All barriers placed across fire access roadways are determined to be obstructions and are therefore prohibited unless specifically approved by the Fire Code Official.
a. Manual (non-automatic) Gates and Barriers:
1. Manual gates shall be provided with an approved method for emergency access. Approved methods shall consist of one of the following: High security Knox padlock or the installation of a Knox rapid access key box. The padlock or key box shall be keyed to the Bowling Green Fire Department.
2. Where multiple padlocks are used on a single gate, the padlocks shall be daisy-chained together to allow access for the property owner and Fire Department personnel.
b. Automatic Gates and Barriers:
1. All automatic access gates across fire access roadways shall be equipped with a Knox key switch, which overrides all commands and allows safe passage through the gate for emergency vehicles.
2. The Knox gate key switch shall be located within twelve (12) inches of the card/code keypad panel.
3. Activation of the switch shall over-ride all functions and open the gate(s). Upon activation of the key switch, the gate shall remain open until returned to normal operation by means of the key switch. When deactivated by the Fire Department using the Knox key, only then will the gate resume normal operations.
4. The emergency gate switch shall open both the entrance and exit gate(s) when gate(s) are in close proximity to each other.
(Ord. BG2021-15, 5/4/2021)