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Home My WebLink About1982-OR-39AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING SMOKE DETECTORS IN RENTAL HOUSING WHEREAS, The Jeffersonville Fire Chief has recommended vo the Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville~ Indiana, that they, being duly advised, amend the Jeffersonville Fire Prevention ~din~nce number 72 OR 36 as follows: That Section ten (10) thereof on page 5 be amended by the inclusion of a Section 1.10 which establishes rules aud regulations governing standards of safety and requiring smoke detecmors in rental residential units. And the Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville being duly advised now finds that this amendment should be added and that this ordinance accomplishing that objective should be adopted. Now therefore, be it ordained by the Common Council of the City of Jeffersonvilte, Indiana, that ordinance number 72 OR 36 by adding a section 1.10 to section ~en (t0) thereof, which amendment reads as follows: Section 1.10 Establishing Rules and Reg~iations ]overning Standards of Safety and Requiring Smoke E~ec~ors ~n Rental Residential Units. A - DEFINITIONS: l) DWELLING gNITS, shall mean any group of rooms located within a building and forming $ single housekeeping unit with facilities which are used or designed to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating. DWELLINGS, shall mean any building which contains one or more dwellingunits or any rooming units, rooms or area designated or used for sleeping purposes either as a primary use or use on casual occasions. Dwellings shall include condominiums, rooming houses, hotels, motels, tourist homes, school dormitories, and apartment buildings. 3) CWNERS, shall mean any person, firm ~r corporation who alone~ jointly or severally with others: a) Shall have all or part of the legal title to any dwelling or dwelling units, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof, or shall have all or part of the beneficial ownership of any dwelling or dwelling unit and a right to present use and enjoyment thereof, including a mortage in possession; or b) Shall have charge, care, or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit as owner, or as Executor, Administrator, Trustee, Guardian of the Estate, or duly authorized agent of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owuner shall be bound to comply withthe owner's obligations under this section. ROOMING UNIT_~ Shall mean any room~hich is designed or used for sleeping purposes, A rooming unit may include a ~oom in a rooming house, a hotel, a ~otel, a tourist home, a school dormitory, or an apartment building which may or may not have some additional facilities for eating or cooking contained therein. SMOKE DE~ECTORS REO~UIRED: Subject to such exceptions and conditions for compliance as stated herein, six (6) months after the effective date of this ordinance, smoke detectors shall be required in all dwellings rented for occupancy. Dwellings meeting the Uniform Building Code of the State of Indiana standards for smoke detectors shall not be required to install smoke detectors. TYPE AN~ I~LACEMENT OF SMOKE DETECTORS In order to ccmply with this ordinance, only ionization or photo electric type detectors shall be installed. Smoke detectors shall be approved by a nationally-recognized testing laboratory. (This means that the smoke detector itself shall be labeled and not just the cord). 3) Smoke detectors with power supplies osher than a hard wire AC primarypower source may be powered by self-monitored batteries or operated frcm an electrical outlet which is fitted with a plug restraining device~ providing vhat the outlet is not controlled by any switch other than the main power supply. 4) Smoke detectors shall be placed in accordance with applicable National Fire Pzotection Association Standards. Detectors may be ceiling or wall mounted providing that if wall mounted they shall be within twelve (12 inches, but nom closer than six (6) inches of the ceiling. In a dwelling unit which contains a well-defined sleepzng roan separated from the other activity areas of the same unit, the detectors shall be located in the corridors within the unit or interior area giving access to the rooms used for sleeping purposes. Where sleeping areas are separated and/or where a single smoke detector will not adequately service all sleeping areas, there shall be a smoke detector installed adjacent to each sleeping area. 6) In a rocming unit the smoke detector shall be centrally located on ceiling. In a dwelling containing two (2) or more dwelling units or any rooming unit, in addition to the requirements for individ- ual smoke detectors in each d~lling unit or rooming unit, detectors shall be placed in centrally located conm~on areas so ~hat smoke detectors will adequately service all sleepmng areas. D - PROVIDING~ INSTALLING A~YD ~INTAi NING SM0~J DETECTORS l) The owner of the ~welling shall be responsib!~ ~'or suoplying and installing in an operable condition the required ~etector s and for providing the manufacturer's testing i~tructions vo a tenant when appropriate. The ow~ner of s dwelling shall be responsible for mazn~enance and testing of the detectors, in accordance with the manufact- urer's instructions, which are located in common areas and~or detectors in dwelling units and~or rooming units where the occupancy of any one tenant is for less than one month. 3) The tenant in any occupancy of one month or more shall be responsible for maintaining and testing the detector(s) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, which are within his exclusive control during the life of the tenancy. The tenant shall be responsible for notifying the owner in writing by registered mail when detector (s) shall become inoperable, whereafter the owner has ten (10) days in which to repair or replace the detector(s). In the battery-operated type of detector, replacement shall be the responsibility of the tenant. At every change of tenancy, where the occupancy of any one tenant is of one month or more, it shall be the duty of the owner to test and ascertain that those detectors contained in the unit are in operable condition, and, if not, the owner shall be responsible for placing them in operable condition. E - ENFORCEMENT: 1) The Fire Prevention Bureau of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana~ Department of Fire shall be primarily responsible for the enforcement of this ordinance. 2) The Jeffersonville, Indiana, City Building Commissioner and/or his designated inspectors, shall assist the Fire Prevention Bureau of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, by making referrals to the Bureau as part of its regular inspection snd enforcement of all City Building and Fire Safety Codes. 3) These enforcement agencies shall in their discretion exercise their right to enter properties regulated by this ordinance, which right is granted in IC 36-1-6-2. F- PENALTIES: Any person(s) who shall violate any of the provisions of the code hereby adopted or fail to comply herewith, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made here- under, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement or specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, from which no appeal has been taken, or who shsll fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, Common Council and/or Board of Public Works and Safety, or by s court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed herein, shall severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance respect- ively, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $2,500.00 and all such persons shall be required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a reasonable time; and when not otherwise specified, each 15 day(s) that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense. The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions. G - REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES: l) All former ordinances or parts thereof conflicting or incon- sistent with the provisions of this ordinance or of the code hereby adopted are hereby repealed. H - SEVERABILITY~ CONFLICT WITH OTHER ORDINANCES: t) If any provisions of this ordinance or the application there- of to any person is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinanc&, which shall remain in full force and effect~ and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are severable. In any case where a provision of this ordinance is found to be in conflict with a provision of any fire or safety code of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, the provision which establishes the higher standard for the promotion and protection of health and safety shall prevail. 1.10-I - DATE OF EFFECT 1) This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after i~passage and publication as required by law. Pas~d by the CAn Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, CITY COUNCIL: M ~e A1 n Charles E. Haire- ~'--"'P[9,'6 e r:t Pott'er ATTEST: C. t~c~hard Spence["~ y City Clerk Treasurer ~