(a) The owner, operators or lessee, an employee of any owner, operator or lessee, an occupant and any person in direct control of any building regulated under the Ohio Basic Building Code, upon discovery of an unfriendly fire, or upon receiving information that there is an unfriendly fire on the premises, shall immediately, and with all reasonable dispatch and diligence, call or otherwise notify the Fire Department concerning the fire, and shall spread an alarm immediately to all occupants of the building.
For the purposes of this section, "unfriendly fire" means fire of a destructive nature as distinguished from a controlled fire intended for a beneficial and approved purpose.
(b) The owner of any residential structure for which no early fire warning requirements have been imposed by any other applicable municipal ordinance, state or federal law shall install an operable early fire warning system and be responsible for assuring that an operable early fire warning system is continuously present on the premises. Detectors shall be located in the immediate vicinity but outside of all sleeping areas. Alarm signaling devices of the detector(s) shall be clearly audible in all sleeping areas when all intervening doors are closed. In residential structures having a basement or cellar, an additional detector shall be installed and maintained in the basement or cellar in accordance with NFPA standard #74-1989 "Standard Installation, Maintenance and Use of Household Fire Warning Equipment." Crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics are excluded. In residential structures with split levels, detector(s) need to be installed only on the upper level, provided the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level, except if there is a door between levels, then a detector(s) is required on each level. Any residential structure occupied by a person who is deaf or hearing impaired shall have a early fire warning system installed by the owner which provides a visual or vibrative signal sufficient to warn the deaf or hearing impaired individual when activated.
(c) “Fire warning system” shall mean an approved automatic warning system of one or more devices that detects any of the products of combustion, including visible or invisible particles of combustion, and that produces an audible alarm signal in a structure for the purpose of notifying the occupants thereof of the presence of fire. The primary power for such system may be either an AC electrical system or a monitored battery unless specified by other municipal ordinance, state or federal law in accordance with NFPA standard #74 titled "Standard Installation, Maintenance and Use of Household Fire Warning Equipment", 72E titled "Standard Automatic Fire Detectors" and #72 titled "Standard Installation, Maintenance and Use of Protective Signaling Systems."
For the purpose of this section, an approved system shall be one which is listed by the Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc. and conforms to the applicable sections of NFPA standard #74-1989 titled "Standard Installation, Maintenance and Use of Household Fire Warning Equipment", 72E titled "Standard Automatic Fire Detectors" and #72 titled "Standard Installation, Maintenance and Use of Protective Signaling Systems." No early fire warning system shall be directly connected (hardwired) to the electrical system of the structure unless it has been individually approved and an electrical permit has first been individually approved and an electrical permit has first been obtained from the Building Inspection Department of the City of Alliance.
(d) Testing and inspection of early fire warning systems in any residential structure shall be performed by the occupant not less than once a month. The owner shall provide the occupant with printed information as to the proper testing of the system. At every change of occupancy due to sale, rent, lease or sublease, it shall be the responsibility of the owner to inspect the early fire warning system to insure proper operational condition. The occupant shall notify the owner in writing that a early fire warning system is in need of replacement or repair. The owner shall replace the system within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt of the written notice. The owner shall provide new batteries for battery operated early fire warning systems at least annually and at the beginning of any subsequent sale, rent, lease or sublease. It shall be the responsibility of the occupant to ensure that the batteries installed are not removed from the system. Anyone tampering or interfering with the effectiveness of a early fire warning system shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties set forth in Section 1501.99.
(e) The Building Inspector and Fire Inspector shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Chief of the Fire Department to inspect any early fire warning system required by this section. If, upon inspection, a violation of this section is found, the fire inspector shall issue written notice of such violation to the owner requiring the owner to conform to this section within fifteen (15) calendar days of issuance of such notice. No owner or occupant shall refuse to allow inspection at reasonable times of any structure or unit by a duly authorized City inspector. After investigating a fire in any residential structure, in the absence of an early fire warning system, the Fire Department investigating authority shall issue to the owner an early fire warning system installation order. Failure to comply with such order within fifteen (15) days of reoccupancy of the premises constitutes a violation of this chapter.
(f) Anyone who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 1501.99. Each day of a continuing violation shall be deemed a separate offense.
(g) This section shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.
(h) Definitions.
(1) “Sleeping area” means the area or areas of any residential structure in which the bedrooms or sleeping rooms are located. Where bedrooms or rooms ordinarily used for sleeping are separated by other use areas, such as kitchen or living rooms, but not bathrooms or closets, they shall be considered as separate sleeping areas for the purpose of this section and shall require individual detector(s).
(2) “Owner” means and includes the record owner of the premises as evidenced by the deed records of the Stark County Recorder and also purchaser of the premises under a land contract. If the premises are being purchased pursuant to a land contract it shall be the responsibility of the purchaser to install the early fire warning system and be responsible for assuring that an operable early fire warning system is continuously present on the premises.
(Ord. 102-92. Passed 11-16-92.)