False Commercial Fire Alarm Fee:
Alarms Per Year Fee
1st NO CHARGE
2nd or more $300
False Commercial Fire Alarm fees can be found in South Fayette Township Resolution 10 of 2016 Section III #12.
SFVFD Bills for for alarms in July and January.
South Fayette Township Codes for Fire Department Chapter 30
Article I Junior Firefighters
§ 30-1Status as fire fighters; workers' compensation benefits.
It is hereby ordained and enacted that all Junior Fire Fighters properly enrolled in the volunteer fire companies operating throughout the Township of South Fayette are considered fire fighters for all purposes when acting on behalf of the volunteer fire company and for the benefit and advancement of the interests of said fire company. It is specifically understood that all Junior Fire Fighters are to be covered by workers' compensation insurance provided by the township for any activities in which they may be engaged on behalf of the volunteer fire company and as specifically authorized by that fire company, including fund-raising activities. This article is specific authorization that such Junior Fire Fighters may engage in fund-raising activities, as specifically authorized by their fire companies, and will be accorded workers' compensation benefits should they be injured in the course of such fund-raising activities.
It is further ordained and enacted that Junior Fire Fighters, when they are engaged in other activities as specifically authorized by their fire companies, which activities are for the furtherance of the welfare and improvement of the fire company, are likewise to be covered by workers' compensation insurance should they be injured while performing those specifically authorized duties in furtherance of the welfare of the fire company.
§ 30-2Notification of insurance companies.
The proper officers of the township are authorized to take all necessary action to advise our insurance carriers of the adoption of this article, as well as the fire companies, and to develop specific methods of authorization by the fire companies for such fund-raising activities.
Article II Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Services
§ 30-3Response to calls within Township.
The four Volunteer Fire Departments and their members are specifically authorized to respond to all fire, emergency and other calls on their service within the Township of South Fayette.
Southbridge Ambulance Service and their members are specifically authorized to respond to emergency ambulance and other related ambulance calls within the Township of South Fayette.
§ 30-4Response to calls outside Township.
The four Volunteer Fire Departments and their members are specifically authorized to respond to all requests for and from other organized firefighting or ambulance associations outside the Township of South Fayette.
The SouthBridge Ambulance Service and their members are specifically authorized to respond to all requests for and from other organized ambulance associations outside the Township of South Fayette.
The four Volunteer Fire Departments and their members are hereby authorized to engage in any training, maintenance, fund-raising activities or any activities aimed at securing memberships, procuring equipment, when specifically authorized by either the President, Fire Chief or any Assistant Fire Chief of the respective Fire Department.
§ 30-6Other authorized duties; revocation of authorization.
Any member of the four Volunteer Fire Departments is hereby authorized to engage in the performance of any duty authorized by an officer of their department unless such authorization as to a specific duty or as to a specific officer has been withdrawn by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of South Fayette in writing addressed to the respective department. Such revocation shall not be effective until after the next regularly scheduled meeting of the respective Fire Department.
Article III Lock Box Requirement
The following structures shall be equipped with a key lock box at or near the main entrance or such other location required by the Fire Chief.
All new commercial or industrial structures built after July 1, 2007, protected by an automatic alarm system or automatic suppression system, or such structures that are secured in any manner that restricts access during an emergency;
Multi-family residential structures that have restricted access through locked doors and have a common corridor for access to the living units;
Governmental structures and nursing care facilities.
All newly constructed structures subject to this section shall have the key lock box installed and operational prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit.
The Fire Chief shall designate the type of key lock box system to be implemented within the Township and shall have the authority to require all structures to use the designated system.
The owner or operator of a structure required to have a key lock box shall, at all times, keep a key in the lock box that will allow for access to the structure.
The Fire Chief shall be authorized to implement rules and regulations for the use of the lock box system.
§ 30-8Violations and penalties.
Any person who owns or operates a structure subject to this article shall, upon summary conviction before any District Justice of the Township of South Fayette, be subject to a fine of not more than $600 for each and every offense, plus the costs of prosecution for each offense and, in default payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
§ 30-9Severability and conflict.
The proper officials of the Township of South Fayette are hereby authorized and directed to do all things necessary to effectuate the purpose of this article.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of the article are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeals shall only be to the extent of such inconsistence and in all other aspects, this article shall be cumulative with the other ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this article.
If any section or provision or parts thereof in this article shall be adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity of the article as a whole or any other section or provision or part thereof.
This article shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required.
