(A) Authority to order remedial action. Whenever any officer or member of the Department shall find in any building, or upon any premises or other place, combustible or explosive matter or any dangerous accumulation of rubbish or unnecessary accumulation of wastepaper, boxes, shavings, or any other highly flammable materials especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger property, or shall find any obstruction to or on any fire escape, stair, passageway, door, or window, liable to interfere with the operations of the Department, or egress of occupants, in case of fire, or shall find any condition dangerous to life or property by reason of the fire hazard thereby created, the member of the Department shall be fully authorized and it is hereby made his or her duty to order any hazardous condition as described to be removed or remedied, and whether or not the member is engaged in any routine fire inspection shall not affect the validity of the order.
(B) Compliance with order required. The order shall be complied with by the owner or occupant of the premises or building, subject to appeal within 24 hours to the Mayor, who shall, within ten days, review the order and file his or her decision thereon, and unless the order is revoked or modified, it shall remain in full force and be obeyed by the owner or occupant, and any owner or occupant failing to comply with any such order within ten days after the appeal shall have been determined, or if no appeal is taken, then, within ten days after the service of the order, shall be liable to penalty under the terms of this chapter.
(C) Responsibility for abatement. In those instances in which the owner and occupant of a building, or of any premises, is not one and the same person, the occupant of such building or premises shall first be held responsible for the abatement of any dangerous conditions as described in this chapter, but in the event of the occupant being unavailable or otherwise immune to process, the owner of the building or premises shall be responsible.
(D) Order discontinuance of use of dangerous device. The Fire Chief shall have full authority to order the immediate discontinuance of the use of any stove, stovepipe, flue, furnace, electric wiring, or other hazardous devices, pending results of an appeal to the Mayor.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-10) Penalty, see § 6-2-20