O#73ORDIITANCE NO. 73.
AN ORDIIfA2~iCE OF THE TO'i'll OF B01q~TON, FLORIDA, REGULATING
AI'TD CONTROLLING FIRE EXTIiTCTION A3.ID FIRE PREVENTIOI,[ /~ND
PROVID~G PUNISI~J~ENT FOR ANY PERSON, FIRI~f OR CORPOP~tTION
GUILTY OF Al~f VI0~%TION OF SAID ORDINANCE BY FiNE OR I~-
PRISON~,,~NT OR BOTH, AND REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CON-
FLICT HEi.~iVI TH.
N0'.¥,_.~,~mT~W.~'~'~;~..~, BE IT 0RD~iII~[ED BY THE T0'?;~ COI¥:?ISSI ON
OF THE TOtV]; OF BOYNT0t.~, FLORIDA:-
ARTICLE ONE
FI'R'E EXTIKC~ON
Section 1. IDLE OR SUSPICIOUS PERSONS I~[AY BE DESPERSED.
During the ~ctual prevalence of any f'ire', the
officers of the Polic~e and i~ire Department shall
remove, or cause to be removed and kept away from
the vicinity of such fire, all idle and suspicious
persons, and all persons not fit to be employed,
or not actually and usefully employed in aiding
the extinguishment of such fire or in the pre-
servation of the property in the vicinity thereof.
Section 2. FIRE HOSE: HOSE [;3RIDGES.
~(o driver of a vehicle, nor chauffeur of a motor
vehicle, shall drive any such vehicle over or
across any hose in use, or about to be used, or
while lying in the roadway after being used by
any portion of the Fire Department, but the pro-
visions of this section shall not apply to dri-
vers of w~gons or motor-vehicles carrying the
United States mail, nor to drivers and ambulances
~.vhen conveying any patient or injured person to
any hospital, or when proceeding to the scene of
any accident by which any person or persons have
been injured; nor to the driver of any vehicle
directed or permitted to drive over or across
such hose, by the officer of the Fire Department
in c.:~mmand of the force operating at a fire· The
~ire Chief is empowered to provide for laying
fire hose over tt-;e railway tracks of the To',~l of
'$o.~mton, when nece~s~ry, by suitable hose-bridges.
1. 0PENI?:~G OR TAI~,:~PLRI~G ~';ST~[. ~o person, other
than an employee of the Department of 7later Supply,
or the Fire Department, sh~:~lt open, use or tamper
with a fire-hyde,ant or high-pressure-hydrant, with-
out previous permission in wirint from the Vice-
~ayor; nor shall any person leave such a hyd?ant
open for a longer period than shall be limited in
the permission or use water for other purposes
than shall have been authori.-~ed b~ the Vice-~[ayor.
2. OBSTRUCTI~-..~G. No person shall in any manner ob-
struct the use of any fire hydrant, or allow any
sand or dirt to be thrown or piled upon or around
the same, or plaice, or .~llow to be place, any
material or thing in front thereof, from the curb
line to the center of the street and to within
ten (10) feet from either side thereof. Ail sand
and dirt accumulating in the street, within the
space hereinbefore mentioned, shall be removed
by the owner, lessee, or tenant, of the premises
fronting the said space, in the same manner as is
prescribed for the keeping clear of the sidewalk.
Ail material or things found obstructing any fire
hydrant may be frothwith removed by officers or
employees of the Fire Depart~ent, at the risk,
cost and expense, of the owner or claimant. The
i~'ire Chief shall take all proper measures to keep
fire hydrants in proper condition for use at all
times.
Section 4. FIRE ALAR[' SYSTE].~.
1. PROTECTIO~ OF. - The fire alarm system shall
not b'~ ope'r~["ted ~r used ex~:ept by the Fire Chief,
or ~ffi~ers and employees of the Fire Department
charged with its operation or maintenance or au-
thorized to use it for instruction or drill; pro-
vided policemen ~d citizens may freely operate
the same to con~municate actual alarms of fire.
