, in the opinion of the chief, fire fighting or rescue operations would not be impaired. A well maintained 8" gravel surface with adequate drainage shall be the minimum allowed. ii) When there are not more than two Group R, Division 3 or Group M occupancies completed at a site, and no further development occurs, the surface requirements may be modified as approved by the chief, when, in the opinion of the chief, fire fighting or rescue operations would not be impaired. A well maintained 8" gravel surface with adequate drainage shall be the minimum allowed. (f) Turn Arounds. All dead end fire apparatus access roads in excess of 150' shall be provided with adequate turn around, as ap- proved by the fire chief. EXCEPTIONS: i) In areas of new residential development, a fire apparatus turn around shall not be required at the dead end of a street until the street has been built and has remained without further extension for a period of twelve (12) months. (g) Turning Radii. The inside turning radius of a 20' fire appa- ratus access road shall be a minimum 201, and the outside turning radius of such road or lane shall be fifty (50) feet. (h) Bridges. Bridges on all fire apparatus access roads shall be designed to carry the maximum weight of the heaviest piece of available fire apparatus. (i) Grade. Grade on all fire apparatus access roads shall not exceed 10 a. (j) Signs. Approved signs, red painted curbs, red striped sur- faces, or other notices shall be provided and maintained as required by 8-3 Mar. 19, 1993 the fire chief for fire apparatus access roads to identify such roads and prohibit the obstruction thereof or both. (k) Obstructions. Where fire apparatus access roads are estab- lished and are signed or marked as required by the fire chief, parking or obstructing in any manner of those roads shall be prohibited. The fire chief and police chief or their representatives are authorized to enforce this subsection by the issuance of citations, or removal and impoundment of the obstructions, or both. EXCEPTION: Attended vehicles may be stopped in a fire appara- tus access road for loading and unloading. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Four. The Municipal Code is hereby amended by repealing Sec. 8.106 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.106 as follows: "Sec. 8.106. WATER SUPPLY. Add to Sec. 10.403 of the Uniform Fire Code, the following: Installation. All required fire hydrants shall be installed and operational prior to construction above the foundation. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Five. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa, is hereby amended by repealing Sec.8.107 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.107 as follows: "Sec. 8.107. OIL BURNERS. Delete Section 61 of the Uniform Fire Code, as amended, relating to portable unvented oil burning heating appliances and replace with the following: Portable Unvented Heaters. Use of portable unvented fuel burning heating appliances is prohibited within the city, except fuel burning portable heating equipment (including but not limited to salamander heaters) is permitted as temporary heating equipment on construction sites if safety precautions are observed. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Six. The Municipal Code of the city of Ames, Iowa is hereby amend- ed by repealing Sec. 8.108 as it now exists and enacting a new Sec. 8.108 as follows: "Sec. 8.108. UNIFORM FIRE CODE APPENDICES ADOPTED AND NFPA ADOPTED AS A GUIDE. Appendix Divisions III A, IV, V and VI A & D to the aforesaid Uniform Fire Code, 1991 Edition, and its supplement, are hereby ex- pressly adopted. Whenever this code is inapplicable for any reason to any situation involving the protection of persons and property from the hazards of fire and explosion, the materials, methods of construction, installation, practices or operations necessary to provide such protec- 8-4 Mar. 19, 1993 tion shall, to a reasonable degree, be in accordance with nationally recognized accepted standards. The NFPA National Fire Codes and Standards, most current edition, Volumes I through XI are intended for use as a guide in the design, fabrication, testing, and use of proper- ties and equipment. Requirements may be modified if their application clearly would be impractical in the judgement of the authority having jurisdiction. In no case shall life safety requirements be less protec- tive than required by the code in effect at the time the building was constructed. (Ord. No. 3196, Sec. 1, 8-24-92)" Section Seven. Violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall consti- tute a municipal infraction, punishable as set out in Section 1.9, Ames Municipal Code. Section Eight. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith shall be repealed to the extent of such conflict if any. Section Nine. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on April 1, 1993, from and after its passage and publication as required by law. Passed this 23rd day of March 1993. r Sandra L. Ryan, City Clerk Larry Curtis, Mayor 0232 8-5 Mar. 19, 1993