South Fayette Township Codes Chapter 114 Blasting
Includes dynamite, nitroglycerin, fulminates, nitro- and amido- compounds, detonators, primers, fuses, blasting caps, blasting powder and all classes of explosive used in and about blasting in coal-stripping operations, quarries, excavation, construction and similar work.
No person or persons, partner or partnership, corporation or corporations shall engage in blasting activities within the Township of South Fayette until all requirements of this chapter have been complied with. No person or persons, partner or partners, corporation or corporations shall engage in blasting in the Township of South Fayette unless they have in their continuous employ a blaster who is a holder of a blaster's license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and maintained continuously in force. A photocopy or other clear reproduction of the blaster's license or licenses currently in force shall be kept continuously on file at the township offices.
§ 114-3Permit required; application requirements.
Blasting or blasting activities are strictly prohibited in any part of the Township of South Fayette, except that any person or persons, partner or partnership, corporation or corporations shall make application with the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of South Fayette, who is authorized to grant a permit in proper instances for blasting, which blasting shall be done under said Code Enforcement Officer's supervision, instructions and specifications. Application for permits shall be in writing and shall set forth the name, residence and occupation of the applicant, if a person, or, if a firm or corporation, then its name and principal place of business. The application shall be submitted by the person, firm or corporation actually engaging in the blasting operation, except that if the applicant is not the owner or lessor of the property on which the blasting activities are to be conducted, said owner or lessor shall be required to be party to the application for said blasting permit.
Applications for permits to use explosives shall state the location where explosives are to be used, the kind and quantity of explosives, the character of the work and the name of the person or persons directly in charge of blasting.
The fee for obtaining said permit from the Code Enforcement Officer in the Township of South Fayette is as adopted by resolution from time to time by the Board of Commissioners and on file in the township offices, payable in advance to the Township of South Fayette.
Where not more than 1/4 pound of dynamite or its equivalent is used, no permit is necessary.
No permit shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer unless the applicant submits with the application a certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, certifying that the applicant has, in full force and effect, a policy of public liability insurance, including a specific endorsement covering all liabilities that might arise from blasting, and providing bodily injury and wrongful death coverage of not less than $1,000,000 for each and every injury arising out of any incident and $1,000,000 for any property damage. Such certificate shall also disclose that the policy shall incorporate provisions as follows:
The Township of South Fayette shall be held harmless from all claims, actions and proceedings brought against it for injury to person or property resulting from or occasioned by such blasting operation;
It shall not be canceled, terminated or modified unless 10 days' prior written notice is given to the Township of South Fayette by registered mail addressed to the Board of Commissioners and the Code Enforcement Officer; and
The presence of an inspector or engineer on behalf of the Township of South Fayette at the site of such blasting operation shall not affect the obligation of the insurer under the policy.
No permit shall be valid unless such insurance is in full force and effect during the entire term of the permit.
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
§ 114-8Removal of incompetent persons; discontinuance of operations.
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer finds that blasting is being carried out in a dangerous or careless manner or that the person or persons in charge of the blasting operations or any employee or employees are careless or not properly acquainted with or trained in safe methods of conducting blasting operations, he shall have the authority to require that such incompetent persons be replaced with competent persons, or, in the event that such order is not obeyed, the Code Enforcement Officer shall have power to cause the discontinuance of the blasting operations involved until such time as the proper precautions and methods of conducting the blasting operations are adopted. In addition, the Code Enforcement Officer may temporarily revoke any permit heretofore issued and approved in the following instances:
Where he finds that there has been any false statement or misrepresentation as to a material fact in the application, plans or specifications on which the permit was based; or
Where he finds that the permit was issued in error and should not have been issued in accordance with the applicable law.
Upon any such revocation, the permittee shall be entitled to a hearing regarding the cause therefor at the next regular Township Meeting or at a special meeting called by the township for such purpose. After such hearing, the Code Enforcement Officer shall either reinstate the permit or make the revocation permanent.
§ 114-9Danger area; safeguards; hours of operation.
The Code Enforcement Officer or the person designated by him shall have the power to fix a danger area around all blasting operations and to approve or disapprove the methods of conducting blasting operations and of the safeguards employed, as in his opinion the safety of the work and the location may require. In no case shall blasting be done on Sundays or between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. daily, except when otherwise specifically permitted, in writing, by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of South Fayette.