No person shall use the appliances thereof for
com~'~unicating a false alarm; nor shall any person
e?periment or tamper therewith, for any purpose
whatever, without such authority. No person shall
post, paint, i~?ress, or in ~ny way affiz to any
pole or standard connected w~th t~,e fire alarm
system or any box, wire or there appliance connec-
ted therewith, any placard, sign, broadside, notice,
or announcement of .~ny kind.; nor shall nay person
cut, mutilate, alter, mar, deface, cover, obstruct
or interfere with the same in any manner whatsoever;
nor paint or cause to be painted, the poles or
other standards, of a similar color or colors, or
in imitation thereof, nor consent, allow, or be
privy to ~ny of said things being done for them
or u~on their behalf.
2. FALSE ALARm,iS.- ~[o person shall willfully or
designedly raise, create or continued-~ false
alarm of fire, or aid, abet or assist in raising,
creating or continuing such a false alarm. Police
officers are specially charged and directed to
aid in the enforce~ent of this section.
Section 5. STREETo FI]~S: PERI,[ITS REQUIRED.-Ilo person
shall kindle, build, maintain or use a fire upon
any dock, pier or bulkltead; nor in or upon a street,
or lot, without a permit from the Fire Chief. A
permit to kindle, t~ild, maintain and use a fire in
or uoon a public street for the purpose of conducting
a trade or business may be issued by the Fire Chief
upon an application giving such information as may
be required by him, and upon receipt of :.a feet of
130.50, excerpt that no fees shall be required for
permits issued for the kindling and maintaining of
such fires for the sole purpose of destroying fallen
leaves, brush, weeds and palmetto outside of the
fire limits. No permit shall be issued, however,
to kindle, build maintain or use a fire -
(a) '~lithin fifteen (15) feet of a fire hydrant;
(b) q,'ithin two (~) feet of the surface of any
stone pavement.
(c)
On or v,ithin two (2) feet of the surface
of any asphalt pavement, except for the
purpose or repairing, removing or construct-
ing the same. A fire kindled, built and
maintained under a permit issued in con-
formity with the provisions of this section
shall be continuously under the care and
direction of a competent person, selected
by the Fire Chief, from the time it is
kindled until it is extinguished.
Section 7. LIGHTED ]7,ATCI~ES~ uIG~RS~ C±_rARETTES~ DIS-
CARDING OF RzGU~T~D. No person shall
throw away any lig~ed matcH, cigar or cigarette
within any building or structure or in any car of
other vehicle for the common carriage of passengers
unless it be to deposit the same in a suitable con-
tainer of met.~l or other non-combustible material
provided for the reception thereof'.
FIRE PREV~LTIOL
Section 1. FIRE ALqRM Ah~D FIRE-EXTIYGUISHING APPLIANCES.-
The owners and proprietors of all manufactorie s,
hotels, tenement-houses, apartment houses, office
buildings, boarding and lodging houses, warehouses
stores and offices, theatres and music halls, and
the authorities or persons having charge of all
hospitals and asylums, and of the public s-chools
and othe, r public buildings, churches and other
places where large numbers of perssons are congre-
gated for purposes of worship, instruction or a-
musement, and all piers, bulkheads, wharves, pier
sheds or other water-front structures, shall pro-
vide such means of communicating alarms of fire,
accident or danger to the Police or Fire Depart-
ment, respectively, as the Town Commissioners may
prescribe, and shall also provide such fire hose,
fire extinguishers, buckets, axes, fire hooks,
fire doors and other means of preventing snd ex-
tinguishing fires as the Tov~n Commissioners may
direct.
Section 2. DIAGRANS OR ~:?Y~}~ifS OF EGRESS.-
In any""of the' buildings refe'rred to in this
Article, vchen required by the To~vn Commissioners,
there shall be posted such cards as the said Tovm
Commissioners shall direct upon which sha'!! be
printed a diagram showing the exits, halls, stair-
ways, elevators and fire escapes of the building,
and, in the halls and passage-ways, such ~zigns as
the said Tovm Commissioners shall direct shall be
posted indicating the location of the stairs and
fire escapes.
Section 3. FI?.E DRILLS I~.? SCHOOLS: INTERFEREi~?CE 7:TTH.-
No person shall drive a vehicle of any kind through
a line of children issuing from or returning to a
public school during a fire drill, nor interfere,
hinder, obstruct or impede in any v~ay whatsoever
any such fire drill.
