(a) It shall be the duty of the City to inspect or cause to be inspected, as often as may be necessary, but not less than once a year, all nonresidential buildings and premises, but including apartment buildings and public thoroughfares, for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected any conditions liable to cause fire, or any violations of the provisions or intent of any provisions of this Fire Prevention Code other ordinance of the City affecting the fire hazard. In private dwellings, such inspection shall be limited to basements and cellars.
(b) Before performing any inspections as authorized by this article, the person conducting such inspection shall inform the owner, occupant or his agent in charge of the premises of his (the Inspector's) presence on the premises, as well as his reason for being present. Further, the Inspector shall inform the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the premises of the public nature of fire inspection reports and their availability, as well as the possibility of the flexible enforcement of inspection standards where practical problems relating to their enforcement are presented.
(c) Whenever any Inspector shall find in any building or upon any premises or other place, combustible or explosive matter or a dangerous accumulation of rubbish or unnecessary accumulation of waste paper, boxes, shavings or any other highly flammable materials especially liable to fire, and which is so situated as to endanger property, or shall find obstructions to or on fire escapes, stairs, passageways, doors or windows, liable to interfere with the operations of fire control operations, or egress of occupants in cases of fire, he shall order the same to be to be removed or remedied, and such order shall forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant or agent in charge of such premises or buildings, subject to appeal within three working days to the Fire Inspection Board, which shall within ten days, review such order and report its decision thereon to the entire Council at Councils' next regular meeting, and unless such order is revoked or modified by the Board or entire Council, it shall become a final order and shall remain in full force and be obeyed by such owner, occupant or agent. The owner, occupant or agent in charge of such premises at the time any correction order is given, shall be informed in writing, of his right of appeal of such order to the Board.
Any owner, occupant, or agent failing to comply with such final order within ten days after such appeal shall have been determined, or if no appeal is taken, within ten days after the service of such order, shall be liable for a penalty as hereinafter stated.
(d) The service of any such order when made upon the occupant of the premises shall be accomplished by either delivering a true copy of the same to such occupant personally or by delivering the same to and leaving it with any person in charge of the premises, or, in case no such person is found upon the premises, by certified mail. Whenever it may be necessary to serve such an order upon the owner of the premises, such order may be served either by delivering to and leaving with the owner a true copy of the order, or, if such owner is absent from the jurisdiction of the officer making the order, by mailing such copy certified mail to the owner's last-known post office address.
(e) No Inspector shall direct the stoppage of work on the premises while he solicits a separate opinion on compliance with fire standards. In the event of an informal appeal or complaint, the Chief of the Fire Department shall make himself available, without the presence of the Inspector, to meet with the appellant and discuss the appeal or complaint.
(f) Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be punished as provided in Section 1511.99.
(Ord. 1495. Passed 7-5-85.)