Proudly Serving the Communities of China Township, East China Township, St Clair Township and the City of St Clair

FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION CODES

Article I. In General

Article II. Fire Department

Article III. Fire Prevention Code

Article IV. Open Burning

State law references-State fire prevention act, MCL 29.1 et seq., MSA 4.55(9) et seq.; crimes related to explosives and bombs, MCL 750.200 et seq., MSA 28.397 et seq.; crimes related to fires, MCL 750.240 et seq., MSA 28.437 et seq.

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

(a) Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any lot or parcel of land, or any person in possession or control of any lot or parcel of land within the city, to allow or maintain upon any portion of such lot or land any growth of brush, or to permit the deposit or accumulation upon any portion of such lot or land of any debris, rubbish, refuse, trash, dead vegetation or garbage, so as to create an unhealthy or unsafe condition or fire hazard.

(b) Order to cut or remove. Upon complaint of a violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of this section,  it shall be the duty of the chief of police or his designee to investigate such complaint and the premises complained of, and after such investigation, if he shall determine that the condition of the premises is such as to be in violation of subsection (a) of this section, he shall issue an order directing the owner or person in possession or control of the land upon which such violation is committed, requiring the cutting of such brush or removal of such debris, rubbish, refuse, trash, dead vegetation or garbage, within ten days after receipt of such order.

(c) Failure to cut or remove. If any owner of any lot or land, or any person having charge of any lot or land in the city shall violate the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, and fail to comply with the order described in subsection (b) of this section, within ten days from the receipt thereof, he shall be guilty of a violation of this section. (Code 1975,  8-1-8-3)

No person shall kindle or maintain any bonfire or other fire or knowingly furnish the material for any such fire to be kindled or maintained on any concrete or asphalt pavement or sidewalk within the city. (Code 1975, i 8-4)

The chief of the fire department shall investigate or cause to be investigated the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring in the city by which property has been destroyed or damaged, and, so far as possible, shall determine whether the fire is the result of carelessness or design. Any person having knowledge or presumed to have knowledge of its cause, or circumstances leading to its probable cause, may be summoned to appear before the chief of police for interrogation. (Code 1975,  8-5)

Whenever any fire is in progress and it may be deemed desirable for the purpose of the investigation or protection to exclude persons from such premises, the senior officer in charge of such fire may cause guards to be posted forbidding entrance by any person, whether owner, tenant or otherwise, to such premises or part thereof. (Code 1975,  8-6)

Any person who shall violate the provisions of sections 30-2 through 30-4 shall be responsible for a municipal civil infraction. (Code 1975,  8-7; Ord. No.1999-09,  1, 9-7-99)

(a) No person shall make, or cause to be made, or aid, encourage or assist in making or spreading, any false alarm of fire by means of the fire alarm system now in use by the city, knowing the same to be false.

(b) Any person guilty of a violation of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in section 1-12 of this Code. (Code 1975,  8-8)

All persons who may be present at any fire shall obey the orders of the chief of the department, or other officer in command, in the extinguishment of fires and the rescue of property. Any person refusing to obey all such orders of the chief, or other officer in charge, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in section 1-12 of this Code. (Code 1975,  8-9)

Members of the fire department, and any other person at the scene of a fire ordered by the commanding officer of the fire department to give aid under section 30-7, shall cause any building to be removed, pulled or torn down, or demolished, in whole or in part, so as to arrest the spread of fire therefrom. (Code 1975,  8-10)

No person shall ride or drive any truck, automobile, motorcycle, motor vehicle, wagon or other vehicle upon or across any hose used by the fire department of the city in any street, lane, alley or other place in the city, except as expressly directed by a member of the fire department. Any person who shall enter any place where engines, hoses, carriages, hook and ladder trucks, or other fire apparatus may be kept, with intent to injure such fire apparatus, or who shall injure any such engine, hose, carriage, hook and ladder, truck or fire apparatus or any article or fixture, furniture or ornament, or shall remove any portion thereof, or otherwise mutilate or disable the same, or who shall do any damage to any engine, house, hose, station, or other place where fire apparatus is kept or stored, or to any article or fixture, furniture or ornament in or about any such house or place, or who shall remove from any engine or carriage house, any engine, hose, carriage or fire apparatus or any article or fixture, furniture or ornament without permission from the chief, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished as prescribed in section 1-12 of this Code. (Code 1975,  8-11)

ARTICLE II. FIRE DEPARTMENT

The city hereby creates and establishes, pursuant to section 4.07 of the Charter, the fire department of the city. (Code 1975,  8-19)

