1502.99 PENALTY.

   (a)   Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code hereby adopted or fail to comply therewith, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who shall fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by Council or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed herein, shall severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance respectively be guilty of a misdemeanor, of the first degree, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment of not more than six months, or both. The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and all such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time. When not otherwise specified, each day that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense.

   (b)   The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions or prevent the City from seeking civil penalties as provided for in subsection (c) et seq. hereto.

   (c)   Civil Penalty.

      (1)   Any person who has received a citation for a violation of the Fire Code or any order issued pursuant to it, and such violation is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each such violation.

      (2)   Any person who fails to correct a violation for which a citation has been issued within the period permitted for its correction may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day during which such failure or violation continues.

      (3)   Any person who violates any of the posting requirements, as prescribed by this chapter or Ohio R.C. 3737.42(C), shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation.

      (4)   Due consideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the gravity of the violation, the good faith of the person being charged, and the history of previous violations shall be given whenever a penalty is assessed under this chapter.

      (5)   For purposes of this section, a serious violation shall be considered to exist if there is a substantial probability that an occurrence causing a fire, death or serious physical harm to persons and property could result from a condition which exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, operations or processes which have been adopted or are in use, unless the person did not and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the violation.

   (d)   Civil penalties imposed by this chapter shall be paid for deposit into the Fire Levy Fund of the City. Such penalties may be recovered in a civil action in the name of the city brought in the Court of Common Pleas of the County where the violations are alleged to have occurred.
(Ord. 2004-206. Passed 12-21-04.)