The text
Sec. 20-1. - Use of rubbish burners and similar containers.#
(a)
Attending fires. No person shall set or maintain a fire in a rubbish burner or other container having openings sufficiently large to allow the burning matter to pass through unless the person so setting or maintaining such fire shall stay in attendance until the fire has burned out or has been otherwise extinguished.
(b)
Disapproved container or location. No person shall set or maintain a fire in a rubbish burner or other container after the location thereof or its construction has been disapproved in writing by the chief of police or the chief of the fire department.
(c)
Inspections. Authority is hereby granted to the members of the police department and the fire department or their duly authorized agents to make inspections of premises in the city to determine whether any rubbish burner or any other container because of its location or construction constitutes a fire hazard.
(Code 1971, §§ 7-1—7-3)
Sec. 20-2. - Setting fires at city dump; deposit of combustible material at dump.#
(a)
Setting fires prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to set fire to any wastepaper or other inflammable material or rubbish within the confines of the city dump.
(b)
Permission required for deposit of combustible material. It shall be unlawful for any person to dump, deposit or discard any inflammable or combustible material or debris within the confines of the city dump, without written authority of the director of public works.
(c)
Bounds of city dump. For the purpose of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the city dump is defined as that tract or parcel of land owned by the city which is described as follows:
Beginning at a point in the northwesterly line of Service Avenue, said point being 20 feet northeasterly from the project limit line of the sewer treatment plant; thence running northwesterly 20 feet northeasterly from and at all times parallel to said project limit line, a distance of 885 feet more or less to the Pawtuxet River; thence running northeasterly and easterly, bounding northwesterly and northerly on said river, a distance of 1,845 feet more or less to the northwesterly line of Interstate Route 95; thence running southwesterly, bounding southeasterly by said Interstate Route 95, a distance of 800 feet more or less to the northeasterly line of said Service Avenue; thence running northwesterly, westerly and southeasterly, bounding southwesterly, southerly and southeasterly by said Service Avenue, a distance of 680 feet more or less to the point or place of beginning.
Also a parcel of land being between the southeasterly line of Service Avenue and the northwesterly line of Interstate Route 95 and extending from the northeasterly project limit line of the sewer treatment plant to the southwesterly line of said Service Avenue.
And also as that tract or parcel of land owned by the city, which tract is bounded southerly by Sandy Lane; westerly by Gallway Street, so-called; northerly in part by Cedar Swamp Road, in part by land now or formerly of George Ajootian and in part by land now or formerly of Thomas W. A. Bliss estate; northwesterly in part by land now or formerly of James Lombardi, et ux, in part by Pinnery Avenue, in part by land now or formerly of William E. Cain, in part by land now or formerly of Eva F. Williams estate and in part by land now or formerly of Elmer W. Lincoln.
(Code 1971, §§ 7-4—7-6)
Sec. 20-3. - Mutual aid agreements for fire protection.#
(a)
The board of public safety is hereby authorized, on behalf of the city, to enter into mutual aid agreements for fire protection with other municipalities, fire districts or state agencies.
(b)
Such agreements may provide for the use of city firefighting equipment and personnel in other municipalities or districts on a reciprocal basis; provided, however, that no charge, expense or liability is incurred or assumed by the city with respect to the activities of other firefighting agencies within the city.
(Code 1971, § 7-7)
Sec. 20-4. - Open fires.#
(a)
Prohibited. No person shall set or maintain an open fire within the city.
(b)
Definition. For the purposes of this section the term "open fire" shall be held to mean any fire from which the products of combustion are emitted directly into the open air without passing through a stack or chimney.
(c)
Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to open fires set or maintained by or at the direction of the city fire department or to fires used for cooking.
(Code 1971, § 7-8)
Sec. 20-5. - Blasting permit—Required.#
No person shall use any powder, dynamite or other explosive for blasting within the limits of the city except upon permission therefor duly granted by the director of public works, in writing, and not revoked as hereinafter provided, upon application made to him/her for that purpose, setting forth the location at which it is proposed to do such blasting, and upon such terms, conditions and restrictions as shall be imposed by said director.
(Code 1971, § 7-9)
Cross reference— Blasting permit for excavations, § 70-43.
