A. Adoption Of International Fire Code And Appendices: For the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire and explosion, the entire 2015 edition of the International Fire Code (IFC) is hereby adopted as recommended by the International Code Council, Inc., including appendices B and C thereof. As subsequent editions and amendments of this code are enacted by the State Legislature, in Utah Code Annotated section 15A-2-101 et seq., or otherwise, said subsequent editions and amendments shall be deemed to be automatically adopted by the City. The IFC, as adopted above, is hereby fully incorporated as if set out at length herein, and the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the corporate limits of the City.
B. Filing With City Recorder: Pursuant to Utah Code Annotated section 10-3-711, as amended, one copy of the International Fire Code has been filed for use and examination by the public in the City Recorder's Office, with an additional copy available with the Development Department Secretary.
C. Substitution Of Terms: The words and phrases used in the International Fire Code shall be construed to be consistent with this title.
D. Definitions:
1. Wherever the word "jurisdiction" is used in the International Fire Code, it shall be held to mean the City of West Jordan, Utah.
2. Wherever the words "Department of Fire Prevention" are used, they shall be held to mean all West Jordan Fire Department personnel assigned by the Fire Chief to assist with inspections and enforcement of the IFC. The Fire Chief shall serve as the Code official for the IFC. The Fire Chief designee shall serve as the deputy Code official.
3. "Intentionally caused fire/hazardous materials emergency" means a fire/hazardous materials emergency deliberately or recklessly set or caused by any person or entity and which presents a direct and immediate threat to property or public safety and requires immediate action to mitigate the threat.
4. "Negligently caused fire/hazardous materials emergency" means a fire/hazardous materials emergency caused by the negligence of any person or entity and which presents a direct and immediate threat to property or public safety and requires immediate action to mitigate the threat.
5. "Hazardous materials" are those chemicals or substances which are physical hazards or health hazards as defined and classified in the International Fire Code, whether the materials are in usable or waste condition.
6. "Hazardous materials emergency" means a sudden and unexpected release of any substance that because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics presents a direct and immediate threat to public safety or the environment and requires immediate action to mitigate the threat.
7. "Expenses" means the actual labor costs of government and volunteer personnel, including workers' compensation benefits, fringe benefits, administrative overhead, costs of equipment, costs of equipment operation, costs of materials, costs of disposal, the cost of any contract labor, equipment or materials, and the similar costs incurred by the City of West Jordan, or any assisting agencies.
8. "Person", for the purposes of this chapter, shall have the same meaning as defined in the International Fire Code.
E. Fees For Services: The City Council shall annually adopt, by resolution, a fee schedule setting forth the amount of the fees for services performed by the Fire Chief or designee. The City Administrator or designee shall assess, collect and properly account for the fees in accordance with the most recent resolution.
F. Fire/Hazardous Materials Emergency Expense Recovery:
1. Recovery Authorization And Procedure: The City is hereby empowered to recover expenses from any person whose intentional or negligent act caused the City and/or assisting agencies to incur any expenses directly associated with responding to an intentionally or negligently caused fire/hazardous materials emergency, regardless of whether or not such person actually caused the fire/hazardous materials emergency. These expenses shall be collected as follows:
a. The City shall determine responsibility for the emergency and notify the responsible party in person or by mail of the City's determination of responsibility and the expenses to be recovered.
b. The notice shall specify that the determined responsible party may appeal the City's determination, in writing, to the Mayor, who may designate a Hearing Officer to hear the appeal.
c. Any appeal must be filed, in writing, with the Mayor not more than fifteen (15) days from the date the notice was received by the determined responsible party.
d. In the event the determined responsible party appeals the determination, the Hearing Officer shall hold a public hearing to consider any issues raised by the appeal. Both the appealing party and the City shall be entitled to present evidence in support of their respective positions to the Hearing Officer.
e. Following the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall make a recommendation to the Mayor, who shall issue a final decision assessing responsibility and expenses.
2. Payment Does Not Admit Liability: The payment of expenses determined owing under this section does not constitute an admission of liability or negligence in any legal action for damages.
3. Action To Recover Expenses:
a. Subsequent to a final decision of the Mayor, pursuant to this section, and upon certification of expenses by the Fire Chief to the Mayor, the Mayor may authorize the Finance or Administrative Services Director to recover the expenses directly associated with responding to a fire/hazardous materials emergency from those persons determined by the Mayor to have directly or indirectly caused the emergency expenses.
b. In the event the person determined to be responsible for the payment of intentional or negligently caused fire/hazardous materials emergency expenses fails to make payment to the City and/or assisting agencies within thirty (30) days after a determination of any appeal to the Mayor, or thirty (30) days from the deadline for appeal in the event no appeal is filed, the City and/or assisting agency may initiate legal action to recover from the determined responsible person the expenses determined to be owing, including the reasonable attorney fees and costs of such recovery. (2001 Code §§ 18-2-601 - 18-2-604; amd. 2009 Code; Ord. 10-16, 6-23-2010; Ord. 13-25, 7-31-2013; Ord. 17-59, 10-25-2017; Ord. 19-11, 2-27-2019; Ord. 21-11, 3-24-2021)