The purpose for which the fire department is created and established is to protect the property and persons of the citizens of the city from damage from the occurrence of fire, and to engage in activities directly or indirectly related thereto. (Code 1975,  8-20)

The fire department shall have the power and authority to perform the acts enumerated in this section, together with such other powers as are necessarily incident thereto, including the following:

(1) Management administration, control and direction of the operations, personnel, buildings, grounds, facilities, firefighting apparatus and equipment related directly or indirectly to the protection of persons or property from, and the prevention of the occurrence of, fire, including investigation and detection of the causes of fire;

(5) Such other duties and responsibilities as determined necessary from time to time by resolution of the city council, and any other power or duty authorized or permitted by any statute or ordinance, directly or indirectly related to the fire department's purposes. (Code 1975,  8-21)

Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the parliamentary procedure of the fire department except in the event a state statute expressly requires a different procedure. The fire department shall develop a complete set of bylaws governing the internal affairs and operations of the fire department, which bylaws shall not be effective until approved by the city council, which may also, at any time, revoke, modify or amend any such bylaw. (Code 1975,  8-22)

(1) The procedure for calling special and regular meetings, which procedure shall comply with applicable state statutes.

(2) Designation of a person responsible for, and the procedure to be followed in, giving notices of fire department meetings, which complies with applicable state statutes.

(3) Designation of a person responsible for, and the procedure to be followed in, preparing and maintaining a record of official proceedings of the fire department, which shall comply with applicable state statutes.

(5) A procedure for the appointment of advisory committees to serve such purposes as the fire department deems necessary.

(6) An enumeration of the members of the fire department together with the terms of office thereof, which shall be staggered in accordance with the Charter or in accordance with state law where provided.

(7) The conditions for eligibility of nonvoting members of the fire department if there are any.

(8) A registered address at which the fire department will receive mail and other official communications.

(10) Such other matters as may be deemed to be advisable by the city council or the fire department to be set forth therein. (Code 1975,  8-23)

(a) Qualifications and eligibility. All members of the fire department shall be resident electors for their prescribed terms of office. The residency requirement may be waived as provided in the Charter. No elected member of the council may serve on the fire department, but appointed officers of the city or employees thereof may serve therein.

(c) Appointment of fire chief and members. The city superintendent, with the advice and consent of the city council, may appoint a fire chief to the fire department of the city, as provided by the Charter. Members of the fire department shall be appointed as provided in the bylaws.

(d) Expenses. The city council may authorize payment of reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by any such member in the performance of authorized business of the fire department. (Code 1975,  8-2~8-26)

The fire department shall prepare and submit a proposed budget to the city council, as required by the Charter. The fire department shall also prepare and file any reports at such time and in the form required by the city council, the Charter, or state statute. (Code 1975,  8-27)

If the fire department holds any public hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of any applicable state statute. Decisions shall be made in accordance with principles of due process of law, and the reasons and facts relied upon in making the decision shall be set forth in the record of the proceeding. (Code 1975,  8-28)

ARTICLE III. FIRE PREVENTION CODE

Pursuant to the provisions of section 3(k) of Act No.279 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1909 (MCL 117.3)(k), MSA 5.2073(k), as amended, there is hereby adopted by reference by the city, for the purpose of prescribing regulations consistent with nationally recognized good practice for the safeguarding, to a reasonable degree, of life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion arising from the storage, handling and the use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the use for occupancy of buildings or premises, that certain code known as the 1997 Uniform Fire Code including all appendix chapters except Appendix I-A, Appendix I-B and Appendix VI-A, recommended by the International Conference of Building Officials and the Western Fire Chiefs Association, 5360 South Workman Mill Road, Whittier, California, 90601, being particularly the 1997 Edition thereof and the whole thereof save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended in subsequent sections of this article, of which code printed copies thereof are on file in the office of the city clerk available for public use and inspection at all times, and the same is hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein, and the provision thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the city. (Ord. No.1998-01,  1, 6-1-98)

Whenever the following terms are used in the Uniform Fire Code adopted by this article they shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

Municipality means the City of St. Clair, Michigan. 

(Ord. No.1998-01,  2, 6-1-98)

The following chapters, sections and subsections of the Uniform Fire Code adopted in this article are hereby amended or deleted as set forth in this section, and additional chapters, sections and subsections are added as indicated. The following chapter and section numbers refer to like number of chapters and sections of the Uniform Fire Code:

Section 103.1.4. Appeals. The Appeals Board shall be the existing Building Commission of the City of St. Clair.