Section 4. LIGHTS.
~%11 lights ~sed in theatres and other places of
public amusement, manufactories, stores, hotels,
lodging-houses, and in show windows shall be
properly protected by gloves or glass coverings,
or in such manner as the Fire Chief shall prescribe.
Section 5. STORAGE OF CONBUSTIBLE FIBRES.
1. DEFI~fITI0~[. As used in this section, "Combustible
Fibre"', means and finely divided vegetale or animal
fibre, including paper and cloth, in the form of
scraps or clip~oings; hay; straw; excelsior; dried
moss, e3:cepting moss used for medi:'~ina! purposes;
grasses, and similar substances.
2. PERNIT REQUIi~]D. - ilo person shall store or
keep on hand in any premises any combustible fibre
or material in e3~cess of one (1) ton without a
permit from the Fire Chief. The annual fee for
such a permit shall be for quantities of ten (10)
tons or more, ~10.00 (Ten Dollars); over five (5)
tons and less than ten (10) tons, i~5.00 (Five
Dollars); over one (1) ton and less than five (5)
tons, ~i~2.00 (Two Dollars).
[4. RESTRICTIOL%. - No permit shall be issued for
such storage in any building or premises:
(a) Situated within 50 (fifty) fee t of the
nearest wall of a building occupied as a
school, hospital, theatre or other place of
public amusement or assembly;
(b) Occupied as a tenement house, or hot el;
(c) Of wooden construction, except in sparsely
populated district, where it shall be in the
descretion of the Fire Chief:
(d) ]~ich is not equipped with a fire extin-
guishing system, approved by the Fire Chief;
(e) L~ere paints, varnished, or lacc;uers are
manufactured, stored or kept for sale;
(f) '.~aere dry goods, or other highly inflammable
materials are manufactured stored or kept for sale;
(g) ¥~ere matches, rosin, turpentine or any
e~:plosives are stored or kept.
4. ~]VEIG~T LIYIT. No person shall store upon any
floor of a building any combustible fibre exceed-
ing in weight one-third of the .~afe bearing capa-
city of such floor; or covering, when baled, more
than two-thirds of the floor spa~e of such floor,
and no such material shall be piled to a greater
height than two-thirds of the distance from the
floor to the ceiling.
5. FACTORIES. - The storage of combustible fibres
in any buiId~ing used as a factory or workshop
(except where such combustible fibre enters into
the article or material maunfactured in such work-
shop or factory) if prohibited unless such combus-
tible fibre does not exceed five (5) tons and is
used and stored in a portion of the premises se-
parated from the remainder of the building by walls,
floors and ceilings, protected by fire retarding
material and with all floor openings similarly pro-
tected and constructed in a manner approved by the
Fire Chief. In no event shall more than one perm. it
be o~anoed for the storage of combustible fibre in
a single building used as a factory or workshop.
:iection ~. STORAGE OR EI,~PTY v,~00DE~ PAC~I~G B~XES, CASES
AI~D BARRELS.
~- PERZ~IT REQUIRED. - No person ahall s tore in any
buil~.i~g, shed, inclosure or other structure any empty
wooden packing boxes, cases or barrels in a ~uantity
occupy~ng a space greater than one thousand (1000) cubic
fee, without a permit from the Fire Chief. The annual
fee for such a permit shall be ~;5.00 (Five Dollars)
2. RESTRICTIOFS. No permit shall be issued for
the"stora2e of empty wooden packing boxes, cases
or barrels in any lot, shed or inclosure;
(a)
'h2~ich is not enclosed by a substantial fence
not less than ten (10) nor more than eighteen
(18) feet in height above the street level.
If any building having an unpierced fire wall
adjoins the enclosure no fence shall be re-
quired on the side of such building. The
storage space shall be completely separated
from any wi. ndow or door openings of the wall
of an adjoining buildi.ng by a substantial fence
of fire-retarding materials of a height satis-
factory to the Fire Chief, erected at least
six (8) feet from such opening and extended
at least six (6) feet on each side thereof
and continued to the sides of the enclosure of
carried to the walls of the building. No
permit shall be issued authorizing the storage
of empty wooden pac!~ing boxes or barrels in
any building or structure the walls of which
are not built of fire proof material except
in the sparsely populated districts.