At least three minutes before firing a blast, the person undertaking such blasting operation shall give warning thereof by causing a competent man carrying a red flag to be stationed at a reasonable distance from the blast on all sides of the blast on any path, lane, street, road or highway or other avenue of approach capable of use by the public. None but authorized persons shall be permitted within the area protected by the signs during the blasting operations.
In all cases, signs at least 36 inches by 36 inches bearing the words "DANGER, BLASTING OPERATIONS UNDERWAY - NO RADIO TRANSMISSION" or similar language, printed in red, shall be posted on all sides of the blast at a reasonable distance from the blast. At least four such signs shall be so posted. Such posting shall occur at least by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the blast, and such signs shall be removed after the blasting operations are completed.
Except for very deep blast holes, all coal, earth or rock subject to the effects of the blast shall be covered with a heavy mattress of rope, a layer of timber secured together by a chain or other protection approved by the Code Enforcement Officer of South Fayette Township that will prevent objects from being thrown.
Blasting activities shall be so conducted that ground vibrations, airborne noise or the maximum total energy ratio measured at the nearest structure or building not owned or leased by the individual or corporation conducting the blasting does not exceed the standards established by this local law.
Ground vibrations emanating from blasting activities shall not produce a total peak particle velocity in excess of 1.92 inches per second at the location aforesaid.
The maximum total energy ratio shall not exceed 1.0 at the location aforesaid.
Allowable quantities of explosives. In the absence of approved methods of instrumentation, to restrict vibrations to the levels specified in this chapter, the quantity of explosives used in blasting shall not exceed the quantities in the following table:
Blasting Quantity/Distance
Distance from Blast Area to Nearest Structure Not Owned or Leased by Individual or Corporation Conducting Blasting
(feet)
Maximum Poundage per Delay Interval
100
4
200
16
300
38
400
64
500
100
600
144
700
196
800
256
900
324
1,000
400
1,200
576
A record shall be kept of every blast, showing the amount of total powder and the total number of holes, and all records shall be retained at least until the end of the calendar year next following the year in which the record is made. All such records shall be open to inspection by any authorized representative of the Township of South Fayette, and one copy of each shall be furnished to him, without charge, at his request. At least one copy of the records required by this section shall be maintained at the quarry, mine office or construction blasting site at all times. The recorded data shall include:
The number of holes;
The kind and quantity of explosives;
The kind of blasting caps and the delay interval;
The date and time of firing;
The name of the person in responsible charge of loading and firing, and the blasting permit number;
The signature of the blaster making the report; and
The name and location of quarry or construction site.
§ 114-14Seismograph and air-pressure records.
The Code Enforcement Officer may order, on his initiative and without prior consent, four recordings of the seismic and air-pressure effects of the blasting activity of any regular blasting operation within the blasting area during the course of each calendar year.
Seismograph and air-pressure readings of blasts shall be taken by a qualified person regularly or frequently employed in the business of seismograph readings and competent to qualify as an expert witness to the results.
The recorded data shall include the following:
Identification of the instrument used;
The name of the observer;
The name of the interpreter;
The distance and direction of the recording station from the area of detonation;
The type of ground at the recording station or location in the structure;
Maximum amplitudes for all components, as well as the resultant for all recorded frequencies of vibrations;
The duration of motion in excess of 0.001 inch;
The frequency of ground motion, in cycles per second;
The maximum energy ratio or particle velocity; and
A copy of the photographic records of the seismograph readings.
If any such monitoring shall disclose an apparent violation of the limits established by this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer may require four additional recordings. All recording shall be at the expense of the corporation or person conducting the activity but under the exclusive supervision, schedule and control of the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of South Fayette. Any additional blasts found to exceed the limits of this chapter shall occasion an additional series of four recordings.
§ 114-15Violations and penalties.
[Amended 7-11-1988 by Ord. No. 359]
Any person who shall violate, cause or participate in any violation of any provision of this chapter or any condition, rule or regulation imposed or promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed an offense.
Every violation of any provision in this chapter or any condition, rule or regulation imposed or promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall be a separate and distinct offense, and in the case of a continuing violation, every day's continuance thereof shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. A conviction of any such violation shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, plus costs of prosecution for each offense, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days.[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
§ 114-16Waiver of requirements.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to waive any of the requirements of this chapter when such waiver is requested in writing and when the granting of the waiver, in his opinion, would not be detrimental to the general health, welfare and safety of the residents of the Township of South Fayette.