State Law reference— Explosives, G.L. 1956, § 23-28.28-1 et seq.
Sec. 20-6. - Same—Issuance; duration; fee.#
(a)
The director of public works is hereby authorized to grant permission in writing to any person to use explosives for blasting at any place within the limits of the city, provided, in his/her opinion, such blasting can be done with safety to persons and property, upon such conditions and under such regulations and restrictions as he/she shall impose. Said director may require a bond in such amount and with such surety or sureties to his/her satisfaction as he/she shall deem sufficient, such bond to be given to said director for the benefit of any person who may suffer any damage by reason of the exercise of such permission to use explosives for blasting, conditioned to pay all damages and all costs of suits and losses and expenses of every name and nature which shall accrue to or be suffered by any person by reason of the exercise of such permission to engage in blasting, as aforesaid.
(b)
A permit when issued shall be valid for a period of 60 days. A fee as provided in chapter 18 shall be charged for each permit issued.
(Code 1971, § 7-10)
Cross reference— Fee for blasting permit, § 18-5.
Sec. 20-7. - Same—Revocation.#
The director of public works is hereby authorized at any time to revoke any permission by him/her theretofore granted for the use of explosives for blasting, whenever in his/her opinion the safety of persons or property shall require such revocation, or whenever permission so granted by him/her shall by any person thereby authorized have been exercised in violation of any rule, regulation or restriction imposed by said director.
(Code 1971, § 7-11)
Sec. 20-8. - Installation of radio-type fire alarm systems.#
(a)
All interior fire alarm systems installed subsequent to the effective date of this section shall be installed to conform to the radio fire alarm system.
(b)
As of November 30, 1994, all of the existing telegraph fire alarm boxes, so-called, located in the city will be dismantled and replaced by radio-type master boxes as approved by the city fire department. All costs and expenses pertaining thereto shall be borne by the owners of the real estate.
(Code 1971, § 7-14.1; Ord. No. O-94-25, § I, 10-11-94)
Sec. 20-9. - Responsibility for costs of connection to city fire alarm system.#
All costs and expenses relating to the connection of a private fire alarm system to the municipal fire alarm system of the city, including the costs of single- and multi-zone interior control panels and related radio fire alarm radio boxes, shall be the responsibility of the developer or owner and not of the city.
(Code 1971, § 7-15)
Sec. 20-10. - Multi-zone fire alarm interior control panels.#
(a)
All multi-zone fire alarm interior control panels shall have the capability of electrically isolating that zone or alarm in trouble while allowing the remainder of the system together with the master box to be reset.
(b)
The capability of electrically isolating the zone shall be either by an alarm acknowledge switch on the control panel or by an individual zone disconnect switch. The removal of an alarm zone from the control panel to isolate the zone is not acceptable. The control must provide a visual indicator of the specific zone or alarm trouble.
(c)
This control panel provision shall be UL-approved and/or FM-approved for its intended use.
(Code 1971, § 7-16)
Sec. 20-11. - Permit for transportation, storage or handling of hazardous substances; tank removal fee.#
(a)
Permit required; issuance; fee. In accordance with section 404 of the state building code, the bureau of fire prevention within the city fire department or other official duly designated by the fire chief of the city is authorized to issue permits upon application from the owner of an industry, trade, occupation or use involving transportation, storage or handling of substances involving life hazards. Said permits are to be issued annually to prescribe the conditions and requirements necessary to secure the public safety and may be issued only after application on forms furnished by the fire department, after inspection by the fire department and after payment of a permit fee as provided in chapter 18.
(b)
Tank removal fee. Tank removal fees shall be as provided in chapter 18.
(Code 1971, § 7-17)
Sec. 20-12. - Lighting fire or barbecue grill near building containing more than five living units.#
No person shall set or maintain a fire or portable barbecue grill of any combustible material within 15 feet of any building containing more than five living units.
(Code 1971, § 7-18)
Sec. 20-13. - Designation of buildings in housing complexes; posting of numbers.#
Subsequent to the effective date of this section, every person, partnership, association and corporation owning any multibuilding housing complex shall within two months designate each building by number or letter displayed in a prominent and visible location on each building.