(b)
YM~ich is situated within fifty ($0) feet of
the nearest wall of a building occupied as a
hospital, school, theatre or other place of
public amusement or assembly.
~. FIRE PRE~YE!~TION. - No person shall pile empty
wooden packing boxes, cases or barrels to a height
greater than six (~) inches below the top of the
inclosing wall required by subdivision ~ of this
section. Excelsior, sawdust, paper and packing
matc~ria! shall be removed from the premises at
least once daily; electric motors shall be enclosed
in an approved manner; at least twelve (!~) water
buckets of ten (!0) quarts caoacity shall be pro-
vided for every ~'~nety-five h~ndred (~,500) square
feet of leer surface, or in lieu thereof, hose of
at least one (1) inch in diameter, equipped with a
nozzle of at least one-half (~) inch in diameter,
sufficient in length to reach all parts of the en-
closure, and connected to an adequate water ~poly.
Section 7. ~50DIFICATI01~S. Tilden the circumstances, con-
ditions']' iimitati6ns or surroundings of any busi-
ness, occupation, trade, industry of premises, re-
ferred to in Section $ and 8, of this Article, are
unusual, or such as to render impractical or be
unduly burdensome the enforcement of the provi-
sions of the said sections applicable thereto, the
Fire Chief may waive, or modify such provisions to
such extent as he may deem necessary in the pre-
130
mises~consistent with public safety.
Section 8. SI~.~OKI!..~G. - No person shall smoke or carry
a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or match within
any room, enSlosed space, or in any part of any
premises in which any highly combustible or
fla?~mable material is manufactured, stored or
kept for use or sale. Offices, not containing
highly combustible or inflammable material, and
separated from the other parts of said places or
premises by a tight partition or a self-closing
door, shall be exempt from this prohibition.
Section 9..BARNS~ STABLES AI~[D GARAGES. - No person shall
take in'to or use in. any' barn, stgble or garage any
lighted candle, oil or fluid lamp, or any burning
light of any kind whatsoever, unless the same be
inclosed and secured in a good ~lass, horn or other
lantern.
Section 10. ASHES.- Yo person shall deposit ashes on the
wooden floor of any building, nor in any barrel, or
box, or other wooden vessel standing on any such
floor, nor place any such barrel, box or other
vessel contai '~
nz~g ashes upon any such floor.
Section tl. CHARITABLE IYSTiTUTI0YS. No charitable in-
stitutions in the To,,,m of !~oynton, Florida, which
serves the public free of charge, shall be required
to pay any fees for any p~:.~cits required under the
provisions of this 0rdi~ance, provided the material
for which the pez~nit is required is ova'ned smd used
in connection with such institution.
Section 12. DISPOSITI0~ OF FEES. - It shall be the duty
of the Fire Chief to keep an accurate record of all
receipts of the Fire Department and turn same over
to the Treasurer of the Town of Bo~mton together
with duplicate ~'opies of all permits issued on the
last day of every month, such sum or sums as may
have been received by him during such month taking
therefore the Treasurer,s receipt, which said re-
ceipt shall become a part of the records of said
Fire. Department. The Treasurer of the To~vn of
Boynton, shall deposit all monies received from the
Fire Department for ?ees and Permits in the General
Fund crediting the Fire Department appropriation with
amount so deposited.
Section 15. Vi0LATI0~!S. - Any person, firm or corpora-
tion who shall violate, or refuse or neglect to com-
ply with any provisions of this Ordinance shall upon
conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not
more than Five Hu_~dred Dollars (~500.00), or by im-
prisonment not exceeding Thirty Days (30), or by
both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion
of the court. -
THIS 0RDI!{~NCE having been read in full at a
meeting of the Tov~n Commission of the To~,-,n of Boynton,
Florida, held on the 2nd, day of August 1926, was
finally adopted on its final reading at a regul..i~
meeting of said Town Commission held on the 17th day
of August 1926, and a copy hereof posted at the door
of the Totem Hall.
R. 0. ~lyers, ~,layor (Signed)
Harry Benson,Vice Msyor (Signed)
E.L.Winchester,Town Clerk (Signed)
Town Commissioners of the Town of Boynton, Fto?~.