South Fayette Township Codes Chapter 133 Burning Outdoor
[Outdoor burning in the Township of South Fayette is governed by the regulations of Allegheny County.] Click Here
South Fayette Township Codes Chapter 155 Fire Prevention
[Adopted 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 330]
§ 155-1Responsibility for installation; design standards.
[Amended 11-16-1998 by Ord. No. 409]
It shall be the responsibility of the contractor or builder of any new structure or building to be occupied to install smoke detectors in such dwelling units as hereinafter provided. Said smoke detectors shall be capable of sensing visible or invisible particles of combustion and providing a suitable audible alarm thereof; further, they shall be installed in the manner hereinafter provided (unless any other provision of county, state or federal law shall require before the effective date of this article).
At least one smoke detector shall be installed to protect each sleeping area. A "sleeping area" is defined as the area or areas of the family living unit in which the bedrooms (or sleeping rooms) are located. Where bedrooms or rooms ordinarily used for sleeping are separated by other use areas (such as kitchens or living rooms, but not bathrooms or closets), they shall be considered as separate sleeping areas for the purposes of this section.
At least one smoke detector shall be installed at the head (top) of each stairway leading up to an occupied area in such a manner as to assure that rising smoke is not obstructed in reaching the detector and the detector intercepts rising smoke before it reaches the sleeping area.
§ 155-3Installation requirements.
In new dwellings, structures or existing buildings where smoke detectors are required, they shall be wired directly (hard-wired) to the building's power supply. In existing dwellings within multifamily buildings of 10 units or more, the detectors shall meet the multifamily building power source requirements of state law, the requirements hereunder covering other existing dwellings. In other existing dwellings, it is preferred that smoke detectors be wired directly to the power supply; however, said detectors may be powered by a self-monitored battery or operated in a plug-in outlet which is fitted with a plug-restrainer device, provided that the outlet is not controlled by any switch other than the main power supply. All smoke detectors must be Underwriters' Laboratories Inc. approved and meet the requirements of any one of the following Underwriters' Laboratories Inc. tests: UL167, UL168 or UL217.
No single-family residence or multiple-family occupancy shall be sold or rented and no structural change or repair of a value in excess of $1,000 shall be made thereto unless and until the residence meets the requirements as set forth in this article.
§ 155-5Certification at change in occupancy.
After December 31, 1982, at every change of occupancy of every dwelling unit occasioned by or incidental to a sale, lease or sublease of said unit, it shall be the duty of the grantor thereof (i.e., the seller, lessor or sublessor, as the case may be) to certify, before occupancy, to the new occupant that all smoke detectors as required by this section (or other applicable laws) are installed and in proper working condition.
This article is intended to be used with and supplemented by the applicable provisions of the National Fire Protection Association Standards 72-E and 74, 1974 Edition, which are hereby incorporated herein; however, if there shall be any conflict between this article and said supplemental standards, this article and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall prevail.
It shall be unlawful for any person, persons or company to sell within the Township of South Fayette any smoke detector unless said detector meets the standards set out in this article.
An Underwriter's Laboratories Inc. label indicating that the smoke detector is listed as a fire alarm device shall be satisfactory evidence that the detector meets the requirements of this article.
§ 155-8Violations and penalties.
[Added 7-11-1988 by Ord. No. 359; amended 11-16-1998 by Ord. No. 409]
Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this article, the National Fire Protection Association Standards or any lawful order or requirement of the Code Enforcement Officer made in accordance with the provisions thereof, upon arrest and conviction thereof before any District Justice, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each offense, plus costs of prosecution or, upon failure to pay such fine and costs, by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that any person shall continue to violate or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this article or of such order or requirement shall be considered a separate offense.
Article IIFire Prevention Code
[Adopted 4-15-2002 by Ord. No. 7-2002[1]]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. II, Fire Prevention Code, adopted 11-16-1998 by Ord. No. 409.
Certain documents, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Township Manager of South Fayette Township, being marked and designated as the International Fire Code, including Appendix Chapters B, C, D, E, F and G, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the code of South Fayette Township, for regulating the safeguarding of life and property from fire and explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from the conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings and premises in South Fayette Township; providing for the issuance of permits for hazardous uses or operations; and providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, conditions and terms of such International Fire Code, 2000 Edition, published by the International Code Council on file in the office of South Fayette Township are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this article.
§ 155-10Modifications to standards.
The following sections are hereby revised:
In Section 101.1 insert: "South Fayette Township."
In Section 109.3 insert: "$1,000" and "30 days."
Section 111.4 insert: "$25" and "$1,000."