Section 7801.1.1. State fireworks law. The city hereby adopts the state fireworks law, Act No.328 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1931 (MCL 750.243a et seq., M5A28.440(1) et seq.), as amended, for the purpose of providing rules for the preservation of Fire and Protection of persons and property in the transportation, storage, handling, offering for sale and use of fireworks. Copies of such regulations are on file in the office of the city clerk, available for public use and inspection at all times. Where any section or part of Article 78 of the 1997 Uniform Fire Code is in conflict with the State fireworks law, it is intended that the state fireworks law will prevail.

Section 7901.1.3. State flammable liquid laws. Pursuant to the provisions of section 3(k) of Act No.279 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1909 (MCL fl7.3(k), MSA 5.2073(k)), as amended, the state fire safety board, rules for Storage and Transportation of Flammable and Combustible Liquids 1992, as amended, as prescribed and authorized in Act No.207 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1941 (MCL 29.1 et seq., MSA 4.559(1) et seq.), as amended, are hereby adopted by reference by the city for the purpose of providing rules for the preservation of fire and protection of persons and property in the transportation, storage, handling, offering for sale, sale and use of flammable liquids. Copies of such regulations are on file in the office of the city clerk, available for public use and inspections at all times. Where any section or part of Article 79 of the Uniform Fire Code is in conflict with the State Fire Safety Board, rules for Storage and Transportation of Flammable and Combustible Liquids 1992, it is intended that the State Fire Safety Board, rules for Storage and Transportation of Flammable and Combustible Liquids 1992, shall prevail.

Section 1102.1.1. Open burning. where any section of [or] part of Section 1102 of the Uniform Fire Code is in conflict with City of St. Clair Code of Ordinance Chapter 30 Article IV Open Burning, it is intended that the City of St. Clair Code of Ordinance Chapter 30 Article IV Open Burning, shall prevail.

Section 901.4.2.1. Fire lanes. The marking of fire lanes on private property, devoted to public use, shall be approved by the chief of the bureau of fire prevention and the chief of police.

 Section 901.5 is hereby amended to include the following:

Parking of motor vehicles or otherwise obstructing fire lanes shall be prohibited at all times. Members of the police department are hereby authorized to remove motor vehicles and/or vehicles in the designated fire lanes.

(a) Any person convicted of a violation of any provision of this Code or any rule, regulation or order adopted or issued in pursuance thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00 and cost of prosecution or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. Each act of violation, and every day upon which any such violations shall occur shall constitute a separate offense.

(b) The penalty provided by this section, unless another penalty is expressly provided, shall apply to the amendment of any section of this Code, whether or not such penalty is reenacted in the amendatory ordinance.

(c) The penalty set out in this section shall be in addition to the abatement of the violating condition, any injunctive relief, or revocation or [of] any permit or license.

(d) This section shall not apply to the failure of officers and employees of the city to perform municipal duties required by this Code. (Ord. No.1998-01,  2, 6-1-98)

ARTICLE IV. OPEN BURNING

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Chimney means a shaft of brick, iron or other material containing flues for the promotion of draft to carry away smoke, gases, etc.

Incinerator means a device specifically designed for the destruction, by burning, of garbage or other combustible refuse or waste material.

Pit means an excavation in the ground not to exceed three feet by three feet in area and not less than one foot deep. (Code 1975,  8-63)

(a) No person shall cause or permit, except as stipulated in this section, any open burning of garbage or other combustible refuse or waste material, including, by way of description but not by way of limitation, paper, leaves, tree trimmings and grass, during the months of January; February, March, June, July, August, September and December.

(b) This section shall not be construed to prohibit fires of charcoal, wood or nonash producing fuels, when used in a pit or grill designed for such fuels on private property or in public recreation areas, for recreational purposes, or the exclusive preparation of food for human consumption, or for the heating of building materials for the warmth of workers. (Code 1975,  8-64)

(1) No person shall install, use or cause to be used any incinerator without a permit to install first having been issued by the state air pollution control commission. All applications for such permits shall be obtained at and filed with the city building inspector.

(2) Outdoor incinerators shall be permitted only on premises occupied by commercial, governmental or industrial buildings. (Code 1975,  8-65)

A violation of this article shall be deemed a municipal civil infraction. (Code 1975,  8-66; Ord. No.1999-09,  1, 9-7-99)

Created JANUARY 21, 2001