(Code 1971, § 7-18.1)
Sec. 20-14. - Attachments to fire hydrants.#
No person shall attach or cause to be attached any device to any public or private water hydrant without the prior written approval of the chief of the fire department or the director of the water department.
(Code 1971, § 7-18.2)
Sec. 20-15. - Smoke detectors.#
All single-family and multifamily dwellings constructed prior to 1976 shall have at least one smoke detector on each habitable level, and the provisions of G.L. 1956, § 23-28.35 et seq., are adopted for all remaining dwellings.
(Code 1971, § 4-10)
Sec. 20-16. - Inspection and plan review for building work.#
(a)
General requirements.
(1)
Any person, including any partnership, corporation or association, undertaking the erection, extension, alteration, repair, or moving of a structure, or undertaking any changes that may affect the fire safety of a building or any portion thereof, shall first make application for an inspection and for a plan review to the city bureau of fire prevention. Said application shall be made at least 21 calendar days prior to the start of any construction or work, and shall be accompanied by the proper fee or fees as described in subsection (b) hereof. No construction or work shall be started until the required application has been approved by the fire prevention office. No permit is required for any one-, two-, or three-family residential structure.
(2)
In all matters relating to plan review, the interpretations and decisions of the city bureau of fire prevention shall be binding. If the applicant disagrees with the decision of the bureau of fire prevention, the applicant may request a variance or seek an appeal in accordance with G.L. 1956, ch. 28.3.
(3)
All construction work which is requested to be approved shall be in complete compliance with the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code, 1976, as amended, and/or the 1996 Rhode Island Fire Prevention Code.
(4)
All fees shall be based on full valuation of current construction costs. Construction costs, per square foot, shall be determined on the basis of the applicable building permit issued by the city building official.
(5)
There shall be no remuneration paid to any person for any inspection and/or plan review which is required by this section.
(6)
Payment of fees shall be made to the bureau of fire prevention upon application. All fees shall be made payable to the City of Warwick.
(7)
No fees shall be due for any structure situated on land owned by the city, state, or the United States government.
(8)
No fees shall be due for a fire safety inspection which is required for a license renewal.
(b)
Schedule of plan review fees. Fees for plan review shall be computed as follows:
Valuation of Construction Costs Fee
$0 to $5,000 $50.00
5,001 to 10,000 100.00
10,001 to 15,000 150.00
15,001 to 20,000 200.00
20,001 to 25,000 250.00
25,001 to 50,000 300.00
50,001 to 100,000 350.00
100,001 to 500,000 400.00
500,001 to 1,000,000 500.00
1,000,001 and over 500.00 plus $10.00 per $2,500.00 additional valuation over $1,000,001
(Ord. No. O-97-13, § I, 6-16-97)
Sec. 20-17. - Fire and rescue service to Potowomut.#
In addition to the fire and rescue services provided to the Potowomut area by the East Greenwich Fire District under a contract with the City of Warwick, the Warwick Fire Department shall provide the following services to said area on a simultaneous response basis: (1)
On all fire-related calls (including box alarms) for service in Potowomut, Warwick will now immediately respond with the same amount of personnel and apparatus as the fire department would send to other parts of the city on similar calls for service;
(2)
On all calls for rescue service in Potowomut, Warwick will now immediately respond with the same number of firefighters/rescue personnel as the fire department would send to other parts of the city in life-threatening situations including, without being limited to, vehicle rollovers; multiple vehicle accidents; people in need of being extricated from vehicles (i.e., "jaws of life"); vehicle(s) on fire; any report of a drowning or person falling through the ice (i.e., Warwick Dive Team will be deployed) and any calls regarding a hazardous waste spill.
(Res. No. R-99-43, § I, 9-13-99)
Sec. 20-18. - Notification of gasoline and other petroleum product leaks.#
Whenever a leak of gasoline or other petroleum products occurs in the city from an underground tank with a capacity of 300 gallons or more, the fire department shall notify all owners of properties located within 500 feet of the site of the leak. The notice shall be in writing and shall be sent within seven days after the date on which the leak was discovered and shall notify the recipients of the notices of the site of the leak, the date of discovery, and the person and/or agency to contact for additional information.
(Ord. No. O-00-12, § I, 4-11-00)